Certainly not easy.
However, now was not the time to be dwelling on shit like that. I had more important things to do.
Like celebrate Wolfe’s thirtieth birthday and enjoy myself. There’d be time to get lost in my own head later.
Much, much later.
Rhys
When Wolfe asked me to check on Amy, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I'd been sitting at a table on the far side of the room when Wolfe came over. The first time since I'd arrived, in fact. Although I hadn’t known what the man would say, I admitted I'd been a little disappointed when he had mentioned she was acting funny. I had figured Wolfe was being overly dramatic, but now that I was looking at her, I could tell something was bothering her.
“I’m good,” she said, although her eyes seemed far away.
“Sure?”
“Positive.” She paused for a moment, studying my face. “Well, that’s mostly true.”
I frowned, hoping she would elaborate.
When she leaned in, her mouth close to my ear, I tried to ignore the chill that raced down my spine. The woman turned me on simply by breathing.
“I’d be better if I could kiss you right now.”
I jerked back, my eyes locking with hers. The sexy smile on her face had me tempted to give her exactly what she wanted. Except half the town was in that bar right now, and the last thing I needed was for people to start talking about the three of us. In all the time I'd held out for a permanent relationship with a man and a woman, I hadn’t thought about the logistics. How it would play out in public. I still wasn’t sure what to do about it. And I'd admit, I'd been giving it some serious thought these past few days, but I hadn’t come to a conclusion.
“How ’bout a rain check?” I offered. “When we leave here, I’ll be sure to cash it in.”
Amy smiled but it didn’t quite meet her eyes.
Did she want this thing to go public?
Was that even possible? Being the sheriff was an important role. One I hadn’t really considered until the people of my county voted me in. That meant something. If I came out in a ménage relationship, how would they take it?
Shit.
That wasn’t something I even needed to be thinking about right now. For one, this thing between Wolfe and me and Amy was new. It wasn’t serious. We were having a good time. A damn good time, actually. And based on that gleam in Amy’s eyes, we would be having more fun tonight.
“Rain check it is,” she said before turning away to deliver a beer.
I peered down the bar to where Wolfe was perched on a barstool beside his old man. Beside them were Lynx and a couple of buddies Wolfe had gone to school with. They were laughing at something Calvin said. Wolfe was smiling when he looked up, his eyes meeting mine.
It wasn’t that I felt like an outsider when it came to the Caines. Not usually anyway. However, tonight I did feel a little separated. With the feud between our families a real thing, it wasn’t like I could sidle up to them and join in the conversation. Not to mention, I was the law, and those boys had never been much into interacting with me in a social setting.
Even if I wasn’t on duty tonight.
And I didn’t even want to think about what would happen when the town figured out we were bisexual. God only knew how people would react to that. Ours was a conservative town. Marriage was a sacred thing. Between a man and a woman. And once vows were spoken, only death could come between them.
Hell, Lynx’s divorce had caused a slight stir, and that had been nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Fuck.
I took a sip of my beer and tore my gaze from Wolfe’s, choosing to watch Amy as she maneuvered around the room. Funny how I'd been a huge part of making this party happen, yet I felt as though I shouldn’t even be here. And Wolfe damn sure wasn’t trying to make it easier on me, either.
Sure, I had put some distance between us these past few days, but that was because I felt like things were moving too fast. That didn’t mean I wanted it to come to a screeching halt.
Amy moved back to the group, leaning into Wolfe as the Caines continued to laugh and joke. When another round of laughter erupted from the group, I decided it was time to go. I damn sure didn’t need to be the third wheel here tonight. And I'd rather sit at home by myself than stand on the opposite side of the room and watch the two people I cared most about enjoying themselves while I was forced to keep my distance.
“Where you headed, Sheriff?” Reagan called out when I dropped a twenty on the bar and headed toward the door.
