Jase didn’t move. He blinked hard. “You did a fuck ’n’ run?”
Like half a fuck ’n’ run. Like a just-the-tip ’n’ run. “Something like that.”
“Huh.” Jase didn’t say anything else. He scrunched up his face. Clearly, thinking too hard was going to break something in his brain.
“What do you mean ‘huh’?” Eli fiddled with one of the purple flowers. “You never just say ‘huh.’ You are the king of opinions.”
Dean shoved open the door, cowbell clanking away. “What’s the problem that made me cancel two of my afternoon appointments?”
“Eli had sex with his wife,” Jase said, recovering from whatever he had been thinking and sticking more purple flowers in the vase.
Dean pulled up a stool. “Isn’t that kind of the point of being married?”
“Dude.” Eli dropped his forehead to the cool stainless steel.
Dean clapped him on the back. “Anyway, I thought you two had sex in Vegas?”
“Vegas sex is not Denver sex.” Jase tossed clippings on the floor at his feet. “We covered this already.”
“’cause Denver sex means somethin’?” Brek asked from the door.
Fuck, how long had he been standing there?
“Because Denver sex is not a mistake,” Jase said in reply, boiling down exactly what was wrong into seven words.
A lump caught in Eli’s throat. This was all jacked.
Jase filled in the other two knuckleheads on the morning’s activities. Eli didn’t insert his opinions into Jase’s commentary. Instead, he tuned out the conversation until Jase finished.
“Why don’t you ask her out?” Brek suggested. “You’ve done everything backward. Getting married first. Having married sex. Moving in together. Having more married sex. This time, ask her out. Take her on a date.”
“I think he’s onto something.” Jase turned the vase a full 360, checking all the sides.
“Doing something in the right order with her might get you out of all the knots you’ve tied yourself into.” Dean stood. “And if we’re good now, I should go back to making money. Claire’s supposed to meet up with Velma to go shopping later. That always ends with a decent dent in our credit card bill.”
“Ours, too,” Brek added.
“And you both love it.” Jase tied a bow around the vase.
“Wouldn’t change it for anything.” Dean grinned.
“Nope,” Brek added.
Maybe they were right. The key with Marlee was starting at the beginning. Doing things in an order that made some kind of sense. Yes, Eli could do that.
If Marlee was still talking to him, which he wasn’t totally clear on at the moment.
“You should use flowers when you ask her.” Jase turned the vase toward Eli. “Purple orchids are excellent sorry-I-screwed-you flowers.”
“I didn’t screw her,” Eli practically growled.
“Thinkin’ you did,” Brek replied for Jase.
“She looked pretty sad when she came in this morning.” Jase’s words landed the blow.
Shit.
“Fine.” Eli nodded toward the finished bouquet.
