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I’m surrounded at the table at Gabe’s bar by three women who are incredibly interested in my sudden appearance. They’ve all introduced themselves and their respective football-playing husbands and boyfriends. Joss is newly married to Colt, the Seattle Phantom quarterback. Violet is married to one of the wide receivers, Ben. Scarlett is recently engaged to Tobias, the other star wide receiver for the team. They’ve explained that Harper is currently abroad with her boyfriend, on a long hike through Spain, and they’ve caught me up on the gossip about how he stole her away from his agent and best friend after he stupidly divorced her. It makes me feel a little less scandalous when I tell them I’ve just become a runaway bride for a second time.
“Was he bad in bed or just an asshole?” Joss asks bluntly, her green eyes flashing with amusement as she takes a sip of her whiskey sour.
“Not an asshole.”
“Mmm. The bad in bed will always kill it no matter how nice they are.”
“That’s not fair. They can learn,” Violet says defensively.
“I don’t recall you ever complaining about Ben needing to learn.” Joss looks at her skeptically.
“Because there’s never been anything to complain about, but not every guy’s perfect out of the gate like him, you know?”
“Fair, I guess.” Joss shrugs and then turns to me. “Is there hope for improvement?”
I laugh and shake my head, taking a sip of my drink to regain my composure.
“He’s not bad exactly, just not good either. A go-through-the-motions type. But that’s not the main thing though, honestly. I could deal with that, but I just don’t feel anything you know? No butterflies or like that’s-my-person type feelings. I thought it would come eventually and then it didn’t. He felt safe. We might have been able to make it work, but I don’t think I would have ever been truly happy.”
“Yeah, I’ve dated some guys like that.” Scarlett nods her understanding. “You definitely don’t want to marry them.”
“Marry them? I wouldn’t want to fuck them. If something’s not fluttering—I’m not interested.” Joss looks at us like we have questionable standards, and we all break out into laughter. “I’m serious. You all are making this marriage thing seem like a very solid plan.”
“Well, I hope so since it’s done already.” Violet smiles at her.
“Couldn’t let the farm boy get away again.” She grins in a way that makes my heart ache because I can tell she loves him. That bone-deep kind of love that I’ve craved my whole life and never felt. Well, at least not in a romantic sense.
I glance over at Gabe who’s working behind the bar, chatting up some customers and mixing a drink alongside his other bartenders.
“You sure there isn’t another reason?” Scarlett asks, her eyes following mine.
“Another reason?”
“She means the way you look at our friend, Gabe, there seems a little more than friendly,” Joss answers bluntly.
“What?” I feel the awkwardness climb up my throat. The idea of Gabe and me as anything more than friends hasn’t been something I’ve thought of since we were in college. Before Gin was born. After that, I put it out of my mind. He had football, a kid, and he tried for a while to make it work with Gin’s mom. Wanting them all to be a family until it was obvious she had no interest in him or their daughter.
“Never?” Violet raises a brow at me.
It feels odd to be having such a blunt conversation about our friendship with people I’ve only just met but at the same time these women feel like old friends. Like they’d just happily welcome you in any time you needed it and would keep your secrets to the grave because that’s just who they are.
“No. I mean… maybe a long time ago in college for half a minute when we first met. But since then, it’s all been very platonic.”
“You’ve never kissed or anything?” Joss asks incredulously.
“No. Is that so hard to believe?”
“A little.” Scarlett raises her brows. “Gabe is just…”
“Just what?”
“I mean he has that room here at the bar, and he always seems like he’s a lot like Tobias and Xander. At least the way they were before.” Scarlett shrugs.
“What room here?” Curiosity creeps over me.
“She doesn’t know about the room?” Joss’s eyes go wide, and she takes a drink, shifting them to the side like there’s a conspiracy I don’t know about.
“Okay. Someone spill. Now you’ve got me all kinds of interested and a little worried.” I laugh nervously.
