His expression lost the look I liked and got a different one I’d never seen when he declared, “Babe, we’re goin’ to The Rooster with Max and Nina tomorrow.”

We were?

“We are?” I asked.

“Max called while you were pickin’ up pizza. Said Nina sorted a sitter and they got a reservation. We’re meetin’ them there at seven.”

“She got a babysitter and made a reservation?”

“Told you Max said he wanted to take us out. He mentioned it earlier this week, said they might not be able to hustle a sitter, but if they could, we were on.”

I felt my brows go up. “Did you think of telling me this?”

“You got plans tomorrow night?” he returned.

“I didn’t. Now Sunny and Shambles want us at dinner tomorrow night.”

Deke put a hand light on my waist, getting deeper in my space to do it. “No offense to them, Jussy, like ’em. They’re good people. But they’re vegetarians.”

“So?” I asked.

“I’m not. You aren’t either. And The Rooster does a kickass steak.”

I heard that.

And Lauren had also waxed poetic about The Rooster’s talent that could be appreciated most by carnivores.

As did Faye.

And Lexie.

Still, even if Shambles was unlikely to make us meat, he’d probably kick ass with whatever he did make.

“I like Sunny and Shambles,” I told him. “I barely know Max and I don’t know Nina at all.”

“And Sunny and Shambles asked if we were free. They didn’t have to hustle up a babysitter or make a reservation. They want, we can come to their place next weekend. Fuck, by next weekend, you might be able to make them Steph’s chicken here.” With his hand still at my waist, he swung his other one behind him to indicate my space.

“They’re vegetarians, Deke. I can’t make them Steph’s chicken.”

Though I liked the idea of a dinner party here.

That said, I might have a kitchen next weekend but I might not have any furniture. Apparently, a lot of the shit I ordered took weeks before it would be delivered.

Even more weeks than it had already taken.

Regardless, my afternoon plans just changed. It was time to hit the home store and buy a Crock-Pot.

I was close and getting closer. It was happening.

So it was time to start nesting.

Maybe I could get Krys and Breanne out of the house and they’d come with me.

Deke cut into my thoughts of nesting.

“Then make me Steph’s chicken and make them something with tofu.”

Just Deke uttering the word “tofu” made me start giggling.

He had a small smile on his face when he asked, “What’s funny?”

“You saying tofu.”

“Think that’s the first time that word left my mouth,” he muttered.

I started giggling harder.

Deke’s hand that was light on my waist slid around to the small of my back, doing this inside my overalls, pulling me close so our bodies were touching.

He waited until my giggles subsided before he stated quietly, “Max and Nina tomorrow night. If Sunny and Shambles can do it, we go to them next weekend. And next time I hear we might have plans, even if they’re not certain, I’ll share that with you.”

I was still smiling from my humor but what he said made that smile fade.

Although I’d had relationships that had lasted, they’d lasted months, not years. This meant I was an amateur at this. Having a home. Having a man. Making plans this weekend, the next, doing that taking into account there was another person involved.

Still, it was not lost on me that Deke didn’t share something that involved me, he wanted one thing and I wanted something else.

It happened. There was a solution. We came to it quickly (or Deke did) and Deke saw without me having to point it out that he’d made a (minor) mistake.

I liked this and how it ended, with me giggling and Deke getting it. No escalating into an argument, no disagreement about what we were going to be doing.

Just…

Us.

I felt pressure at the small of my back and focused on him again when he asked, “That doesn’t work for you?”

“Works great, honey,” I answered quietly. “Call Max and confirm. I’ll talk to Sunny and Shambles.”

He flattened his whole hand at my back as he murmured, “Right.”

“Now, go get pizza,” I ordered.

“Right,” he repeated, bending his head and touching his mouth to mine.

We broke, but he didn’t remove his hand from the small of my back as he turned away from me and started guiding both of us to the kitchen.

“Next single, famous hottie Max has got on the rotation that he wants to send a man out alone to get work started on her place, I’m volunteering to go in,” Scott called as we moved to the guys huddled around the open pizza boxes at my kinda kitchen island.

Scott was one of Max’s crew. The one who I guessed was the youngest of the lot and him saying shit like that out loud was why I’d guessed it.

“Bud,” Bubba said so low I wasn’t certain anyone but me heard him.

“Next time you think about runnin’ your mouth about my woman in front of my face, and hers, you don’t want my fist down your throat, you think again,” Deke returned conversationally over Bubba’s one word.

He spoke conversationally, but the edge of his tone not being a threat, but something else a whole lot stronger, was still there.