Chapter 14
Garrett
I pull into the parking lot of Cheers ‘n Beers, the bar Brennan’s older brother opened around the time I was born, and park next to Charlie’s car.
The rain promised by the gray skies finally starts to fall and I race for the entrance, shaking water out of my hair as I step through the front door.
My sister waves from a table in the back and I make my way over.
“Early as usual.” She smirks as I take a seat.
“Says the woman who got here before me.”
“Only because I knew you’d pick a spot at the bar and things are so much better at a table.
” She laughs, her attention flicking to Connor as he comes through the door.
He smiles when he finds us, lifting a hand and crossing the room.
Where Charlie got our dad’s dark features, Connor and I took after our mother.
My hair changed from blond to brown as I aged, but his didn’t.
My memories of my mother are blurred, but seeing him always makes me feel closer to her.
“Hey there, big brother.” Connor drops into the seat across from Charlie. “How was the trip?”
“Don’t mention the word fun,” our sister says with a laugh. “He doesn’t like that at all.”
I shoot her a warning look. “You know, I’ve been thinking about it, and you might be right. Maybe I do have something against enjoying myself.”
She narrows her eyes, sensing a trap. “What makes you say that?”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Charlie laughs lightly and slaps me on the arm as Brennen arrives with his wife Maya, followed by Lily.
We order drinks and shoot the shit, filling each other in on our lives and discussing world events.
While only two of the people at the table are related to me by blood, these people are family.
We grew up together. Stood up for each other through hard times and celebrated wins together.
I should really come out with them more often.
I smile, thinking of Angela and the way her face brightened when she talked about her cousins. I get that. I really do. Like it or not, she and I might have more in common than I thought.
“What’s got you grinning so big?” Connor asks and I snap my attention his way.
“Just thinking about someone I met in the Keys.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.” Charlie sits back, shaking her head as she sips her drink. “He’s talking about a work someone. One of the Huttons.”
“Still.” Lily leans on the table and points my way. “If she has him smiling like that…”
Charlie frowns, gives me the onceover, then cocks her head. “She does have a point. Maybe there’s more to Angela Hutton than meets the eye?”
I shake my head and stare into my whiskey.
What am I supposed to say to that? I kissed her to make a point and now I can’t get her out of my head.
I jacked off in the shower, imagining her on her knees, begging for my cock because that was supposed to make me stop thinking about her, but she’s still in my head, driving me even more crazy than before.
I’m going to work closely with her and don’t know how to pull that off since my dick thickens every time I hear her name.
Yeah. That ought to shut everyone up.
I take a drink to buy myself time when I hear a voice that makes my balls climb back into my body.
“Oh, shit. Bear? I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
I turn to find Melinda, tucked under her personal trainer’s arm, her mouth drawn into a too-big-to-be-real frown. Her tits are pushed up to her chin and her dress is so short and tight, there’s nothing left to the imagination. Did she always look this trashy?
“Really?” I ask. “You didn’t think I’d be where I always spend my Friday nights when I’m in town?”
“You barely come to these things.” She flicks her hand at the table with disdain. “Besides, I…you know…I thought you’d still be in Florida.”
“Of course. It’s not like I told you when I’d be back in town.” I shrug. “Oh, wait. I did.”
This whole thing is a typical Melinda move, designed for maximum drama since her ego can’t stand not being in the spotlight.
She’s here in the hopes that I’d want to lick my wounds with family tonight, so she showed up with her new boy toy to twist the knife a little deeper and suck a little more attention out of me.
“I sent you a text,” she purrs, snuggling closer to Gustavo—the personal trainer she swore was gay.
Unfazed, I let out a long breath. “I think we all saw that one.”
Melinda rolls her eyes. “I mean I sent one just to you. You never responded.”
“Didn’t have anything to say. We knew what we were to each other. You moved on.” I turn my attention to Gustavo. “Enjoy it. It won’t last long.”
Melinda’s jaw drops. “Don’t listen to him, baby. He’s just bitter.” She puts a hand on his chest, then leads him to a table at the other side of the bar.
“Wow.” Brennan throws an arm over the back of his chair. “That was cold.”
“That’s just how she is.” I finish my whiskey and signal for the waitress. One isn’t going to do it tonight, not with Angela and Melinda taking up so much mental space.
“No, I mean you. That was…” Brennan shakes his head. “I guess I thought somewhere, you must have cared about her at least a little.”
“I guess you thought wrong.” I sit back, frowning. Our waitress returns with my order, and I take a long drink. Between my sister harping on my devotion to work and yet another person I care about calling me cold, I’m starting to feel misunderstood.
Charlie sighs deeply, the twinkle in her eyes signaling she’s in love with whatever she’s thinking. “I wonder how long it’ll take.”
“How long what’ll take?” I growl, bracing myself for yet another dig at my expense.
“For Melinda to realize you make way more money than that guy and come crawling back to apologize.”
“Wow.” I huff a laugh, surprised to hear something like that come out of my sister’s mouth. “It even comes down to money for you.”
“Oh no, no, no. I want you to find someone who sees what a great guy you are underneath that prickly exterior and loves you for all the things that make you awesome, but that woman?” Charlie points a finger Melinda’s way. “She only cares about what’s in it for her.”
“Amen to that.” I lift my glass. “Now, let’s forget about my love life—”
“How can we forget something that doesn’t exist?” Connor quips and the rest of my friends laugh.
“Remind me why I still hang out with you guys?”
“Because we keep you humble,” Brennan says.
Connor grins. “And remind you where you come from.”
Charlie lifts her drink. “And you love us immensely because we are fucking awesome.”
I laugh and the conversation moves on. Across the bar, Melinda makes a show of enjoying her new boyfriend’s company, giggling loudly at his jokes, and sitting so close to him she’s almost in his lap.
Oddly enough, the one time I happen to glance her way, her eyes are locked on me. I snort and look away.
How did I ever find anything about her appealing?
She’s cheap. Tacky. How did I not see that before?
And Charlie’s right, she’s only interested in herself.
Maybe it’s the comparison to Angela I find so jarring.
Where Melinda is fake and superficial, Angela is who she is without worrying how she’s perceived.
Instead of working angles to manipulate things to her advantage, she works hard to do the right thing.
Instead of every move being about what she can get out of someone, it’s about what she can give back.
Melinda is a distraction. Angela is…she feels real. Solid. Like someone I can trust.
Maybe, I’ll text her when I get home tonight.
Shit. Nope. That has to be the whiskey talking.
I don’t even like her. Why would I text her? And why am I eating up more mental energy by comparing her to Melinda?
The version of Angela Hutton I met at The Pact was on her best behavior. She wants to win me over because of the business deal, nothing more, nothing less.
The only thing I can trust people to do is look out for themselves. Only a fool would expect anything different.