Chapter 28
Zack
Swinging through Aspen Springs on my way to Texas. Anyone up for the Painted Cat?
Brax
Hell yeah
Adam
On dad duty. Next time.
Zack
Let Ben have some granddad time. When was the last time all three of us went out together?
Adam
Not long ago enough to miss it.
Zack
Ouch. Wtf, man.
Brax
Ignore him. He”s in a bad mood because his girlfriend dumped him.
Adam
She wasn’t my girlfriend, jackass.
Zack
Just texted Dad. He’s on board with watching Ben. You’re coming out with us.
Adam
You can”t make me.
Brax
Ballsy thing to say to a steer wrestler, bro.
There were a million things I would rather be doing right now. Playing a cutthroat game of Sorry with Ben and Dad teaming up to take me down. Reading a chapter of the domestic thriller that had been on my nightstand for the past week now. Having my balls waxed by a sadistic Russian with a score to settle.
Literally, anything would be better than sharing a booth with my two asshole brothers, a mere twenty feet away from the bar where I had the perfect view of James having drinks with Essie, Chloe, and some blonde woman I didn’t recognize.
She was smiling. Laughing. Having a good time. Living her life like she didn’t care if I wasn’t part of it.
I took an aggressive slug of a whiskey that was meant to be sipped and let it burn through me. It hurt a hell of a lot less than James pretending I wasn’t sharing the same bar as her.
“Do you ever wonder,” Zack said in a way that had me steeling my nerves for hearing something I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I didn’t want to wonder about at all, “if we’re sitting in the exact spot where great-great granddaddy Thomas met great-great grandma Celine and bought an hour in her pussy?”
I slammed my glass down on the worn pine table. “No, I fucking do not.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Zack.” Brax curled his top lip in disgust. “Why do you say shit like that?”
Zack shrugged, unrepentant. “Pops into my head. No reason not to share. That’s how conversation works.”
“Conversation shouldn’t involve thinking about how and where our grandparents had sex,” Brax said.
“Why not? We never met them, and they’re long dead. Granddaddy Thomas had access to all the whores he wanted. What sort of sex tricks did Grandma Celine know to convince him to make an honest woman out of her? You can’t tell me you aren’t curious.”
Brax scrubbed a hand over his face and groaned. “Make him stop.”
Maybe I would have, but my eyes were already easing past them to James at the bar. She was twisted sideways on her barstool, an elbow propped on the bar, facing Chloe and Essie and the blonde woman. One pink-booted leg swung idly as she listened to Essie recount some story with wild hand gestures. Her hair was up, exposing the elegant length of her neck. Beautiful. So goddamn touchable.
If I were her man, that’s where I’d be right now. Standing behind her, my thumb tracing circles along the side of her throat, letting her use my body as a backrest while she listened to her friends, knowing later tonight she’d be all mine.
And that was something else I would much rather be doing than brooding in a corner while my idiot brothers discussed the sex life of our great-great grandparents.
Snapping fingers flashed in front of my eyes, blocking my view of James.
“Stop staring at her, man,” Zack said. “It’s getting creepy.”
I blinked and refocused on my brothers. “It can’t be creepy if she doesn’t know I’m doing it.” Which she didn’t. Because to know I’d spent the last hour staring at her, she would have had to look in my direction at least once. Which she hadn’t.
And god damn, that stung.
“Said every stalker ever,” Brax said. “What the hell is going on? You said you weren’t together. So why are you staring at her like…like…”
I glowered. “Like what?”
He shook his head. “Like you’re about to go caveman and throw her over your shoulder.”
“I’m not going to do that.” Although the idea was not without appeal.
But she didn’t want that. Didn’t want me. Or maybe she did…but not enough. She had sat right there in my office, faced down my brother, and told him as much. And I couldn’t blame her. We had so much to lose, and for what? She’d made the right call. I knew that.
The terrifying thing was that it wasn’t the call I would have made.
If she hadn’t spoken up, I would have told my brother the truth. Brought our relationship into the light and figured out how to deal with the aftermath later. Taken that risk.
But I would never force her to do the same. Who was I to tell her being with me was more important than her reputation? If that risk was too much for her, I had to accept it. Her career meant everything to her. And she meant enough to me that I didn’t want to screw that up for her.
The blonde touched her shoulder. James nodded and slid off her stool. Together, they headed in the direction of the ladies’ room, with Chloe right behind them. More than one pair of male eyes watched her ass in those skin-tight jeans as they went.
I took another violent gulp of my whiskey and then glared down at my glass, resolving not to look at James for the rest of the night. No point in torturing myself with something I couldn’t have.
“Hello, boys,” Essie’s husky voice greeted us. “And prig.”
“Hellion,” Brax returned.
The smile on her cherry-red lips widened. I had the feeling she wasn’t mad about the nickname. But she turned away from him and leaned into me. “Come on, sunshine. Buy me a drink.”
That confused me. She wasn’t into me, I knew that much. I wasn’t into her either, although I had eyes and therefore understood that, objectively, the woman was a smoke show. We had never been anything more than friendly acquaintances.
And then there was her whole weird history with Brax. Way back in high school, they used to be friends. Until one day they suddenly weren’t. He never talked about why, and as far as anyone could tell, they were now mortal enemies. But instinctively, I knew that if I hooked up with Essie and Brax ever found out about it, there wasn’t a lawman alive who would find my body.
I shrugged and got to my feet. The woman wanted a drink, and I was still gentleman enough to oblige her. I followed her to the bar.
“What are you having?” I asked.
“Vodka martini with extra olives.”
I nodded and took care of it, throwing some cash on the bar. “So what’s this about? You trying to get Brax to commit fratricide?”
Her forehead scrunched, and for a moment, she looked honestly baffled. Then she burst out laughing. “You think Brax gives a damn who I talk to? Please. He hates me.”
“Essie, I can feel his eyes trying to incinerate me from behind. He might hate you, but that doesn’t mean he’s okay with you and me having drinks.”
She snorted. “Boys. Still fifty percent Neanderthal. Zack had the same stupid concerns. Trust me, Brax doesn’t care what I do or who I’m with. If he’s mad, it’s because he thinks I’m not good enough for you.” She scraped an olive off the toothpick with her teeth, then took a lingering sip of her martini. “Anyway, this has nothing to do with him.”
“Yeah?” My curiosity was piqued. “What are we doing, then?”
Her gaze slipped over my shoulder and her lips tilted in a smirk. “I’m going to do you a big favor, Adam.”
And with that, she grabbed my hat off my head and placed it on her own, laughing.
Wear the hat, ride the cowboy.
Goddamn it, was Essie trying to get me killed?
“Essie—”
But I didn’t get another word out because suddenly my face was full of water. I blindly reached for a napkin and wiped my eyes clear.
Right in time to see James’s fine ass storming out of the bar.
“What the hell just happened?” I demanded.
Essie calmly sipped her martini, the picture of innocence. “Go get your girl, big guy.”
When I stared at her dumbly, she rolled her eyes. “Go,” she prodded. “You’re not really going to let her think I’m taking you home with me, are you?”
My gaze shot to where the door banged shut behind James. Hell no, I didn’t want her thinking that. “Tomorrow we’re going to have a serious conversation about minding your own damn business.”
But I was settling my tab even as I spoke. Of course I was going after her.
“Adam,” she called after me, her voice husky with laughter. “Don’t forget your hat.”