AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But your daddy does.”
His stomach turned, the implication of her words crawling through him like a deadly virus.
She didn’t just want money.
She wanted to destroy him. To make him grovel before his father and lose the business he worked so hard to build.
To win.
And with Evan’s reputation on the line, he was going to let her.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Andre crossed his arms and sighed heavily as he leaned back against the bar. “How much has he had?”
Eddie, the bartender, checked the tab. “Enough. His ex stopped by, and he switched from beer to whiskey after she left. I was going to call a cab, but figured I’d try you first.”
Andre nodded, watching Jace from across the busy dance floor. Jace lifted his glass and swigged from it, his throat working as he downed it. Andre shook his head. Whiskey. Not a good sign. Jace wasn’t a big drinker, so anything besides beer meant he was chasing demons.
Andre swiped a hand across his face. He’d hoped to not have to talk to Jace for a while. To give them both some space. Telling him how he felt had been a world-class mistake, and seeing Jace completely shut down around him afterward had damn near killed him. In one swing, Andre had knocked out his chance for more with Jace and irrevocably wounded a longtime friendship. Wham. Done.
But when Eddie had called him, Andre couldn’t bring himself to turn his back and send Jace home in a cab. So here he was. Like some asshole who didn’t know when to quit.
Andre pushed his way through the throng on the dance floor and slid into the booth. Jace lifted his gaze from his empty glass and winced when he saw it was Andre.
Perfect. He was cringe-worthy now.
Andre cleared his throat. “Look, I get that I’m not who you want to talk to right now, so you don’t have to say anything. But it’s time to get out of here. Eddie’s cutting you off and sending you home.”
“She had a kid,” Jace said, his words slurring together.
Andre frowned. Great. Drunk and babbling nonsense. Fun times. “Who? Diana?”
Jace shook his head, a slow move that seemed to take all his effort. “No. She had a kid. My kid.”
Andre blew out a breath. “Come on, man. Let’s get out of here. I think the whiskey’s talking.”
Jace shoved the empty glass out of the way. “I’ve fucked up everything. I always do.”
Oh, Lord. This was going nowhere good, fast. Andre climbed out of the booth and hooked an arm under Jace’s. “Enough. Let’s go, amigo. Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out in the morning.”
Luckily, Jace didn’t resist. Andre led him to his car, helped him in, and locked the seatbelt around him. Jace didn’t say a word. Just kept a pensive look on his face—like he was trying to do trigonometry equations without a calculator. Andre had no idea what had passed between Jace and Diana, but apparently it had been more than an alimony discussion.
Andre wanted to ask. Wanted to help Jace with whatever was giving him that look. But the gap between them had yawned wide over the past few days. And Andre doubted there would ever be a bridge back to the comfortable relationship they’d had. So he stayed silent and counted the blocks between stoplights.
Twenty minutes later, Andre had Jace back at their loft. No, Jace’s loft, Andre reminded himself. This wasn’t going to be his home anymore.
Jace had sobered a bit on the ride home and was able to keep steady on his feet for the most part, but Andre helped him to his room anyway. He told himself it was because he didn’t want Jace falling and cracking his head open. That is wasn’t because he simply enjoyed having his arm around him. God, he was fucking pathetic.
He helped Jace to the edge of the bed and then crouched down to pull off Jace’s shoes.
“Why are you moving out?” Jace asked, his words less slurred but still rolling lazily off his tongue.
Andre looked up to meet Jace’s intent stare. The green of his eyes swirled with so many things, Andre didn’t even attempt to try to pick an emotion. Drunk. That was the emotion, he reminded himself. “You know why.”
Jace put a hand on Andre’s shoulder, leaning in with some pressure. Despite the fact that he knew Jace was acting out of his head, the effect of having Jace over him in that position had Andre’s cock stirring to awareness. Freaking perfect.
Silence stretched and Jace’s eyes narrowed as he evaluated Andre. Andre shifted his position a bit, but Jace’s gaze flicked downward, no doubt catching sight of exactly what Andre was trying to hide.
