Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Emphasis on the hanging out part.
Jason dealt with it by throwing his entire focus into work, becoming a modern-day Sherlock fucking Holmes with the way he cracked seemingly impossible cases left and right. Meanwhile, I turned into a certified slut, fucking every man who’d look my way, never ending the night satisfied. Always wanting more.
Always wishing for Jason…
Harry cleared his throat, looking around the dimly lit bar. A hand-painted wooden plank hung above us with the word “Romance” scrawled across the center. Appropriate.
I took a heavy chug of my Moscow mule.
“Well,” Harry said, “where are y’all from?”
We all shared a look before cracking up. Harry’s dumb icebreaker never failed. He loved throwing out that question around people he obviously knew the answer to.
When the laughter died down, I turned to my friend. “How long are you here for, Harry? And—more importantly—why did you tell me you were in Miami this weekend?”
Harry’s face flushed, and his eyes darted down to his fisted hands. I cocked my head, trying hard not to get distracted by how good Jason smelled or by how close his leg was to mine. I could practically feel his body heat radiating through his jeans.
“I had to make a quick change of plans.” Harry suddenly became very interested in the menu a waiter dropped at our table. I arched a brow.
“That’s not like you. Changing plans out of nowhere turns you into a demon.”
Harry nodded at me, chuckling. Jason said, “Yeah, ever since we were little, you would freak out when things suddenly had to change.”
“All right well, news flash, I’m a thirty-three-year-old man who can deal with all different kinds of things, change being one of them.” He leaned back in the booth and avoided looking at either me or his brother. What the hell was he hiding? I was an expert in human behaviors, much more so when that human happened to be my best friend. He couldn’t seem to sit still, and he was clearly chewing on the inside of his cheek. His pale blue shirt started to develop some slight sweat stains at the armpits—surprising since the room was almost cold enough to justify a sweater.
Plus, there was that dimple, the one that came out only when Harry was trying to hide something.
“It all worked out,” he said, trying his damnedest to change the topic. “I’ve been missing the both of you. Now look, we’re all here.”
I decided to give him what he wanted and dropped the subject. Maybe it was something he didn’t want to say in front of his brother for some reason. Maybe he’d tell me later when I asked in private.
Or maybe not. Harry always had a veil surrounding him and his life, keeping certain details obscure and opaque until he felt it was okay to share it all.
Jason, on the other hand, led life with all his cards on the table. He didn’t hide much, and that also meant he made it very clear when he didn’t want someone around. “So,” I said, taking another sip of my drink. “When did you move back to Blue Creek?”
The question was clearly directed at Jason, but he kept his gaze tuned somewhere in the distance, leaving me staring at the side of his head as he spoke. “A year after I left the FBI. I had come here after college since my grandmother moved here and she needed some help. I fell in love with Blue Creek back then and figured why not move here permanently. My life became too crazy, too unpredictable. I needed some stability, and this town provides that.”
“It really is. I’d drive up from Boston every week when Grandma got really sick. I fell in love with it here, too. Provincetown stole my heart, though.”
“Is that where you’re headed?” Jason asked. “Back home?”
“It is.” Harry squeezed his fingers and licked his lips. It looked like he was about to push himself to say something, but instead, he swallowed it back down. The waitress came around and took our orders, breaking my focus for a moment.
The conversation shifted to calmer waters. The last time all three of us sat together had to have been about five years ago, right before the seismic rift between Jason and me tore through all three of our relationships. I still thought about that night, way more than I should. Way more than I wanted to. Jason broke my fucking heart, and yet… sitting here, next to him, hearing him laugh and seeing him smiling and watching him eat and listening to him speak and—
Fuck. My heart may have been broken by him, but one thing was dead certain:
It still beat for him, too.
By the time our impromptu reunion was over, the tension had lessened, and the old links started to reform.
“It’s been a great night,” Harry said as we exited the Library. Jason nodded and gave an affirmative “mhmm.” He wasn’t as stingy with his eye contact either, looking me directly in my eyes and offering a smile that nearly matched his brother’s.