When I risked a glance in Brady’s direction, he seemed totally at ease, listening and laughing, joining in with a funny anecdote, hitting it off with the outsiders.
Eventually, Benny meandered away when it was clear the women weren’t interested in him. Feeling like an awkward fifth wheel, I excused myself, but no one seemed to notice. I made my way inside the barn to where Abby had renovated and added bathrooms about five years ago. Just as I was finishing up in the stall, I heard the door open.
“I get to take the lead this time, okay?” Aerrin said, and I froze.
“Yeah, that’s fair,” Beckleigh replied before smacking her lips together a few times. “We deserve a good time after that guy the other night just wanted to watch.”
“Right?” Aerrin said. “I am ready for some fun.”
“And I think these bonfire boys look likelotsof fun,” Beckleigh added with a giggle.
My heart was beating hard, and no matter how much I reminded myself that Brady wasn’t mine, I couldn’t help the sudden urge to be sick.
I stayed completely still, making sure my shoes didn’t scuff on the concrete floor.
A moment later, the door opened again, and the two women left.
I counted to forty-five, hoping they’d all be gone by the time I exited the barn. I didn’t want to see the before part of whatever good time they were planning on having.
I wassuchan idiot. I’d naively come here tonight to apologize and work things out. But of course Brady had other options. He was a friendly, good-looking guy. And now I knew he was good in bed. I shook my head and stepped out of the dark interior of the barn.
Stopping abruptly, I realized I should have counted to sixty because Aerrin and Beckleigh were just now disappearing around the side of the barn and into the field where all the cars were parked. Maybe Brady was warming up his truck. That sounded like something he’d do.
Cursing myself and my own stupidity, I spun around to return to the bonfire. I’d seen Hazel Bradford with a bag full of s’mores supplies. I would go and eat my feelings and then head home.
But before I could take a step in that direction, there was Brady, casually leaning against the awning post, watching me. He had a smirk on his face, dimple threatening in his right cheek. I realized suddenly that he’d seen me staring after his new pals, probably looking like the last kid picked for dodgeball in PE class.
“What?” I snapped reflexively, feeling my cheeks heat from mortified embarrassment.
He straightened and held up his hands in surrender, grin still perfectly in place. “Nothing at all.”
My eyes narrowed and I couldn’t help the accusation in my voice. “Aren’t you missing out on your threesome?”
Brady took a step in my direction. “Nah. Abby’s going to join those nice ladies and have an interesting night.”
I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but something loosened in my stomach. Probably the anxious, jealous knot that I’d spent the evening twisting and tying off.
“Why not you?” I asked. “You seemed to hit it off.”
“Oh, they offered,” he said easily, managing another step closer. He was so close, I could have reached out and tugged on his suspenders again if I’d wanted to—which I did not. “Not my thing. Too many feet.”
That surprised a laugh out of me despite my irritation.
Brady stepped right into my space, one hand coming to rest on my waist as he dipped his head close to my ear. Then he whispered, making the fine hairs along my neck shiver, “I prefer to give a woman—singular—all my attention. And when I’m touching someone like that, I want them to know it’s me.”
His lips grazed the shell of my ear as desire made me unsteady. I rested my hands on the hard planes of his chest as his grip on my waist tightened.
“And,” he went on, voice low and deep, “I don’t like to share.”
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.
“You were jealous,” he teased, nipping my earlobe.
“I was not,” I lied, finally finding my voice amid the upheaval in my mind and body.
“You were,” he insisted, nudging me to take a few steps back into the barn.
“You shouldn’t play games like that, Brady.”
