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“You don’t have a–”
“Don’t.” Connor glares as he snaps over my words. “I don’t want to hear it.”
I nod and inhale. “Point taken.”
“We’ll finish this conversation later.” He hands the phone back to his mom and leaves the table without saying another word. At least the crowd on the other side of the bar isn’t listening to our conversation like we’re their favorite afternoon TV episode.
Everyone’s eyes stay focused on us as they offer zero pretense of doing anything else but listening. Ledger has his feet propped up on the chair opposite from him. He lifts his beer to his lips, swigs it down, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, while Alice rubs her husband’s shoulder and whispers something in his ear.
Seriously? Maybe Harbor has a point. Moving out of this small town where everyone is so up in your business, you can’t do anything might be a good idea.
Harbor tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Mom, I think you should put the photo away before anyone else gets riled up and remember we’re here for Ledger’s birthday party.”
“Nah, Pipsqueak.” Ledger winks. “This is more fun than what I had planned. At least for tonight. I still want to get that hot air balloon thing planned, but the wind was too high to pull it off this weekend.” He raises his drink again and salutes Cole. “But really, there’s nothing better than seeing my younger brother’s head spin and over his best friend sticking it to our sister. That’s hilarious.”
“Ledger Dominic Slater.” Alice slaps her hands on her hips. “That’s crass and uncalled for.”
“You tell me, Mom. What makes you think they didn’t finish that session without having sex?”
“Ledger,” Harbor growls as she refuses to meet my gaze. “What I do is none of your business.” She swallows hard. “But nothing happened. We took the photos, and that’s it.”
Perfect. Two for two. Clearly, we aren’t as close as I thought. This was the perfect opportunity to tell everyone we’re together. Or to, at last, continue with the uncalled-for terminology. But to flat-out deny it, and lie? That’s drawing a pretty deep line in the sand. If we tell them the truth later, everyone’s going to be angry we lied.
I rake a hand through my hair. Not that it matters. Connor is pissed, and Harbor clearly doesn’t want anyone to know we’ve been seeing each other.
“Like Harbor said, nothing happened.” I might as well go down with the ship. “We’re professionals that took photos for a photographer. Nothing else, and never will be anything else.”
I should have known. Nothing good can come from this. I’ve lost my best friend. And never had Harbor in the first place. We’ve been ‘seeing where things go’ for weeks. If she hasn’t decided by now that it’s going somewhere, we’re at a dead end.
“I need to go. Ledger, have a great birthday. Sorry for the drama.” I spin on my heel and march to the bar as far away from Harbor and her family as I can get without broaching Connor’s space, where he sits in the corner with his phone pressed to his ear in a deep conversation with someone. Someone who isn’t me. Talk about a shitty night.
“What can I get you?” The bartender smiles and slings a white dishrag over his shoulder.
“I’ll take a shot of tequila.”
He arches his eyebrows. “The hard stuff?”
“Yeah.” I nod and slide onto the empty stool. “Tonight calls for the heavy hitters. I’ll call an Uber if I get too shitfaced.”
“You’re on, man.”
As the alcohol burns my throat, I watch Harbor and her family in the mirror behind the bar. Harbor goes on with her evening like I wasn’t ever there. She flits from one person to another, chatting and talking about who knows what. She smiles. She laughs. She acts like nothing’s wrong. And I’m up here, drawing back my second shot while realizing she never intended for her family to find out we were together.
Rick, one of Ledger’s friends, wraps his arm around her shoulder and asks her something. When her eyes dart to me, she licks her lips and lays her head on his shoulder. Peachy. She doesn’t care if he feels her up in front of everyone.
“Cole?” A voice from my past causes me to jump and spin on the stool. Hadley, my ex, stands beside my seat with her face painted perfectly to accentuate the clothes that fit her like a second skin. Blonde hair is brushed until it shines under the lights. A midriff-baring top that’s paired with a skirt that almost shows more thigh than a swimsuit and lips that curve into a pouty smile.
Did she get lip implants? I narrow my eyes and study the creases hidden under her lipstick. Lip injections. Harbor’s lips are all natural. Puffy and perfect. Hadley’s were always thin and set in a hard line. She was always disappointed over something I did or didn’t do. Typically, it was why I spent so much time with the Slaters.
“Cole?” She waves her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Cole.” Her soft laughter breaks me out of my daze.
“Hello, Hadley.” I lean back and try not to hold onto my anger over her dumping me and leaving. Except…. There are no feelings to block. All the irritation I had towards her has vanished. Probably because there’s no room for anything except sadness over losing Harbor before I had the chance to have her.
“Hey, babe.” Her eyes widen more as she places her hand on my shoulder and eases closer to me. The music switches to a slow country song about losing your woman that makes you yearn for a whiskey to forget her legs ever having been wrapped around you.
“Babe?”
“Yes.” Her mouth squeezes into a pout. “I miss you and couldn’t wait to tell you the good news.”
