I shrug. “Wouldn’t it be inappropriate if Daisy and I kept going to every event in town together since we’re just roommates?”
He rears back, looking surprised. “What do you mean, you’re just roommates?”
“Daisy and I are friends. That’s all.”
He scoffs. “Bullshit. You were certainly acting like more than friends when I saw you at the last Christmas party.”
“That was an accident,” I spit out before I realize I’m sounding like a jerk. “I mean, we only kissed because of the mistletoe or whatever,” I add in a softer tone and take a sip from my drink.
He frowns. “You guys kissed? I was only talking about the way you seemed so comfortable together.”
“She gets handsy when she drinks. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings,” I fib.
“You forget I’ve seen you drunk, too. And I’m pretty sureyou’rethe one who gets handsy when he drinks,” JD points out smugly.
“All I did was run my mouth.” But the feel of Daisy’s soft body under my hands the morning after the wedding reception flashes through my mind, and I cough awkwardly.
“Yeah, and you also hit on Daisy in front of all of us. Not to mention, the two of you are inseparable. A man doesn’t spend every waking moment with a woman unless he’s either trying to hook up with her or he likes her so much that he can’t stay away.”
“Well, in our case it’s neither. You don’t know a damn thing about Daisy and me, and it’s none of your business, anyway,” I retort, getting defensive again.
But JD laughs. “You’re right, it’s not. But the longer we stand here, the more you’re convincing me that you’re already in love with her.”
My stomach flips again, and he grins as he reaches over to get his drinks from the bartender before dropping a tip in the jar. A growl threatens to escape my throat when I open my mouth to deny his accusation, so I have no choice but to snap my jaw closed and continue fuming at him in silence.
“Easy, loverboy,” JD drawls. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
I think I see where Ethan gets it.
“You … I … I’m not,” I begin again, but that condescending look on his face keeps distracting me. “Look, I don’t do that shit, all right? So don’t go giving her any ideas.”
His expression shifts. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t …” But he’s got me so worked up that I have to stop and breathe before I can go on. “I don’t do relationships. And I can’t have Daisy thinking there’s a chance something might happen with us, because I’d only be letting her down.”
Well, that came out surprisingly honest.
“Man, you can’t just pick and choose which people to love and how much. That ain’t the way life works,” he says matter-of-factly before he takes a drink. “Just look at the way I gained a wife and two kids in the span of a year if you need a testament to that. Hell, I should get Ten to tell you?—”
“You should just drop it and leave me the hell alone,” I mutter.
“Eh, but where’s the fun in that?” he muses and shoots me another self-satisfied grin as Tenley joins us.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, glancing back and forth between us.
“Landry thinks he friend zoned Daisy, but it’s givingfor now,” JD tells her and hands over her drink.
“Ooh. How fun!” She takes a sip and smirks at me.
That growl rumbles up from my chest this time. “No, it’s notfun. Nothing’s going on.”
“What about that kiss you shared?” she asks, tilting her chin up and inspecting my reaction. “I bet you’re thinking about it right now, aren’t you?”
Well, I wasn’t before, but now …
“He says they only kissed at the faculty party because of the mistletoe,” JD volunteers on my behalf.
“I wasn’t talking about the faculty party.” Tenley eyes me more carefully.
