Free Acting Happy (Texas Desires #2) by Rylie Roberts Page A

long way around to the kitchen in order not to get too close to Ty.
    “Steaks are almost done,” Connor called out from the grill.
    “We’re eating out here. Is that good for you?” Ty asked, rising. He should have brought out all the plates and utensils while he was waiting on her to finish in the bathroom.
    “Sure. But I’m probably not gonna eat. I’m a vegetarian.” And again, like every few minutes with his guys, all eyes turned toward her.
    “We’ve got a pot of beans. No meat products in there, right, Connor?” Ty asked.
    “Not even a hint,” Connor confirmed.
    “Okay, I’ll be back. I’ve gotta get the plates and things and I’ll grab the beans,” Ty said. Kenzie started to say something, but Reed stood, cutting her off.
    “I’ll help.” Reed tried to be a normal guy, but more times than not, it didn’t work for him. He just didn’t do things like help in the kitchen, not if there was any possible way out. With so many moments of stunned silence, he could tell this was turning into one of those nights they would all laugh about years from now. Ty winked at Kenzie and followed Prescott inside, passing Cole on his way back out.
    The layout of the kitchen took some time to get used to every time he came. Opening and shutting cabinet doors, Ty searched for the collection of disposable plates and utensils he remembered seeing. He found the oven mitts needed for the cast-iron pot of beans still warming on the stove and tossed those toward Reed. In the last cabinet, he found the rest of what he was looking for and then reached for a roll of paper towels.
    “This all I need to grab?” Reed asked, sliding each mitt on. He shoved the spoon on the stove inside the dish. Ty stuck the paper towels under one arm, and placed a box of disposable silverware on top of the paper plates. Thoughts of Kenzie kept him completely preoccupied, and he glanced out the window every few seconds to keep an eye on her. “What are you doing out there?”
    “What’d you mean?” Ty asked, trying to split his thoughts between the task at hand and the beauty that seemed to steal all his reasonable thought.
    “With her. What are you doing? You have a girlfriend,” Reed said. He actually set the pot back on the stove and stood there glaring at him.
    “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Ty shot back defensively. Those incredibly confusing words coming from “use ’em and lose ’em” Reed Prescott effectively pulled all his attention to the guy standing in his kitchen staring him down. Oh yeah, he could definitely read judgement in that gaze.
    “You know, this isn’t my business at all, and at first out there on the porch, I thought it was cool to see you all into her, but she’s not from your world, Bateman,” Reed countered in that same hard tone.
    “Your woman wasn’t from yours either,” Ty added and dumped the items in his arms back on the counter. The guy in front of him looked very much like Reed, but seriously, there was no way his lifelong best friend would stand there and school him on the boundaries of dating.
    “I didn’t date world-renowned beauties with a new one on my arm every few months. My love life came from cheap one-night stands.” There was a pause in Reed’s words that had Ty cutting his gaze back out the window.
    He watched Kenzie talking to Braden. From this angle, she looked more relaxed now. Maybe some of the tension she’d held on to was slipping away.
    “What are you gonna do with her?
    “I’m just interested. I don’t have a long-term plan. I just met her. Why the hell do you even care?” Ty shot out, still watching her.
    “She’s hiding something,” Reed said cautiously.
    “What makes you say that?” Ty whipped his head toward his friend, brows snapping together. He got that she was nervous, but most women who were not in the business were anxious around him. It was his job to ease that fear, show he was just a normal guy.
    “Look at her body language. Did you hear how