Tate nodded. “I know. At first it really sucked, but now I’m just sort of used to it. He never flirts back. He may be friendly but he never looks at them like he looks at me. I figure if I got upset every time I ran across someone he’d had naughty playdates with I’d be permanently pissed off.”

Liv snorted. “Very true. And that’s a great attitude to have. Because, and I’ve seen this happen three, no, four times now, when a Chase falls, he falls. There’s no in between. They like a woman or they love her. Once they love her, that’s it. Matt straying is not something you’ll ever have to fear.”

Some moments later, Matt came out onto the deck and as Tate’s gaze was drawn to him, she noticed the blonde across the deck stared at him too.

“Still, I’m gonna be honest with you, Tate, ‘cause I like you and all. I’m gonna look at him. Because he’s mighty fine to look at.” Liv took a look at Matt and then winked at Tate.

“Remind me to tell you about visual donuts,” Tate murmured as she looked her man over. He didn’t notice the other woman at all. His gaze scanned the deck until he found her and he moved straight to her. The fear edged away a bit as his eyes held nothing else but her. He sat, giving her a kiss as he circled her shoulders with his arm.

“Hey there, Venus. Man, I needed that.” Winking at her, he leaned around Tate to blow a kiss at Liv. “How you feeling, gorgeous?”

“About a thousand months pregnant. Swollen. Sweaty. But I’ve convinced your lovely girlfriend here to like me. I feel much better.”

Matt flicked his worried gaze back to Tate, who’d come to realize Liv Chase just said whatever the hell came to her mind. What wasn’t to like about that?

“I told her I already did like her but that it sucked that she was all gorgeous and stuff and I was like a little blonde dumpling and you’d seen us both naked.”

Matt paused, trying to figure out what the heck he could say and both Tate and Liv laughed.

Matt cupped her chin and brushed his lips over hers softly. Just enough to make her ni**les hard and her pu**y sensitize and ready for him. “Tate, I love you. You’re beautiful. Liv is my friend but you’re my woman. Do you understand the difference?”

She nodded enthusiastically and he grinned.

“Hi, Matt! Fancy seeing you here.” The other woman had made her way over and sat, no, bounced her way into a chair across from Matt, her knees touching his.

“Well, Liv’s my sister-in-law so I don’t think it’s that unusual I’d be here. I just came to get cake and steal Tate away. Do you know Tate Murphy?” He moved back a bit so their legs no longer touched.

“Yes, she used to clean our house.” The blonde’s voice went flat, snotty. “I think she does a better job cutting hair, or I hope she does. I go to Atlanta to do mine.”

Matt blinked several times and sick humiliation seeped through Tate, replaced quickly by rage. Who did this woman think she was? But before she could speak, Matt did.

“What is it with people? You owe Tate an apology. You’ve just been really rude and I don’t like it. Tate doesn’t deserve that sort of thing and frankly, I’d have thought it was beneath you.”

“Don’t you care about what people are saying, Matt? She’s beneath you. Look at her. Have some self respect.”

“Sometimes. And sometimes I’m on top. And you’re not. That’s what bugs you isn’t it?” Tate kept her voice low so Sal had to lean in to hear it. The other woman sat back and gasped but Liv laughed before getting serious again.

“You need to shuffle your ass on out of here right now, Sal. This is my party and Tate is my friend. I won’t have her insulted by the likes of you and if you make me get out of this chair I’m gonna be even more upset.” Liv sat forward. Seeing that, Marc hurried over and Tate wanted to crawl away. Every damned time she was with them, something dramatic happened. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

“I’m just saying what everyone is thinking, Liv.”

“Everyone? I’m not thinking that. Are you, Matt?” Liv asked him and he glared at Sal and shook his head.

“What about you?” Liv looked up into Marc’s face before looking back to Sal. “Because see, you might need a dictionary so you can look up everyone to see what it means. You might be thinking that. Melanie might be thinking that, but I’m not and I’d wager most people don’t, especially those of us who actually know Tate so everyone isn’t thinking it, Sal.”

“Hey, beautiful, what’s going on?” Marc put a hand on Liv’s shoulder, caressing it. “Everything all right?”

“Fine. God, it’s fine.” Tate stood. “Liv, thank you for inviting me. If you ever need a sitter and Polly will let the baby out of her hands for five minutes, give me a call.” She bent and kissed Liv’s cheek but Liv grabbed one arm and Matt the other and they both hauled her back to sitting.

“You’re not going anywhere, Sal is. She’s insulted a friend and she’s leaving, now.” Liv turned her gaze back to Sal but kept her hand on Tate’s arm. Tate felt the warmth of friendship in the gesture and relaxed a little bit.

Marc looked to Sal and back to Liv a moment. “Okay, Sal, you’ve upset my wife and my brother’s girlfriend. I’m going to ask you to go.”

Sal hurried out, mumbling under her breath and within three minutes more, her sisters and Polly arrived and the story was told over and over until Tate stood and made the cut motion with her hands.