Prologue #2
“I like her.” He chuckled, and I shot him a look. “In all the years I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman not fall for your bullshit and shoot you down before. It was a sight to behold.”
I walked to my car in the parking lot of Pierson & Callahan and slid inside, letting out a breath when I shut the door.
“What a fucking douche.” I rolled my eyes as I started the engine.
I backed out of the parking space and pulled onto the main road, heading toward Haversburg to board the ferry going into Charleston, where my office was.
And I’d never been more glad to be getting away from a client—well, at least one of them.
Gabe wasn’t bad at all. Wesley Callahan, on the other hand, was a grade-A schmuck.
When Gabe told me how Wesley could be and gave me free rein to respond to him however I saw fit without repercussions to the job I was hired to do, I didn’t think too much of it. But something about him rubbed me the wrong way from his very first smirk.
Right out of the gate, he gave off average vain asshole vibes. Sure, he was very attractive, but I could tell he was the kind of guy who both knew of and relied on his good looks, and his arrogance immediately ruined any appeal he may have had.
I just got out of a short-lived four-month relationship with a guy who turned out to be nothing more than your run-of-the-mill narcissistic dick. Before him, I dated a few guys who ended up being conceited jerks. Needless to say, I’d had my fill of egotistical men, and I was so goddamn tired.
And Wesley reminded me of every last one of them.
His smirk. His comments. His smug attitude. And that was all based on our very first meeting. I didn’t need any more to know exactly what type of person he was, and he certainly wasn’t someone I’d willingly want to waste the precious air in my lungs on speaking to unless it were necessary.
I had a feeling working on this project at the law firm was going to be a headache, and it wasn’t going to have anything to do with the work itself.
I was walking down the sidewalk in downtown Bayport one evening with Gabe. He’d invited me to come out with him and a couple of his friends to a bar they frequented. Only after I’d accepted did he tell me one of those friends was Wesley.
I’d been working on redesigning the law firm for a few weeks now, and in that time, Gabe and I had become fast friends. He reminded me a lot of my two older brothers, just a bit more put together. That, and he didn’t give me a noogie every time he saw me. We just clicked.
Me and Wesley, on the other hand, had been butting heads every goddamn day I’d been there.
He traded in the terrible attempts at flirting he used the first day we met and went straight to trying to find ways to piss me off.
But I had Gabe’s blessing and even encouragement not to take it lying down.
Wesley would make a snide comment, and I’d give one right back, which I don’t think he expected at first based on the way it seemed to get under his skin so easily.
Taking shots at that asshole’s ego was quickly becoming my favorite pastime, though.
And I still agreed to come out because I wasn’t going to let his infuriating presence deter me from having a good time.
“So, who’s your other friend? And, better question, is he single?” I smirked.
Gabe chuckled. “His name is Luke. And he is single, but he’s more of a serial dater kind of guy.”
“Oh…one of those.”
“No, no. Not in a bad way. The guy is probably one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
“How do you know him?”
“He and Wes are best friends with my brother Blake.”
“Do you hang out with anyone your own age?” I quipped.
Gabe snorted. “I’m only five years older than them and you. Stop making me feel like some old man reliving his heydays.”
I laughed as we rounded a street corner, and The Sandbar came into view. “Never been to this place.”
“It’s fun. Lowkey. And the owner is a trip.”
He gestured for me to go first when he opened the door, and I stepped inside.
The bar was…something else. The interior designer in me was crying a little on the inside over the clashes of color and random decor choices, like the giant kraken hanging from the ceiling in the corner, but I had to admit… the place had character.
I glanced around, and my eyes fell on Wesley sitting at a table with another guy, who I assumed was Luke. When he glanced up and saw Gabe step up beside me, the scowl on his face made me chuckle. A part of me loved that my mere presence ruffled his feathers.
As we walked toward the table, I saw the guy sitting with Wesley lean over to him, probably to ask if he knew who the newcomer with their friend was. And as we neared them, I caught the tail end of his response.
“…a she-devil in a miniskirt.”
I smiled condescendingly. “That’s rich coming from the demon in designer jeans.”
Presumably Luke tipped his head back with a laugh while Wesley narrowed his eyes. Gabe chuckled as he motioned to the table. “You know Wes.”
“Unfortunately,” I said.
Gabe gestured to the other man. “And this is Lucas Carlisle.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” He smiled. “And just Luke is fine.” He was tall with dark hair and gorgeous hazel eyes.
But that name…
Lucas Carlisle.
No fucking way.
My entire demeanor shifted as I sat down, and I had to fight every instinct I had not to lay into the guy, not for my sake or his, but hers.
One man at the table was an arrogant prick with an ego bigger than the moon.
One had broken my best friend’s heart and made her leave town.
And Gabe was officially oh for two in the friends’ department.