My words, which sounded rational enough, only added to the tension spinning inside me. My inconvenient reaction to Walker was muddling my thinking.
“Jesus, Jade. You can’t sleep on the floor. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
We turned together to the bed. It was a massive bed, practically big enough for me to run laps around it.
I knew the second Walker looked at me. I could feel the heat of his gaze on me. Glancing over, I smiled encouragingly. “Really, it’ll be fine. I’d hate for you to sleep on the floor.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Jade, but I promised Lucas that this was a totally platonic thing. I don’t want there to be any confusion about that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake. This isn’t some kind of little sister thing where you have to answer to my brother. We’re adults. There’re about thirty pillows on the bed. We’ll just stack some in between us.”
With a huff, I crossed my arms, staring Walker down.
Chapter Eight
Walker
Laughter, music, and the murmur of voices surrounded me. I lifted my scotch and took a quick swallow, savoring the smooth flavor.
“So,” Dave began, “you didn’t mention how gorgeous your date was.”
Sliding my gaze sideways, I shrugged. “Does that matter?”
Dave’s gaze met mine, a gleam in his eyes. “Not particularly. Except for the fact you can’t keep your eyes off Jade if she’s anywhere nearby. You sure she’s not the real deal?”
Don’t I fucking wish?
I kept that thought to myself. “She’s a friend. Actually, she’s more of an acquaintance. Her brother is a friend. He’s on the first responder crew with me. Totally good guy. You’d like him. Anyway, Jade—” I gestured in her direction, which gave me an excuse to look at her. Sweet hell, she looked amazing. She was wearing some sort of gauzy wrap dress in purple that made her eyes pop. Her dark hair fell in a cascade around her shoulders, the lights a shimmering reflection in her locks.
“You were saying?” Dave drawled. When I brought my gaze back to him, he winked.
“I helped her out in a pinch one night where she works at a local bar. After all was said and done, she commented that she owed me a favor. With Dee trying to call and text, I figured it was best if I didn’t come alone, so I took her up on it. That’s all there is to it.”
I wasn’t about to admit out loud that I’d thought maybe I could use this weekend with her as a chance to burn the fire kindling between us to ashes. I’d been trying to forget I’d ever even considered that.
Dave gave me a long look before chuckling. “Right. Go ahead and tell yourself that. All I know is I’ve never seen you look at a woman like that.”
“Well, she is beautiful.”
“True. Maybe she’ll be more than your fake date.”
Lifting my scotch, I drained the last of it. I could’ve argued the point with Dave, but that might’ve given me away. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, I knew I was drawn to Jade.
Dave’s fiancée, Jenny, slipped into a chair beside him. “Hey, babe,” she said with a slightly tipsy grin.
Dave’s gaze softened, and he lifted a hand to smooth her hair away from her forehead, his touch gentle. Here was the guy who never took any dates seriously, the guy who got skittish if a girl wanted to spend the night. Dave had never been the worst sort of player. He wasn’t like that. He just liked to keep things “clear” as he put it. He fell so hard and fast for Jenny, I was still giving him hell about it. Case in point: he leaned over to kiss the side of her neck and whispered something in her ear.
“Jenny, you own that man. He takes whipped to new levels,” I observed.
Jenny’s brown eyes twinkled when she smiled. “It’s a two-way street.”
Dave was entirely unperturbed by my teasing and slid an arm around her shoulders before pressing a kiss to her temple. “I don’t care. I might as well be whipped. We are getting married. Better make it worth it.”
I grinned. “You are, and I am truly happy for the two of you. You better treat him right now, Jenny.”
Jenny angled her head to the side as she smiled over at me. “As if I would do anything else.” She shifted gears smoothly. “So, Jade is nice. I hear Dave and I are the only two privy to your true situation.”
Glancing from Dave to Jenny, I shrugged. “You are, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Jenny’s smile was cheeky in return. “Oh, I love keeping a good secret. This one’s worthy. Dee’s an idiot. She cheated on you before, and now she’s tired of Steve, so she wants a change. I suggested she just cheat on him.”
Dave sputtered from the sip of his drink he’d just taken. “Did you really?”
“Oh, hell yes. She knows what I think of her. I have no reason to play nice. This is my wedding. She knows if she dares to make a scene, I’ll make her regret it,” Jenny said firmly.
Dave said something, and then they were kissing again.
I stood to go get a refill of my drink. In my conversation with Dave and Jenny, I’d lost sight of Jade. My eyes landed on her over at the bar. Some guy I didn’t recognize was talking to her and staring down her cleavage. I felt my metaphorical hackles rise up. This was a new one for me. I hadn’t had many girlfriends, simply because life hadn’t offered much time or space for it. I sure as hell had never experienced jealousy or possessiveness. Nothing like what I felt when I saw that guy trying to get a nice view down Jade’s dress.
As I approached, I heard the man comment to Jade, “I’ll get this one for you, sweetheart.”
Jade’s tart reply was swift. “I’m not your sweetheart, and no thank you.”
The guy was idiot enough to persist. “Oh, come on, it’s just a drink.” He said something to the bartender, who didn’t seem aware of Jade’s irritation.
I strode toward Jade, not even bothering to be polite and stepping between her and the guy. He was close to my height, but not quite. “Hey, darlin’,” I said, sliding my arm around her waist.
When I looked down into her eyes, I was startled to see fear flickering in their depths. Her breath was shallow, and her skin was a little pale. Although I didn’t know what was going on, I was instantly pissed off at the idiot.
“Excuse me,” he interjected. “I was just buying this lovely lady a drink.”
“And this lovely lady just told you she didn’t want a drink,” Jade said sharply.
Glancing at him, I sensed he was trying to play it cool. He hadn’t stepped back, despite me crowding in between them. Fuck that. Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “You always insist on buying drinks for women to tell you they don’t fucking want them? Let me guess, you don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered. “It’s just a drink.”
“She told you she didn’t want a drink. She’s also here with me,” I said flatly before averting my gaze.
“Maybe you should’ve made that more obvious,” he sneered.
I whipped my head back in his direction. “She doesn’t need a keeper.”