“You screwed her, didn’t you, you stupid son of a bitch?” He chuckled, and I knew he didn’t mean the words as an insult.

I rolled my eyes anyway. “No, I did not screw her.”

“Yeah, okay.” Noah scoffed, as if I were a complete asshat. Adjusting himself again, he leaned toward me a bit, lowering his voice. “I love Molly, man. She’s like the sister I never had, but—”

“Dude, you have two sisters.” I interrupted before he could go on a rant.

He only shrugged. “Nikki’s a helluva lot older than me and wasn’t ever around. And Nat, well, Nat’s a fucking bitch and I kinda hate her.” His eyes moved in Molly’s direction. “Mols, though? I fucking adore her. She may not have my blood, but she’s family.” He inhaled slowly. “We all feel that way about her. If it was just me, I’d say go for it, dude. You’ve been through the fucking ringer and need someone like her. But the problem is, Molly doesn’t just have one big brother, she’s got ten of us. They’ll fuckin’ wreck you if you hurt her.”

I rolled my eyes again, shaking my head. “Chill, Noah. No one is hurting anyone. She’s my friend, too, ya know. I’ll be at the front of the line to take down the prick who hurts her.” And I would. The idea of her giving herself to anyone else aggravated the shit out of me, and I would gladly bust knee caps to protect her.

“I’ve never personally gotten to enjoy the whole ‘friends with benefits’ thing, but they say it’s the best of both worlds. You’ll have to let me know.”

“Dick.”

“I have a dick. I also have some big ol’ balls to go with that big ol’ dick. If I like a woman, I fucking tell her. If I’m fucking a woman, I tell the world so that they know to back the fuck off. But I’m old fashioned and don’t share. If that’s your thing, more power to ya.”

I smiled. Noah and his thick Alabama accent made even the dumbest shit amusing. “For someone who talks about women as much as you do, you’re extremely obsessed with my dick. Got a little thing for it, huh?”

I left it wide open for him to insult me, hoping he would forget all about Molly. “Why, yes, you do got a little thing. I’m just happy little Mike is getting some action, even if Molly needs a goddamn magnifying glass to see it.” I almost breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I was in the clear. Then, he stood, and glanced down at me. “She’s had a lot of shit in her life, Carson. Don’t give her more. If you do, Nate will be the least of your worries.”

I’d known Noah most of his life. Hell, I could remember a time when he would cry because his sister was being mean to him. Now, the kid was threatening me. It would be laughable if we weren’t talking about Mols.

“Mike and Molly,” he muttered absentmindedly as he started to walk away. Stopping abruptly, he turned back to me. “Mike and Molly. Huh. That’s some funny shit right there.”

I scowled up at him. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“Mike and Molly. Like the TV show. Makes sense. You act just like Mike.”

I just stared at him blankly, confused.

“I forgot you don’t watch TV. All you need to know is that Molly is Jenny McCarthy’s hot as fuck cousin and she’s married to a dipshit. If there was a better example of life imitating art, I’ve never seen it.”

Chuckling, he headed toward the camp, and I made a mental note to look up the show on my laptop next down day we had.

*****

When Lia and Nate joined us later, neither looked well rested or content. In fact, they both looked miserable. When I caught Nate’s eye, he tipped his head in his wife’s direction, mouthing the word, “please.” He didn’t need to ask me to check on my best friend, I would have done it even if he hadn’t wanted me to. Yet knowing he was worried about her made me that much more concerned.

“Hey, kid,” I whispered as I slid onto the picnic table bench next to her, tugging on a few red strands. She beamed at me, but even that couldn’t hide the deep circles under her eyes or the stress lines that had appeared on her face overnight. “What’s wrong?”

She frowned. “Nothing. Why do you think something’s wrong?”

I leaned closer, hoping no one could hear our conversations. “Maybe ‘cause you can’t hide shit from me.”

She rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh. “I’m just hungry.” Bullshit. Before I could call her out on the obvious lie, she leaned away and yelled, “I know tonight’s our night off, but anyone wanna go out to eat? I’m too tired to cook.”

Usually, the band liked to stay put when they didn’t have a show, eating a family style meal together. Tonight, though, they all seemed to agree with Lee. I grabbed her wrist when she stood, trying to follow everyone else to the cars. “This conversation isn’t over.”

“Oh, Mikey,” she countered sarcastically, “this conversation was over before it began.” She yanked her arm away from me, giving me a nasty look, and marched toward the driveway. I cursed under my breath, turning to trail after her, but stopped short when I found Molly staring at me. She was biting her lip, a mixture of confusion and hurt etched on her features. Fuck! I could only imagine how bad the scene she’d just seen looked, and I knew I needed to explain to put her mind at ease.

“Mols,” I called, eating the distance with quick steps.

She only shook her head, dismissing me. “Is Lia okay?” was all she asked when I reached her.

I hesitated. There was a time when I could have answered that without even talking to my friend, but so much had happened over the last few months, so much that I had missed. “I honestly don’t know.”

Molly’s shoulders fell. “I’m worried.”

“I am too.” A quick glance over her shoulder proved that everyone was already in the SUVs and no one could see us. I stepped closer to her, cupping her uninjured cheek. “Nate asked me to talk to her.”

Her eyes searched mine. “Wow. That’s a big step for him. I’m glad he did. You’re her best friend and she needs you right now. Anything I can do?”

I shook my head. “I just wanted you to know what that was.”

Her eyebrows shot up and her lip quirked. “Good to know, Casanova. Now, let’s go before they leave us here.”

Wow, I was an asshole. I’d completely misread that entire situation. Annoyed, I followed her around the house and to the cars.

The restaurant Lee picked was on the smallish side and barely had any patrons. Even though our party was huge, the wait staff moved four tables together, stole chairs from other tables, and got our drinks in a matter of a few minutes. Being with a celebrity didn’t hurt, even if they’d mistaken Rhett for someone else.

“Can you believe she actually asked me if I was going to open more restaurants in New York?” he asked the table in a hushed tone after we’d placed our order. “Don’t get me wrong, they make a mean burger, but I don’t look like a fucking Wahlberg.”

“I’d take it as a compliment,” Lee pointed out as she buttered her roll. “Marky Mark is pretty hot.”

“Who in the hell is Marky Mark?” Noah asked, but I couldn’t tell if he was sincere or if he was being Noah.

Finn, Nikki’s husband, groaned and threw an ice cube in his brother-in-law’s direction. “Fuck you. You’re just trying to make us feel old.”

“Mark Wahlberg,” Lee informed Noah, patting his hand in an old lady gesture. “To us ‘old farts,’ he’ll always be Marky Mark.”

“He actually hates it when you call him that,” Molly piped up.

“Does he?” Lia asked, putting her elbows on the table and leaning in. “I hadn’t heard that.”

Molly only shrugged, taking a sip of her water. “Yeah. He kicked me out of his bed when I called him that.”

Every conversation around the table ground to a halt as people slowly realized what she’d said. The silence stretched, but Mols didn’t seem to notice, grabbing a knife and a packet of butter as if she hadn’t just dropped a major bomb.

Then Billy chuckled. “You’re a fucking brat. I almost spit out my beer.”