Page 38 of Stud

All this drama had my mind drifting to the one person who’d helped me when things had caved in with Tessa. Summer Daniels. Meeting her on my first Habitat build in D.C. had been a stroke of luck. We hadn’t been in touch since before my divorce, and I hadn’t thought about her in ages, but this trip to my past was dredging up all kinds of memories. The urge to contact her struck. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure she’d want to hear from me. Not with how our last talk had ended.

That left the boys.

My generous swallow of Scotch burned a warm path down my throat. “I’ve met a girl.”

“Nice.” Emmett grinned. “The one you were having lunch with at the Habitat build?”

“Yeah, but there’s a funny story there.” Guitar licks reverberated through the room, chatter rising and falling with it. The guys stared, waiting on me. This story wasn’t just funny. It was downright ridiculous. “She was being all cagey with me, tossing out all kinds of mixed signals, because she thought…” I sighed, aware I was inviting ridicule. I looked at my egotistical brother. “She thought you and I were an item.”

His grin spread until I could see his fucking molars. “She thought you were gay? That we were dating?”

All I could do was nod.

He released a roaring cackle. “Honestly, man, don’t buy me anything for my birthday. We’ll consider this my gift.” He grabbed his ribs and tipped forward, laughing his ass off.

Jimmy joined in, nearly spitting out his wine. When the wheezing assholes finally calmed down, Jimmy dragged his wrist over his eyes. “Because I can’t resist, what made her think that?”

Christ. I shouldn’t have told them. Emmett would never let me live it down, and Jimmy would have enough material to make our soccer matches hell. I scrubbed my hand over my mouth as I mumbled, “She knew Emmett from the gym.”

They both leaned closer, eyes squinting. Jimmy spoke first. “Didn’t catch that.”

Emmett’s contribution: “Louder, fucknut.”

I was so screwed. “She met this loser”—I jabbed a finger toward my giddy-ass brother—“at the gym and had a crush on him until she found out he was gay. So when he met me at the Habitat build and decided to grab my ass, she assumed we were a couple.”

If they were wheezing before, the two of them were nothing but a pair of frenetic hyenas now, smacking the table and hooting. Every eye in the place was on us.

I sunk lower in my seat. “You two are such jackasses.”

“Man—” Emmett spat out one word before dissolving again.

“Too damn good.” Jimmy wasn’t much better.

Emmett took a few deep breaths like a goddamn yoga instructor. “I remember her now. Didn’t recognize her that day I visited you. But it’s Ainsley, right? She’s hot, man. Not great in a step class, but hot.”

“Yes, it’s Ainsley.”

“Back up a second.” All humor drained from Jimmy’s face. “Her name is Ainsley and you met her through Habitat for Humanity?”

His intensity had me sitting straighter. “Yeah. She started volunteering there, like, six or seven weeks ago.”

“Does she have long blond hair?”

“Yeah…”

“Curvy girl who looks like she should be toting a Chihuahua in her purse, sounds like a sexy chain smoker, and has a wicked sense of humor?”

I wasn’t just ramrod straight now, the air was leaking from my lungs. “How do you know her?”

“You will not believe this.”

“Try me.” My curiosity was spinning into dread. Had they dated?

He waved his hand in the air. “It’s nothing bad, just…wild. Sounds like she’s one of Rachel’s best friends.”

“Like Rachel Rachel?”

“No, dipstick. My other girlfriend.” He shook his head. “There are three of them, best friends who happen to have the same birthday. They met when they were out celebrating turning twenty-one. They’ve been close ever since. Ainsley had mentioned wanting to volunteer for something ages ago, and Rachel knew you were at the build and suggested it, but we didn’t think she’d actually joined up.”