“This is different. It’s like she transformed herself into someone she’s not. And I’d bet dollars to dicks, it has somethin’ to do with her asshole husband.”
“You know him, too?”
“I know of him. He’s some big-time lawyer, just like his dad used to be. Charlie ran off with the guy right after I finished BUD/s. Had some sort of whirlwind romance, got married, and has been living in New York ever since.”
“You been keeping tabs on her?”
Derek shook his head. “My parents used to keep me in the loop where Charlie was concerned.”
“Not anymore?”
Derek swallowed another gulp of beer. “Nope. I finally quit askin’ about her.”
The two sat there, sipping their drinks as the conversations around them continued to flow. The more he thought about the whole scene with Charlie and Caleb, the angrier he became.
“Just pisses me off,” he muttered a few minutes later.
“What?”
“The way that asshole talked to her.” Derek sat his bottle down and shifted in his chair to face Grant. “You should’ve seen him, Hill. He was so fuckin’ condescending. Cocky bastard kept shuttin’ her down every time she tried to talk. Like he didn’t give two fucks what she thought.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t call him out on being disrespectful to your friend.”
Derek ran a hand over his jaw. “I wanted to shove my fist down his fuckin’ throat.”
“What stopped you?”
An image flashed through his mind. “Somethin’ in her eyes. The way she looked when he touched her. Hell, even when he talked to her. She almost seemed...”
“Disinterested?” Grant offered dryly.
“Scared.”
Grant’s forehead creased. “Of you?”
Derek shook his head. “Him.”
****
