“Coop coming?” Tate asks me, shoving the pool cue in my hand for my turn.
I line up my shot and scuff the felt. “Doubt it.”
“The wifey doesn’t let him out anymore,” Wyatt cracks as he easily follows up my scratch by nailing a bank shot.
He’s not entirely wrong. Though it isn’t necessarily Mackenzie keeping Cooper from drinks with the boys these days, so much as the two of them mind-melding into a single entity that prefers its own company to that of others. They’re happy and stupid in their gooey love bubble. For a while, it was a relief when Mac managed to mellow Cooper out, but now their bubble is absorbing the whole house, and it’s not so fun anymore.
Or hell, maybe I’m just jealous. Maybe I’m resentful that Coop throws his perfect relationship in my face but does everything in his power to keep me miserable. There was no good reason he and Mac should have gotten together, much less stayed together. But they ignored all of us and made it work. Why can’t I have that?
“You’re up.” Tate smacks me with the cue again.
“Nah, I’m tapping out.” I glance toward our table. “Yo, Donovan, take my place.”
“Aww, come on.” Wyatt taunts me from across the table. “Let me embarrass your ass fair and square.”
I reach for my beer and find it empty. “I’m gonna hit the head and then grab the next round.”
“Well, you heard the man,” Wyatt says, slapping our buddy Donovan on the back. “It’s your turn to shoot.”
I pay a quick visit to the restroom, drying my hands with a paper towel that I drop in the trash can by the door. I step into the corridor at the same time someone exits the ladies’ room. None other than Lauren, Wyatt’s ex.
“Evan. Hey,” the brunette says.
“Ah, hey.” I dutifully lean in for the hug she offers. She and Wyatt might be broken up, but Ren’s been part of our crew for years. I can’t very well shun her, and I doubt Wyatt would want me to. “How’ve you been, Ren?”
“Pretty good. Been spending a lot of time in Charleston with my sister.” She lifts a slender arm to drag her hand through her glossy hair, drawing my attention to the full sleeve of tats on her skin. Most of the art is courtesy of Wyatt, who did a lot of my own recent ink. “How about you?” she asks.
“Nothing new to report,” I say lightly.
“I heard Gen’s back in town. We’re supposed to grab lunch sometime next week.”
“Yeah. She sure is back.”
A dimple appears at the left side of Ren’s mouth. Her eyes twinkle with amusement. “I’m guessing she didn’t come running right back into your arms?”
I smile faintly. “Good guess.”
Pensive for a beat, Ren moistens her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. “We should grab lunch one of these days too. Or better yet, a drink.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “You asking me out, Ren? Because you know I can’t say yes to that.” I might be a total asshole, but Wyatt’s one of my best friends. I’d never date his ex.
“I don’t want to hook up with you,” she answers with a throaty laugh. “Just figured it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement if we went out a couple times.” Ren grins. “Our respective exes don’t handle jealousy too well.”
“No, they don’t,” I agree. “Still can’t do that to Wyatt, though, even if it ain’t real.”
“Fair enough.” She gives my arm a warm squeeze. “See you around, Ev. Say hi to the boys for me.”
I watch her saunter away, hips swaying. Women with asses like that are dangerous.
At the bar, I ask the bartender to pour me a shot of bourbon for myself, then line up another round of shots and beer for the guys. The place isn’t too crowded tonight. Just the usual faces. Sports highlights flash on the TVs overhead while ’90s rock plays on the sound system. I knock back my bourbon just as I see Billy West grab a seat at the other end of the bar.
I hesitate. I’m not sure he’s any more amicable to my situation than Craig was, but I’ve exhausted all other reasonable means of fixing this thing with Gen. If anyone knows what is going on inside her head, it’ll be Billy.
Setting the empty shot glass on the bar, I walk over and grab the stool beside him. “We need to talk,” I tell him. “The hell’s up with your sister?”
Billy spares me a brief sideways glance. “What’d you do now?”
“Nothing. That’s the point.”
“So why are you asking me?”
I narrow my eyes. The little shit’s two years younger than me, and I still remember all the pranks Gen and I used to pull on him, so I don’t much appreciate the attitude he’s slinging my way.
“Because she won’t answer her damn phone.”
“That sounds like a you problem.”
Cocky little fucker. “Listen, I know she talks to you. So just tell me what I have to do to get her back, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Billy slams down his beer bottle and huffs out a sarcastic laugh as he turns to look me dead on. “Why would I want her to take you back? For the last year, I’ve watched you get drunk like it’s your job, hook up with a nonstop parade of college chicks, fight every rich prick you can get your hands on, and do nothing meaningful with your life.”
“Are you serious? I co-own a damn business now. Just like your old man. I work for a living. How’s that nothing?”
“Right, a business you didn’t build. It just got handed to you, same way my dad’s business got handed to us. But I don’t go around congratulating myself for it.”
“Man, fuck you. Not all of us had Mommy and Daddy at home cooking pancakes every morning. Maybe don’t talk about shit you don’t understand.” I feel remorse the second I mention his mother, but it’s too late to take it back. Anyway, I stand by my point. If Gen’s brother wants to pass judgment on me, he can save it. I’m not interested in his judgment.
“Gen’s finally trying to get her life together,” he mutters, slapping some cash on the bar. “And you’re doing everything you can to keep her down in the mud with you. That’s not how you treat someone you care about.”
I have to remind myself that beating the hell out of Gen’s little brother is not the way to get in her good graces.
“I do care about her,” I say roughly.
“Then here’s my advice,” he retorts, standing over me. “You want my sister to let you back into her life? Worry about getting your own life together first.”
CHAPTER 16
EVAN
Two days later, I wake up at the crack of dawn after another restless night. Rather than laze in bed like a bum, I’m up with the sun to take Daisy out for a walk on the beach, then give her a bath in the driveway to get her looking all shiny and clean. After getting dressed in my nicest outfit that falls between funeral attire and dirtbag, I clip a leash on Daisy and head back to the kitchen for another cup of coffee.
When I find Cooper and Mac eating breakfast on the deck, I pop my head out of the sliding glass door. “Hey. Just so you know, I’m taking Daisy out for a few hours.”