Page 52 of Yours to Keep

“It is,” Liana said. “I might get a motorcycle.”

I sat down beside her and Bree took her other side without hesitation, like she belonged here with us. Like we were already a unit.

That thought hit me sideways, but Liana took a long pull straight from the bottle and then saved me from my own brain. “You know what’s funny? I ignored so many red flags.” She shook her head. “Like… so many.”

Bree leaned in. “Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to dance it out?”

“Oh, I want to talk,” Liana said. “I’m drunk enough to be honest, but not drunk enough to cry again. It’s the perfect window.”

My jaw tightened. Great. We’re talking about it. On top of the fact that I’m going to have a permanent imprint of my zipper on my cock, I now need to listen to everything this asshole did to her. Fucking fantastic.

“He hated when I wore red,” she said casually and I drained half my glass of champagne. If this was how it started, I was going to be hammered by the time she was done. “Apparently, it makes me look like I’m trying too hard.”

“What?” I said, swallowing back a wave of aggression that made my veins feel like they were on fire for a whole other reason now.

Liana nodded, then flicked a glance back at Bree. “He also always wanted to know where I was. Like, always. If I didn’t text back fast enough, he’d ask who I was with. At first, I thought it was romantic. You know, protective.”

Bree’s hand slid onto Liana’s knee like she was trying to steady her. “That’s not protective. It’s controlling.”

Liana nodded, like she’d already figured it out but needed to hear it confirmed by someone else. “He also told me I ate too much sugar. Which is just rude.”

I felt heat climb up my spine, but I kept my voice even with an effort that deserved a medal. “He said that to you?”

“Mm-hmm. Said he was just worried about my health.” She snorted. “Meanwhile, he lived on protein bars and judging me.”

Bree smiled tightly. “That sounds exhausting.”

“It was,” Liana said. “I think I was just lonely, you know? And he was there. Until he wasn’t, anyway.”

My hands curled into fists in my lap. Violence flickered at the edges of my vision as I mentally catalogued things I could break, starting with his face and his career.

Bree shot me a look like she knew exactly where my head was going and was quietly asking me to stay here instead. I gave her a curt nod. If she wanted me here, I’d stay.

“That’s not on you,” Bree said to Liana. “Men who are like that don’t start out that way. They ease into it.”

Liana leaned her head on Bree’s shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Bree said softly.

As I watched them together, something in my chest became uncomfortably tight, but Liana straightened after a moment, squaring her shoulders. “Okay. Enough about Neil. He doesn’t get any more airtime.”

“Agreed,” Bree said.

“I’m taking a trip.” Liana grinned. “Not the honeymoon we had planned. I’m thinking Paris. Or maybe Greece. Somewhere with hot people and bad decisions just waiting to be made.”

I snorted. “I’ll fund the bad decisions. With conditions.”

“Much appreciated,” she said. “But I can fund my own bad decisions.”

Bree laughed and the sound hit me low and hard. I was so incredibly aware of her right now that I felt like my nerves had electrified or fine-tuned specifically to her frequency. Meanwhile, she didn’t seem to be aware of me anymore at all.

She was focused on my sister, and honestly, she was good with her. Their friendship seemed to be evolving so naturally with practically no effort at all. One of the things Liana had always hated most about girls was that they usually came with an agenda, but that wasn’t true with Bree.

She’d walked into a mess and made it lighter. My sister was the most important person in my world and Bree had been an amazing friend to her in an unfamiliar city.

She would make a great sister-in-law. The thought came out of nowhere, but it hit like a knock-out punch to the sternum.

I blamed the wedding. It must’ve messed with my perspective even though it didn’t even happen. Makes a guy think about things he doesn’t usually think about.