Evan felt as if in a gunfight, waiting to fire an unloaded pistol at a man with dead-center aim. “So, ah, you ever miss not having anyone else?” He paused as a thought struck. “You’re not married, are you?”
Smith grinned. “Married? Me? Please.” He chuckled. “What is this, twenty questions?”
“We’re a team. Even me, the FNG.” Fucking new guy. “Pretty much everyone knows a little about everyone else’s past. Except for you.”
“And you,” Smith pointed out, and then he ordered another beer from a passing waitress. “What’s your story, Captain Griffith?”
Evan grimaced. “Yeah, I loved the Corps, but the politics sucked. Not much to tell, really. I went to school, got a bachelor’s in accounting. Joined the Marine Corps as a logistics officer. Did six years and came home. More school, joined a posh accounting firm, and worked myself almost into an ulcer. So I quit. Now I’m filling in for Cash while he heals. Then I’ll go back to some part-time clients.”
“You can afford that?”
Now who’s asking personal questions, Smith?But hell, Evan had nothing to hide. “I made some smart investments years ago that are paying off. And I’ll keep working on the accounting side. Well, it’s either that or eat bread and water every day. And I like my beer.” He tilted his drink at Smith, who took his from the passing waitress and held it up in a toast.
“What about chicks?” Smith asked. “Never married?”
“Engaged once.” He kept his tone lighthearted, still sad about Rita, but his heavy grief had left him long ago.
“What, did she leave for someone prettier?” Smith teased.
“Nah. But she should have.”
Smith’s smile faded. “Why aren’t you married to her then?”
“Cancer came on fast. She was gone within a year. It was brutal.”
Smith frowned. “Sorry, man.”
“It happened. It’s over, and she’s at peace.”And she’d want you to move on.Evan put his past in the past. “So how come you’re not dating?”
“Who says I’m not?”
“The fact that you’re here with me on a Thursday night,” Evan said dryly. “Look. Reid brought Naomi. Lafayette brought Simon. And is that…Finley and a girl?”
“Damn.” Smith leaned closer. “She’s not bad looking. Maybe she’s drunk.”
Evan grinned. “Maybe.” He’d told himself he wouldn’t, but he planted a seed anyway. “Hey, I gotta know.”
“What?” He’d never heard Smith so laid-back before.
“What’s with you and Cash? You guys look enough alike to be brothers.”
Smith stiffened. He didn’t answer, and Evan wondered if he’d pushed too hard too fast.
“You think we look alike?” Smith asked, quiet, staring down at his beer.
“Yes. But maybe it’s just me. I don’t think Reid and I look that much alike, but I guess we do. Our dads were brothers, after all.”
“Yeah. Blood will tell, huh?”
“I guess. But that doesn’t make sense with you and Cash.”
Smith lifted his head, his eyes full of rage and pain. “Doesn’t it, Evan?” He finished his beer, never looking away. Then he stood. “Thanks for the drinks. See you tomorrow.” He left without another word, and Evan let out the breath he’d been holding.
Shit.Smith in a rage was as bad as Cash in a rage. Evan had gotten lucky. He crossed the room to his cousin. Naomi stood at the bar talking to the Jackson twins and Simon while Reid nursed a beer at their table.
“What’s up with you and Smith being all chummy?” Reid asked. “Slumming?”
“Ha ha.”
