“Me?” Bishop finished.
I sighed. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“No offense taken. And I might actually believe your crackpot amateur psychology, if I couldn’t tell how much you like it…hard. And youdolike it. This isn’t about punishing yourself, Marshal. This is about giving in to what you really want.” He shrugged. “Or maybe you’re dealing with some shit, just like I am.”
“Maybe it’s both,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a phase.”
“Duly noted. Speaking of which,” he said on his way into the living room. “I assume you’re aware that Austin has a schoolboy crush on you.”
“That’s not exactly how I’d describe it.” Austin was a grown-ass man, and while he might not be as aggressive as Bishop, he certainly hadn’t been shy about his interest. “But yes, I’m aware.”
He came back into the room pulling his shirt over his head. “So, do you like him?”
“Are you seriously asking me that? Before I even have my pants on?”
“Yeah. Do you?”
“Yes, actually. He’s pretty great. He worked at the bar tonight, just to help me out. Unasked. But I’m not really sure what to do about that, because I wasn’t looking forthisto happen,” I said, arms wide to indicate our latest hookup. “And I’m pretty sure he’ll hate us both when he finds out.”
When. Not if.
Austin deserved to know about this…complication. Even if I had no idea how to tell him.
I headed into the living room, where I snatched my jeans from the floor and stepped into them.
Bishop followed me. “Oh, he knows, and he doesn’t hate either of us.”
My fingers stilled, my button only halfway through the hole. “He—What?”
Another shrug. “I don’t keep secrets from Austin. Not since Yvette and I tried to sneak around behind his back. After that, he made me promise.”
“Wait, you and I are…banging it out. And your best friend, who has a ‘schoolboy crush’ on meknowsabout it?”
He shrugged. “We discussed it.”
“You discussed it?This?” I gestured between the two of us. “Does that not seemincrediblyawkward to you?”
His brows arched. “It seems more honest than awkward. He’s a good guy, Charley. A much better man than I am. If what we’re doing means you can’t give him a chance, I’ll step aside. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll miss it. Especially on days when I either need to kill someone or fuckreallyfuckin’ hard. But Austin’s… He’s my best friend. You’re awesome, and he’s awesome, and I’m not going to stand in the way of that.”
I sank onto the edge of my coffee table, trying to understand what I was hearing.Austin knows. And Bishop, who wasmadeof hard edges and sharp corners, thought I should give him a chance. “I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about this. About us.”
“I don’t want any ofthoseassholes to know.” He waved a hand at the floor, and by extension, the first-floor bar. “They don’t know me, and they didn’t know Yvette, and they wouldn’t understand how much I still love her—how much I fuckingmissher—if they knew about this. But Austin understands.”
I exhaled slowly. Austin knew I was sleeping with his best friend, and he didn’t hate me. He still came to the bar to help out. He still asked me out. Todinner.
“You two havenothingin common, do you?”
Bishop snorted. “If you’re asking me what he’s like in bed, you’re barking up the wrong tree. He’s not my type.”
“No, that’s not what I…”
I mean, I wasn’tnotasking that. I guess.
“I’m going to need to think about this.” I plucked Davey’s keys from the coffee table and tossed them to Bishop, who caught them one-handed. “Give those back to him, please. If he was serious about opening with me in the morning, he’ll need them.” And I’d need the next eight hours to figure out how the hell I was going to face him.
But Bishop tossed the keys back to me. “Can’t. We have to go bring in Cam Senet. And as badly as I hate to cover those up,” he added with a glance at my still-bare breasts. “You should probably put a shirt on.”
I snatched my tee from the floor near the front door, where he’d dropped it. “Trust me; if we knew where to find Cam, we’d already be on it.”
