Saint shook his head and ushered him over to the passenger side. Jay reluctantly handed the keys to him, and Saint opened the passenger door.
“You might as well stop fighting it.”
“Fine,” Jay grumbled, getting in. “I will allow you to chauffeur me then.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Saint replied, amused. He closed the door, hurried to the driver’s side, and got in. As soon as their seatbelts were fastened, they were off. Five minutes in, and Jay couldn’t help it.
“Have you heard from him?”
Saint let out a heavy sigh. “No.”
Don’t jump to conclusions. It was probably really late by the time they finished, and they were waiting until today for updates.Still,Jay worried his bottom lip. “Do you think it went okay?” They had no idea who these guys were—other than dangerous—or what shady shit they were up to.
“He was with Jack, Joker, and Chip. You know they had his back.”
“I know.” Jay turned his attention to the window. “I don’t like this.” How had attending a wedding turned into a covert military operation? It was unreal.
The wedding… Where he’d wrapped himself around Ryden and kissed the shit out of him. Jay hadn’t expected him to taste so damned good. All he could think about was doing it again. And again. And again. Among other things.
“So, you and Ry.”
Jay glanced at Saint. “What about me andRy?”
“You two dating?”
Jay’s heart skipped a beat. “What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure.” Jay didn’t buy that for a minute. He’d worked with the two long enough to know they discussedeverything. It’s like they were taking lessons from Ace.
“No, really,” Saint laughed. “We haven’t had a chance to talk, what with everything going on, but he did say he felt good about it.”
“Really?” That shouldn’t have made Jay as happy as it did. “I feel good about it, too,” he admitted. A thought occurred to him. “Did he…tell you he was interested? Before all this, I mean.”
“Oh no. He was deep in denial. I mean, deep. Like, the deepest recess of the ocean deep.”
Jay snickered. “I guess I was, too.” Whenever Ryden was around, his presence, smile, laugh, or scent usually caused some form of physical reaction in Jay, whether it was a shiver going through him or heat spreading through his body. Unwilling to accept it for what it was, Jay had become an expert in denial, telling himself it was a reaction to Ryden’s annoying behavior.
“You think it could work out between you?” Saint turned into the parking lot of Four Kings Security headquarters.
“I don’t know. I think so. How well does anyone know how things will turn out when it’s all so new? We don’t know each other.”
“You two have been working together for years now. A good part of that has been pushing each other’s buttons, but it’s not like you never talked or hung out at parties and events. Remember the night at the tavern?”
Jay sighed. “Why would you bring that up?”
“I know what he said was inexcusable, but I think the reason he was such an asshole that night was because he was jealous.”
“What?” Jay sat up and stared at Saint. “Jealous?”
“You should have seen the look on his face while he watched you, sitting there, flirting and having fun with those guys, making them laugh. I think he was jealous, and in his hot-headed, very Ryden way, instead of talking to you about it, he stuck his boot in his mouth in glorious fashion.”
That sounded like Ryden. “He apologized. Said he’d been off that night.”
“Yeah, I think it had been building and simmering under the surface.” Saint smiled softly. “You know, underneath it all, he’s a great guy, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my best friend.” His smile faded. “He’s been through so much, and yeah, he’s made many mistakes, but he’s built a new life for himself. I think he finallyishimself. He deserves to be happy.”
“And you think I can make him happy?”
