Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TONY
Judging by Greg’s bemused but happy smile, I’d made the right call in bringing some of my team to come see him play. I pushed out a chair we’d saved for him. “Have a seat. You look like you need a break.”
He smiled shyly as he took his seat. “Thanks.”
I saw him glance over at Pete and Andrea. I indicated the pair. “Greg, this is Pete and Andrea. They were on the team that went to Florida.”
Greg gave them a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”
Two servers arrived with half a dozen plates of food. Greg asked for a cup of coffee, which meant he probably hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. I leaned over and asked, “You okay? You look beat.”
He shrugged. “I woke up earlier than I wanted to.” For some reason, a blush crept onto his cheeks. “And I didn’t sleep well when I took a nap this afternoon.”
I put some food on a plate for him. “Eat. You gotta keep your strength up.”
Both Marco and Michael snickered. “You’re such a mother hen,” Marco said.
I flipped him off before getting Greg a napkin. “The man needs to eat.”
“Thanks,” Greg said with a smile when I handed him his food. He looked over at Marco. “Congratulations on catching that guy in Florida.”
Everyone at the table chuckled. Greg looked confused. Marco put his arm around Liam’s shoulders. “I wasn’t on that mission. The only thing I caught was this one here.” He kissed the side of Liam’s head. “He said yes.”
Greg’s brows drew together, and then his eyes widened. “Oh. Oh! Congratulations! That’s wonderful.”
“Thanks,” Liam said, his cheeks rosy.
“Gabe and Michael ran that op,” Marco added. “They did a great job.”
“Hey! What about us?” Pete complained, indicating himself and Andrea.
Marco rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You did a good job too. Want a cookie?”
“I’ll take a whiskey, thank you very much,” Pete retorted.
Greg snorted a laugh. “Good choice.”
Liam took a break from devouring a basket of fries and said to Greg, “I had no idea you could sing. You’re really good.”
Greg smiled. “Thanks. I mostly learned to sing so I could do stuff like this. Piano is my first love.”
“Speaking of which,” Liam began, “I heard you’re going to teach Cody to play the piano. That’s so cool.”
He nodded. “Yes. It’ll be challenging because he’s so young, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You should have dinner with us the next time you teach at Jeremy’s school,” Liam said.
I could see by Greg’s expression that he was about to refuse. Then his brows drew together, and he blew out a soft breath. “That would be great. I’d like that. I’m down there every Friday, and I’m usually done by seven.”
Liam passed his phone over to Greg. “Put your number in so we can coordinate. Getting Marco, my brother, and Jeremy to be in the same place at the same time is like herding cats.”
“Hey!” Marco objected. “I’m very organized.”
“When you’re on a mission,” Liam retorted.
“I suppose you could just pretend it’s a mission,” Pete quipped.
The chatter devolved into snark and ribbing that Greg watched with a bemused expression. It was clear he wasn’t used to being in a group of friends like this.
I also realized that he rarely hung out with us after events where he played.
Granted, they had been few and far between, but he almost always turned down our invitations for him to join us.
I pursed my lips. I would have to start including him in more group activities.
We might be friends with benefits, but clearly, I was slacking on the friends part.
Greg’s half-hour break went by fast. He wiped his hands on a napkin and rose. “Thank you so much for coming to see me. If I don’t see you before you leave, have a safe drive home.” He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Thanks for the food. I don’t mind you being a mother hen.”
I watched him walk toward the back of the bar, no doubt to use the restroom. When I turned back, five pairs of eyes were staring at me. I glared at them. “What?”
Marco stared at me with narrowed eyes. “I can not believe you’re fucking him.”
Liam shoved Marco’s shoulder. “What the hell?”
For whatever reason, my brother’s crass words lit a fire in my gut. “Shut your fucking mouth. You don’t get to talk about him like that.”
Marco’s brows rose at my heated words, but he had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry, bro. I wasn’t saying anything against Greg. He’s a good guy.”
“Then what was that about?” I shot back.
He looked over at Michael, who shook his head and said, “You’re on your own.”
Marco flipped him off, then returned his gaze to me. “I just thought you were going to take a break from dating after getting rid of that prick, Luke.”
I took a deep breath. I loved my brothers, but sometimes they were interfering assholes. “Greg and I are friends.”
“Who fuck,” Marco added.
I clenched my jaw. “We’re keeping it casual.” I glared at him. “Is that a problem?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Not at all. It’s just surprising. It’s not usually your style.”
“Yeah, well, my style hasn’t been getting me anywhere, has it?” I took a long swallow of my beer. “I’m trying to figure things out for myself. What I don’t need is a bunch of judgmental assholes picking apart everything I do.”
Michael sighed. “Tony, we’re not judging you. We’re just worried about you.”
Frustration twisted my gut. I was so tired of having the same conversation over and over again. “I’m not discussing this with either of you anymore. Let it go.”
Before anyone could respond, Greg took his seat at the piano, pointed at our table, and said, “Hey, everyone! This next song is dedicated to Marco and Liam, who just got engaged. Let’s help them celebrate!
” He then began to play “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King.
The crowd cheered and sang along. Liam’s cheeks turned bright pink and he leaned against Marco.
My brother smiled tenderly at his fiancé, put his arm around him, and drew him close.
A heaviness settled over me. I was happy for Marco, I really was. But dammit, why couldn’t I find the same thing for myself?
When the song ended, several patrons came over to our table to congratulate Marco and Liam. Through a break in the crowd, I caught Greg’s eye and smiled, mouthing the words, “Thank you.” He grinned back at me and winked.
“Casual, my ass,” Marco muttered. I chose to ignore him. Instead, I closed my eyes and listened to Greg sing and play.
At some point, Pete went to get us more drinks, and I decided to switch to bourbon. The place had a decent selection, so I got a double on the rocks. I wasn’t driving, and I was tired of overthinking things.
The song Greg was playing ended, but he didn’t start back up right away.
I turned to look at what was going on and saw a slender white guy in a gray hoodie leaning in close to talk to him.
My brow furrowed. Greg didn’t look upset, but his smile seemed forced and his posture was rigid.
It made me feel like I should intervene.
Marco tapped my shoulder. “Who’s that guy?”
I shook my head. “No idea.”
“Greg doesn’t seem to know him either,” my brother said. “And he doesn’t look comfortable.”
Before either of us could do anything, someone else approached Greg from the other side and handed him a napkin with something written on it.
Greg read it and nodded, this time with a genuine smile.
He said something to the gray-hoodie guy and swiped through his tablet before starting the next song, something I didn’t recognize but everyone else in the bar did.
The gray-hoodie guy walked away, heading to the back of the room. Once he was out of sight, I turned back to Marco. “There was something weird about that, but I can’t put my finger on what.”
“Yeah,” Marco agreed. “It just seemed off.”
“I think both of you are paranoid and overprotective,” Liam chimed in. “You see bad guys everywhere because of your work. He was probably just asking Greg to play some obscure song he didn’t have the music for.”
I blew out a sigh. “You’re probably right.”
Liam leaned back in his chair. “Of course I am.” Marco didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t argue with his fiancé.
I took another sip of my bourbon. Liam was right. I was being overprotective. It was probably nothing.