That night changed a lot of things, including my friendship with Livie, and that hurts worst of all. I’ve since forgiven her, but things just aren’t the same between us. She was supposed to stay with me. She knew I was only there to ensure Mal got home without endangering herself or anyone else on the road, the way she’d been doing for weeks.
After Liv left, I’d been drugged. There was no doubt in my mind about it. That, or I’d become a master of memory repression.
“Tiago’s here!” Livie says, making me jolt. As she smiles and waves, she glances at me with an apologetic smile. “I told him you’d be here.”
Her apology makes me frown. We hang out with him all the time. We hang out with a lot of the athletes at school, especially the basketball players. I saw Tiago this morning at the park. I’m about to question her apology when she gives me an apologetic look that I can only assume means one thing.
“He texted earlier and asked if he has a shot with you, and I kind of encouraged him to find out.” She flinches a little. “But that was before you told me about you and Finn.”
“There is no me and Finn,” I say, tearing my eyes from her to glance over my shoulder just as Tiago reaches a spot where the ceiling lowers and he has to duck his head to avoid hitting the rattan lamps.
“Why don’t you go on a date with T then?”
“Because we’re friends,” I say, turning to look at her again. “And he’s too nice for me.”
“I think it’s cute that you’re so protective of him. He’s not an innocent virgin, you know?” she says.
I don’t respond. Tiago is basically Olivia in male form. They’re both in love with the idea of love, but neither has the discipline to keep it once they have a shot at it. Livie is a strong woman, though. She knows what she wants, understands her worth, and has an attitude that’ll crush anyone who tries to hurt her. Tiago is … too kind-hearted. Since I met him four years ago, I’ve witnessed his heart break countless times.
He may be a big deal in Fairview—and all around the country after doing so well during March Madness last year—but he's a small-town momma’s boy at heart. He doesn’t make any decisions, about business or life, without speaking to her first. Not his lawyer, or his friends.His mother. He’s not meant for today’s fast-paced dating world. At one point, I thought Mallory was interested in him and I was quick to talk her out of it. Not only was he not her type, but he didn’t have the bank account Mal required from the people she was interested in.
“I knew I’d find beautiful women at the bar tonight,” Tiago says, as he quickly hugs me and leans over to kiss Livie on the cheek.
“You smell so good,” Livie says.
He grins and glances over at me. “How are you doing after this morning’s loss?”
Heat instantly sears through me, and I glare. “Don’t.”
“You lost?” Livie shouts. “Damn it, Joss. You didn’t tell me that! We were on a streak!”
I groan loudly and clench my fists. We’ve been taking turnsplaying him one-on-one and had beaten him three weeks in a row, which makes my loss to him even more maddening.
“I didn’t lose,” I say through clenched teeth.
“I dominated,” Tiago says.
“You did notdominate.” I hop off the barstool and push him lightly, making him laugh harder. “You won by two points when it should have beenonepoint, and you called some technical bullshit on the two I’d scored five minutes before, so no, you didn’t win.”
Amusement lights up his brown eyes. “You’re being a sore loser.”
“I’m not being a sore loser. You didn’t freaking win,” I argue.
“Did you cheat?” Livie demands as she looks at him. “You’re the worst kind of cheater, T!”
“What!?” He rears back. “I don’t have to cheat! We adjust the game accordingly for you two to even stand a chance against me.”
“That’s bullshit,” I mutter.
“And we’ve been winning,” Livie says, eyes narrowed.
“You change the game whenever it’s convenient for you,” I add.
He rolls his eyes and starts speaking again, but we’re interrupted.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are we fighting about?” Will Hamilton’s voice startles me.
My heart drops hard into the pit of my stomach when I turn to face him and see Finn standing beside him. He’s wearing a white dress shirt and a navy sports coat. His hair is mussed and he's sporting somewhere between a five o’clock shadow and a beard. As usual, he looks too fucking hot for his own good, which renews the constant tug of war my body and mind have when he’s around.“I want you to help me prove Titus did this.”His words come back to me, and a wave of discomfort accompanies them. I look away quickly, wishing I could summon the anger I felt when he spoke to them over the phone, but I’m too pragmatic.
