Envy twisted like a knife in his gut. He wasn’t sure he’d ever have what his friend had—the perfect wife, a great kid, a house that was a home with a yard big enough for a dog. He wasn’t even sure it was what he really wanted. But Hope and Gabe made settling down look pretty damn tempting.
“That’s because we don’t need to hash over every little detail of every little thing.” Gabe looked at his wife affectionately. “There’s something to be said for not overthinking every damn thing.”
“I’m the queen of overthinking,” Hope countered as she poured two shots of whisky into a glass, then reached for the bitters. “You’ve never complained before.”
“Yeah, that’s because you’re my Queen too. And because I’d like to keep my balls where they are.”
Hope grabbed the bar towel off his shoulder and smacked him with it. Gabe chuckled and ducked his head to steal a kiss.
“Should I call Carter so you two can get a room?” Sean quipped, then realized something. “Where is he anyway?” It was a rare thing not to see Gabe’s right-hand serving liquor behind the bar.
Gabe stared at the drink he was mixing. “Night off,” he murmured.
Sean glanced at Hope as her worried gaze darted toward the dance floor. Sean turned in his seat to follow her line of vision.
Carter was on the dance floor. With Ivy. Dancing like nobody was watching.
His first thought when he saw them wiggle their way around the floor wasJesus-Fucking-Christ, not another one.
Honestly, he’d never met a person more hellbent on putting him into an early grave than Ivy Harrington. And she was going to do it by flaunting every rat bastard in front of him until he lost his ever-loving mind.
Except Carter wasn’t a rat bastard. He was outrageously outgoing, too good looking for his own good, and attracted nearly everyone who came his way. And there were many, from all different backgrounds, genders, colors, and personalities who came his way. But he was a decent guy. Upstanding, loyal, protective. And if Sean had to handpick a guy for Ivy, it would probably have been Carter.
The night in the bar, a few months ago, when that dick had approached Ivy and she froze, Carter had taken her away, kept her safe and cared for her while Sean, Gabe, and mostly Hope had handled the situation. Sean trusted Carter with Ivy, and if he had any say in who she was going to pick for this damned plan of hers, which he was under no illusion he did, he’d have given Carter a pass. Carter hadfuck buddy extraordinairewritten all over him.
And yet, watching them together, Sean couldn’t stop the tick in his jaw from working its way up to his brain.
“I’d say,” Hope said, interrupting his aneurysm. “It’s better she dances with Carter than the beefcake in the corner who’s been eyeing her all night.”
Sean’s head swiveled to where Hope had nodded. There on the bar stool sat a ripped Adonis type with so many muscles they covered most of his neck, leaving only his giant head bulging out from his crisp white shirt. Staring over the rim of a Martini glass, of all fucking things, Beefcake watched Ivy and Carter dance with an intensity that would melt her clothes with his eyes alone.
Shit. He should have stayed home. Sean chugged the rest of his beer before banging the glass down with slightly more force than necessary.
“Why does she have to be so motherfucking persistent with everything?” he asked to no one in particular.
Hope took his beer glass and replaced it with a soda water. She knew his routine and his one beer limit.
Taking a sip, he watched Ivy and had to admit, he liked seeing her like this. Carefree. Not giving a flying fuck what anyone thought. Losing herself in the music. Happy.
She deserved it.
Hope leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm, following Sean’s line of sight. “You know, Sean, I’ve always thought there was something between you and Ivy. Maybe—”
“You thought wrong.” His tone sounded unintentionally harsh. Being more than Ivy’s friend was a dream, and the more she pursued this ridiculous friends-with-benefits sex scheme, the more Sean was starting to think a dream was all it would ever be.
Even so, Hope looked at him like he was the wrong one and she was about to tell him so, but a customer came up to the bar with an order before she could open her mouth to speak.
One song shifted into another and the tempo changed slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Sean noticed Beefcake rise from his seat and head toward the dancing duo.
Fuck’s sake.His life was starting to feel like one big déjà vu. Before he could give it any more thought, he stalked over to where Ivy and Carter were laughing like lunatics on the dance floor.
“Can I cut in? We need to talk,” he said, taking her by the elbow and leading her away from Carter—and Beefcake making his way toward them.
“About what?” Her eyes flashed as she glared at his hand holding her arm.
He released her immediately.
Feeling a familiar, but still pathetic, sense of desperation clawing its way up his spine, Sean bent until he was at her eye level. “Please?”
