My eyes widened, and I waved my hand. “Whoa,whoa, pump the brakes there, Tiffany. We’re just having some drinks. You’re notwithme. So, if you wanna take a shot at your new stepmom and fuck her hypothetical dad, go for it. I’ll be cheering you on.” I held up my fist and shook it.
Her brow arched. “That wouldn’t make you jealous?”
“No,” I answered with a scoff. “I’m not the jealous type. Never have been.”
It was the truth.
I’d never been interested in relationships, and not because I had some tragic love story in my past that left me brokenhearted. I simply didn’t get the appeal of being exclusive and all of the drama and baggage that came with feelings and commitment. That didn’t mean I was against dating, per se. I didn’t mind wining and dining a woman, but any dates were made with the understanding that it wascasualand wouldn’t be anything serious.
I’d never had a serious relationshipby choice, and at twenty-eight, I still wasn’t looking to have one. So, I’d never been the jealous type because, one, I had nothing to be jealous of, and two, that would make me a hypocrite. And Ihatedhypocrites.
It’s why the girl Ihadmy eye on would have been perfect. When we first met, it was obvious she had no desire for arelationship. She was laid back, easy to talk to, had a good sense of humor, and she was gorgeous.
Sure, she happened to be a client of mine at the firm, but in my defense, I didn’t know she was a client when we first met—she showed up at my office a few days after our broken-down car meet-cute, and I was the lawyer handling her mom’s probate. That put a wrench in my plans for the time being, but what took itcompletelyoff the table was the fact that she turned out to be my best friend’s long-lost love…or some shit like that.
Ever the good and loyal friend I am, I hadno intentionof pursuing anything outside of friendship with Callie Bennett once I learned the truth. Plus, they seemed to have an awful lot of shit to work out—and that was just one example of the drama and baggage I wanted no fucking part of.
“Seriously?” Tiffany said, seemingly annoyed. “We’ve hung out a few times here and there, and it’s been great, Wes.Morethan great.” I flashed a smirk at that. “But I’ll be honest, I’m kind of in the market for something more serious or, at the least, something I know is going to go somewhere eventually.”
I sighed. There went my Friday night down the drain. “AndI’llbe honest…if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not your guy, Tiff.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m not going to placate you with words I know you want to hear just to get you into bed. I’m notthatguy, either. I’m just trying to be straightforward with you. Yeah, we’ve had fun together, but if something serious is what you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it with me.”
“Wes, I think you need to grow up a little bit.”
My brow furrowed. “When we first met a few months back, you weren’t looking for anything serious or long-term either, so you said. So, it wasn’t a problem then, but now that you’veseemed to change your mind,I’mthe bad guy and need to grow up because I don’t feel the same? Make that make sense…”
Her jaw tensed, and she downed the rest of her drink and set the glass down with a little more force than necessary before grabbing her purse. “Lose my number, asshole.”
My brows rose as I watched her get up and walk away. “What the fuck just happened?”
Had Iliedand told her what she wanted to hear, I would have been an asshole. That was something the old me would have done. I used to not care how I got it as long as I got it, and if that meant leading someone on, then so be it. However, I’d matured quite a bit over the years and realized that I got absolutely no enjoyment in toying with a woman’s feelings and hurting them for my own pleasure. It made things more fun, less messy, and less complicated when I knew we were on the same page.
That’s why I was upfront and honest just now with Tiffany, but I wasstillan asshole.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
I shook my head, tossing back the rest of my drink.
“Hey…”
I glanced up when I heard the familiar voice and grinned when I saw Lucas. “Hey, man,” I shook his hand before he sat down.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
“And I thought you’d be holed up inside your house with your favorite container of ice cream, watching sappy romance movies while crying in the dark.”
He cracked a small smile. “You’re such a dick.”
“But you love me.” He stopped a passing waitress andordered a drink. “But really…how are things? Have you talked to Callie yet?”
“No.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I plan to. I’m just…trying to figure out how to go about it. I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to work on getting Morgan to have mercy on me and maybe help me out. To say that’snotgoing well would be an understatement…”
“Yeah, good fucking luck with that. That would require her having a heart, and, well”—I shrugged—“demons don’t have those.”
That was another kicker with the whole Callie situation. Not only did she have a past with Lucas, butof course, out of every damn person in Bayport Cove,Morgan Hayeshappened to be her very best friend in the whole wide world. But she was still cool in my eyes, even if she had questionable friend choices. And I knew it pissed Morgan off that Callie and I were friendly, which made me want to be friends with her even more.
If there was one thing I found enjoyment and satisfaction in, it was pissing Morgan off without even having to try.
“Listen, you can’t rely on someone likeMorganto help you with this.”
