Barrett watched Drake lay down his fork. “Wait a minute. Levon broke up with you?”
“Yes, Drake. He broke up with me.”
“What the—” Drake, ever mindful of the no-cursing rule in Mama’s house, restrained himself. He picked up his fork and waved it at Harmony. “I need to have a talk with that man. Tell him how to appreciate what a fine treasure he had in you.”
Harmony leveled a glare at Drake. “No. You do not need to interfere. It’s over between Levon and me.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“He hurt my feelings. That’s about it.”
“Then I’ll have a talk with him.”
“No, you need to leave it alone, Drake.”
Drake looked over at Barrett. “I’ll be having a discussion with Levon.”
The one thing Barrett knew about Drake was that he was extremely overprotective of Harmony. Yet another reason he would never get involved with Harmony.
Not to mention the guy code.
Fortunately, the conversation soon turned to football.
“Look, we started out strong last season, and finished weak,” Drake said. “We’ll have to do better even before this season starts. Drafts and free agency helped, and we’ve all worked hard getting our bodies ready during the off-season.”
“Everyone’s healthy this year,” Mean Man said. “That’s gonna work to our advantage.”
Barrett nodded. “I’m ready. We’re all ready. We’re solid going into summer workouts.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m itching for the upcoming season,” Mama Diane said. “I can hardly wait for the games to start. How about you, Harmony?”
Harmony nodded. “Absolutely. Wouldn’t miss it. I expect you guys to be good this year.”
“We’re always good.”
She shot a look over at Barrett. “Prove it.”
The guys all laughed.
“She’s looking at you, Barrett,” Drake said. “There’d better be some takeaways.”
Barrett met Harmony’s gaze. “There will be.”
“I’m counting on a strong defense this year,” Mama Diane said.
The conversation continued over dinner—and after—when the guys piled into the kitchen with the plates and bowls to clean up.
The one thing everyone understood was, if you came for dinner, you were responsible for cleanup.
Mama Diane and the crew were used to cooking for large crowds. When he’d first started coming over here, he asked if it was an imposition to add him in. She’d told him she’d come from a large family and always wanted one of her own, but after her husband passed away, she’d never remarried, and she’d had Drake and Harmony to look after. And then Drake had gotten into sports and all his friends came over as kids, and continued to during high school, then college and pros, and it had been a dream come true for her.
But she’d taught them right way that it was their responsibility to do the dishes.
It was the same thing at his house, so it was a rule he understood well.
And since Mama Diane and her sisters were great cooks, no one complained.
After dinner, everyone piled back into the dining room for pie. Multiple pies, actually. Strawberry rhubarb pie, apple pie, pecan pie and cherry pie.
Barrett chose the apple pie. With ice cream, because pie without ice cream was practically a sin.
After he’d had his fill, he rinsed his dish and put it in the dishwasher, then hung out in the living room with everyone.
“How’s the house coming along?” Steve asked him.
“I close on it next Tuesday.”
Drake turned to him. “Have you decided yet what you’re going to do with it?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t hired a contractor. It’s a great house in a perfect location. It just needs a complete gut job and a total remodel.”
Harmony shifted away from the conversation she’d been having with Alyssa. “I didn’t know you bought a house.”
“Yeah. I’d been looking for a while. Found this place on the water, but it’s older, so it needs a lot of TLC.”
“What it needs is a bulldozer,” Drake said with a laugh.
Barrett laughed, too. “You’re right about that, but the location was perfect. It’s right on the water and has a boat dock. The property is in great shape and the dock is solid. It’s just the house that needs some work.”
“A lot of work,” Drake said.
“Okay fine. A lot of work. I need to find a contractor.”
“Harmony could help you with that,” Mama Diane said. “Have you forgotten what she does for a living?”
He’d honestly never paid much attention, other than it had something to do with mini blinds or shutters or paint or something. “Um . . .”
Harmony rolled her eyes at him. “I’m an interior designer, Barrett. I own my own company. And because of that, I have contact with a variety of contractors.”
He’d had no idea. “No shit.”
“Language, young man.”
“Sorry, Mama Diane.” He turned his attention back to Harmony. “No kidding.”
“No kidding. Why don’t you take me by your house, and I can assess your needs? We can go from there.”
Well, shit. The last thing he wanted was to spend any time in close proximity to Harmony. Especially alone. Not after what had happened earlier. “I don’t know.”