“Everything okay?” Brax asks as he moves around behind the bar, cleaning up from earlier.
“Just my friends checking on me. They’re the reason I’m here.”
“Were they supposed to come? They stood you up?” Tate asks.
“No. They set me up on a blind date, and he’s the one who didn’t show up.”
“His loss,” Brax says as his eyes flit to mine for the briefest of moments.
“Dumbass,” Tate adds. “So many asshats in this world. Totally his loss, girl.”
“It could’ve been worse, I guess.”
“How?” Brax asks.
“I could be stranded with him.”
“We’re totally the better option,” Tate says as she moves to the other side of the bar to grab a broom. “And it may be time to find new friends.”
I giggle. “They’re good people. They were tryingto do what they thought was best for me, even if I wasn’t ready.”
“Why aren’t you ready? Bad break?” Tate asks.
My eyes meet Brax’s, and for a moment, I’m embarrassed, but I don’t feel like he’d judge me—or that she would either. “Something like that, but worse.”
Tate gasps, stopping the sweeping motion and resting her weight against the broom. “Worse?”
I nod. “I was with someone for five years when he decided he didn’t want to get married at the last minute.”
“Oof. That’s rough. Did he break it off the day before?” Tate asks.
“No. Not the day before. He decided it as we were standing on the altar together, about to say our vows.”
“Damn,” Tate mutters.
“Fucker,” Brax growls.
“I would’ve killed him,” Tate says, shaking her head. “My temper and embarrassment would need retribution and blood.”
The smile on my face almost makes my cheeks hurt. It’s been a long time since I’ve smiled this much. “I thought about it, but I wouldn’t do well behind bars.”
Tate chuckles. “Same, girl. Same.”
“That man has no backbone,” Brax says, giving me the look people usually do when they hear about what Lucas did.
Pity.
“And the smallest dick I’ve ever seen,” I say, which is so unlike me but feels so good to get off my chest.
Brax bursts into a fit of laughter, folding forward to try to catch his breath. “Man, women are brutal.”
“Sometimes the truth hurts,” Tate says through a few giggles. “Sounds like he saved you from a life of misery…literally. Unless he was a pro at using it or other things.”
“No, he was pretty awful at all the rest too,” I admit with a little bit of embarrassment.
“Then thank your lucky stars you didn’t settle for a life of pleasureless mediocrity,” Tate says.
“You’re right,” I reply.
