“I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“Right,” I say with a snicker. “What kind of dog are you looking for?”
“A big one.”
“One that suits your personality.”
“Amongst other things.” His comment makes me laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re so full of yourself, pee-wee.”
“That’s rich coming from you. You’re just jealous my anaconda is bigger than yours.”
“We both know that’s not true,” I say, placing my hand on his shoulder and squeezing it.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. When we were younger, stupider, we even measured said appendages—just to put it to rest once and for all. I won, but to this day he refuses to accept it. His defense at the time was he’d gone swimming earlier, and the apparent shrinkage hadn’t worn off yet. Deep down we both knew that was bullshit. I’ve offered him a redo numerous times, but to this day, he’s yet to take me up on the offer. That alone speaks volumes.
We’re both laughing when we push through the front doors and into the reception area. I’m glad he forced me to get out of the house. I’m feeling better already.
Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t last long.
I freeze as soon as I see her.
Her pretty caramel eyes widen the moment they land on me. What the fuck. Is this some kind of sick joke? My eyes dart to Grayson, and by the huge smile on his face, I get the feeling he knew she’d be here.
I abruptly turn, reaching for the door handle, but Grayson grabs my arm. “Oh, no you don’t,” he angrily whispers.
“You brought me here on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My back remains to her. I can’t even bring myself to turn.
“You’re a fucking liar, Edwards,” I mumble through gritted teeth.
“Morning, Red,” Grayson says, in an ever so chirpy voice. Again, I have an urge to punch him. “Small world. Fancy seeing you here.” I glance over my shoulder just in time to see her eyes narrow at him. Yep, I was right, he knew she was here, but how? “You remember my friend, Ashton, right?”
Grayson grabs hold of my arm, tugging me forward like a child. Emma’s eyes dart to me briefly before narrowing back on him. At least her snarky attitude is directed at someone else for a change.
I use this time to drink her in. She’s a hot mess. Her long hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and there’s not a scrap of makeup on her face. She looks tired and stressed, but fuck me if she still is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
She parts her lips like she’s about to say something when someone exits the door on the far side of the room. My eyes dart in that direction, and they widen with surprise as soon as I see who it is.
“Chance-fucking-Bateman… well, I’ll be damned.”
A smile explodes onto his face as he closes the distance in a few longs strides. “Barclay… Edwards,” he says as his eyes dart between us.
We clasp each other briefly in a one-arm hug. “It’s been years. How are you?”
“Never been better,” he says. “How have you been, mate?” His Australian accent is still as strong as ever. The ladies used to fall over that shit back in the day.
“Good,” I reply.
He moves to Grayson next, and they clasp hands.
“Still modeling?”
“Nah. I haven’t done that for years.”
“Me either,” I add.
“You?”
“I do the occasional shoot,” Chance replies with a shrug.
“I take it you’re still living in the area?”
“Yeah. I’m a family man now.”
“Wow. Someone finally tamed the unattainable, hey?”
“Something like that,” he says, laughing. “What about you? Are you still dating that blonde model… what was her name again?”
Shit.
“Anastasia,” I say as my gaze moves to my feet.
“She was a wild one, that one.”
If only he knew.
Grayson shakes his head, warning Chance not to go there.
Thank fuck.
“Ashton and I ran into Bryce some years back,” he says, changing the subject. “We called you a few times to see if you wanted to meet up, but when you didn’t get back to us, we thought maybe you’d changed your number.”
“My number’s still the same,” Chance replies with a shrug. “I went into hiatus for a while, you could say. Long story.”
The three of us, along with Bryce, shared that same agent. We hit it off the moment we met. Unlike some of the other stuck-up fuckers in the industry, those two were our kind of people.
Modeling wasn’t a career I ever took seriously. Grayson was doing it to pay his way through college. That’s how I fell into it. The money was good and helped get our business off the ground. Unlike Grayson, though, I’m a trust fund baby, so in reality, I didn’t need the extra cash. But watching my best friend work hard for everything in life, inspired me. It became important for me to follow in his footsteps, forging my own way in the world. I saw the pride and self-satisfaction it gave him, and I wanted a piece of it.
All my life I’ve had things handed to me on a silver platter, and although modeling was a short-term thing, my father despised my career choice. He always presumed I’d join the family business. For a time, I’d considered it, but things change. I now inspire to be nothing like him. He’s not the man I once looked up to.
“Baaa,” I hear, and it’s only then that I realize a goat is standing beside Chance.
Following my line of sight, his face lights up as he looks down at the small creature below.
“Pixy,” he says, addressing the goat. “This is Ashton and Grayson, old friends of mine.” I chuckle. Did he just introduce us to a goat? His gaze moves back to me. “Ash, Gray, this my boy, Pixy.”
“Your boy?”
“Yeah, he’s our adopted son. A part of our family,” he says, bending slightly to run his fingers through the goats shaggy hair.
Weird.
Shaking my head as I think about what he just said, then my heart drops into the pit of my stomach. Our. He said our.
My eyes dart back to Emma, and there’s an adoring look on her face as she watches them.
Is she the other part of his our?
Are the three of them a family?
The thought makes my stomach roil. Is that why she wouldn’t come home with me last night? Jesus. I may be a lot of things, but a homewrecker isn’t one of them.
“So, you two are his parents?” Grayson asks from beside me as his eyes move between Emma and Chance. He’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Me and Em?” Chance asks, before laughing. “I mean, don’t get me wrong…” he briefly looks over at her and winks, “… Em’s a babe and all, but she’s not my Aubrey.”
“Aubrey?”
“Yeah, my wife.”
“You’re married?”
“Sure am,” he states proudly. “I married my princess. You have to meet her. She’s beautiful and smart. She’s a lawyer, and she helped found an animal shelter back in Temecula before moving here, that’s how we got involved with this place.” He’s beaming as he speaks. “She’s an amazing person, and mother to my boys.”