I opened my mouth to try again, but Lennox came running up to us. She skidded to a halt next to me, and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, cowboy, mind if I have this dance?”
If I wasn’t so damn in love with her sister, I’d have thought she was flirting with me. Lennox wouldn’t do that, though, which begged the question… What the hell was going on?
“Lennox…” I began, but she shook her head and locked eyes with Josie.
“Listen, Ellis is about to walk in, and I don’t think you want him seeing what we just saw. Let me step in so that you can handlethat.”
Josie’s face drained of color, obvious even in the low-lit bar. God, I hated him. I didn’t have any right to—by all accounts,Iwas the asshole in the wrong, chasing after a woman who wasn’t mine anymore. The thought of her having to deal with that asshole set my blood alight.
Josie quickly thanked her sister, leaving me standing in the middle of the dance floor with Lennox as dancing couples tried to maneuver their way around us.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away as Josie sat on the stool and downed the rest of her drink. Then she reached for mine, whiskey dripping down her chin as she chugged it down. Cleo leaned in, saying something that had Josie’s brows furrowing.
“Stop staring at her,” Lennox whispered as the band said their goodbyes. They began gathering their equipment so the next act could set up. The bar kicked on one of their old playlists as Lennox took her sister’s place. She wrapped my arm around her waist and forced me back into the dance.
Like her sister, Lennox was a natural. She moved with easewhile I tried not to bump into every couple we encountered as I tried to catch a glance of Josie and Ellis. We were on our second pass when she squeezed my hand and brought my attention back to her. “Don’t break her fucking heart.”
I blinked, turning my gaze toward the petite blonde in my arms. “Pardon?”
“You heard me, cowboy. I mean it. If you break her heart, I’ll kill you. There’s a lot of places to hide a body on the ranch, and I won’t think twice about shoving your dick back up?—”
“I’m not gonna break her heart,” I mumbled, glancing back at the table. “But I’m afraid she’s gonna break mine.”
josie
. . .
Damn it.
I’d barely made it to the table in time to toss back the rest of my drink and what was left of Lincoln’s, before Ellis stumbled through the crowd. The sharp stink of expensive liquor hit me before he did. He planted himself in front of me, bracing on unsteady legs, his jaw clenched tight.
It felt wrong seeing him stand where Lincoln had been just moments ago, all easy smiles and sparkling eyes.
Bishop’s gaze darted toward Ellis, his body tense with silent inquiry. I shook my head. If I so much as nodded, he’d have Davey toss Ellis out on his ass. As tempting as that was, this wasn’t Bishop’s fight. I needed to handle it myself.
“Is this why you aren’t answering my calls?” Ellis muttered. He watched Bishop and Cleo at the end of the table, ready to strike if they tried to intervene. “Because you’re too busy getting drunk at a bar?”
Empty glasses and half-finished beer bottles cluttered the rickety wooden table, but I wasn’t drunk. Not yet, anyway. Hesure as hell was, though. His breath reeked of his father’s overpriced scotch.
“I wasn’t answering your calls because you were acting like a dick,” I said, snatching Lennox’s drink since she wasn’t around to stop me.
Okay, so maybe I was a little drunk.
“And you’re acting childish,” he slurred. “You and I had a simple disagreement. Why are you being like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like a stuck-up bitch. Like you’re too fucking good for me,” he let out a bitter laugh. “Let’s be real here, I’m the one doing charity work.” He leaned in close. “Time to get over yourself and appreciate that you won’t find better than me, Josephine.”
“Maybe I’m not the one who needs to get over myself,” I mumbled, taking a sip and letting the liquid courage take hold. He’d never learn, would he? God, I felt so stupid. Cleo and Lennox were right. What the hell was I doing with this jerk? “Maybe I don’t want to be with someone who blatantly ignores every warning they’ve been given.”
“Josephine…”
I slammed my hands down on the table, the sharp crack cutting through the din around us. “See? Just like that. How many times have I asked you to stop calling me that? I hate it. And I hate that I’ve told you how much I hate it, but you still don’t listen.”
He blinked at me, confusion dulling his glassy, unfocused eyes. If the crowd hadn’t been so loud, I was sure I’d hear the thunder of both our hearts pounding out of sync.
“Maybe the truth is I don’t want to be with you anymore. Maybe I never did. Maybe I thought you were a better man than you are. We’re done, Ellis. Don’t call me. Lose my number.” I turned in my chair to face him fully, adrenaline fueling a bravery I didn’t fully feel. “And while you’re at it,” I added, voice steady, “lose my father’s number too. Seems like we both made a fucking mistake.”
