Page 70 of Spurred On

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It hurt.

It hurt watching Sidney with Ben. Watching them dance, laugh, chat. It even hurt when Ben was milling about the room without her, because the bastard’s gaze was almost always on her.

What made it even worse was that Ben was his buddy.

That meant, if Ben and Sidney became an item, Cody would have an untenable choice. He could either cut himself off from his friendship with Ben—and all the Wilders—or he could suffer, watching the two of them exchange goo-goo eyes for eternity. He wasn’t sure which was worse.

He was so discombobulated that when he saw Ben heading toward him he almost turned and ran. But then he realized, he was wearing the white hat. It was Brandon. Relief flooded him.

“Hey buddy,” Brandon said with a grin.

“Hey.”

“Great party.” Brandon turned and leaned against the wall, staring out at the festivities. “You got a real nice place here.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course”—Brandon shot him a wicked look—“this will probably be the only time I’ll attend a Stud Ranch party.”

“There’s a pity.” Cody looked him up and down. “I bet the ladies would love you.”

“Son, the ladies already love me. I don’t need to go shakin’ my moneymaker.”

“Hey, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.”

They both laughed, and then Brandon sobered. “My brother has a girlfriend now.”

Cody grunted. “I noticed.”

“And Cade has Lisa.”

“Yeah.”

“I . . . can’t help feeling a little left out.”

He had no idea. Both Cade and Claire were in love with someone, which left Cody feeling distinctly alone.

“I was kind of surprised when I heard about Ben and Sidney.”

Brandon’s casual comment gored him like a steak knife to the gut. He hadn’t been expecting it. “Yeah. Me too.”

“I don’t know why, but for some reason I thought you and Sidney had a thing.”

His gaze whipped to Brandon’s face. “Really?”

“Didn’t you two have a thing once?”

Once. Long ago. And no one knew about it. Oh, and a long, languid weekend. No one knew about that either. He lifted a shoulder.

“Must be hard watching her date another guy.”

Cody grunted. It was hard as hell. “If she likes Ben, I’m happy for her.”

“Are you?”

No.But he was trying to be.

And that was the crux of the whole thing, wasn’t it? Yeah, it drove him nuts watching Ben fawn all over Sidney, but she looked so happy. He did want her to be happy. Just like Cade said. Even if it wouldn’t be with him.

And if that was love, it sucked.

“Cody?”

Brandon was starting to annoy him. “What?”

“Do you have feelings for her?”

He blinked. It was none of Brandon’s business. But suddenly, he felt all worn down, beaten down, plain old down. “It doesn’t matter.”

Brandon’s interest intensified. “Why not?”

“Because she can’t stand the sight of me,” he said and, slapping his friend on the shoulder in farewell, he made tracks from the room. He’d had enough. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to think about it. Not anymore.