Ethan puts his hand on my shoulder, keeping me in my seat. “We’re sorry.” He looks pointedly at Rich.
“Yeah.Sorry.” Rich looks anything but.
“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Ethan says. “You’re right, I’m happy as hell and probably projecting. Don’t go, stay and hang out.”
“It’s fine,” I mutter. “I’ll finish my beer.”
Before I can stop myself, my eyes find her again just as Dev offers her a shot of something honey-colored. They clink glasses. Her wet tongue darts out from between her lips to lap at the salt on the back of her hand.
“So, how long have you wanted to get in her pants?” Rich asks, grinning.
I shoot him a sharp look. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
How he hasn’t grown an ounce since high school, I don’t know. The man is literally one of the most important tech geniuses in the country—so much so that I don’t know how he has the time to be here right now—but he has the emotional intelligence of a toddler.
Ethan says, “Dude, if you don’t behave yourself, we’re not letting you out anymore.”
Rich frowns, but zips his lips, and Ethan changes the subject to some consulting he’s doing for Rich’s company.
My gaze flicks back to Brie. Her hand flattens against Dev’s chest and stays there while she says something that, apparently, requires him to lean in. I count to twelve before they break apart.
“Dude, you look like a lovesick puppy,” Rich snorts.
Ethan leans behind me and smacks him on the head.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Ethan says patiently, “but let me remind you that Abbi and I also have a storied past. She thought I was a player.”
Rich shakes his head like he’s clearing it before turning to Ethan. “Abbi always liked you. You were forbidden fruit, her best friends’ older brother. Besides, Abbi was always chill. Brie is nauseating. And even if she weren’t, shehatesSawyer. Always has.”
I raise my eyes to the ceiling, willing it to collapse in on us.
“There’s a fine line between love and hate,” Ethan replies. “Both get the heart pumping the same.”
“But Brieseriouslyhates Sawyer.”
My gaze automatically moves past Ethan again.
She isn’t there. I turn to look behind me. BrieandDev are nowhere to be seen.
Thank fucking god and good riddance, I think as I will my pulse to calm down.
“You okay, man?” Rich asks.
“Just tired of hearing about Brie Casey.” I drain the rest of my beer and stand up.
“You aren’t leaving,” he says. “I flew out from Silicon Valley for this.”
It’s like a punch to the gut, and I slump back on my stool. “Seriously?”
He tilts his head side to side. “Well, I might have had a meeting with Layla this morning.”
Layla, Ethan’s little sister, has a cybersecurity business. The same one Mara, Brie’s little sister, works for.
And that explains how Rich knew about Brie.
“But I stayed ‘cause of you,” Rich hastens to add.
I shake my head. He might be a jackass on the surface, but the man’s loyal.
