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I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I said seriously. “Some women are just worth risking everything for.”
Ten snorted. “Bull…shit. There are too many chicks in this world, so many of them soft and curvy and amazing, that you can just interchange one for another whenever things get complicated. None of them are worth risking that kind of clusterfuck for.”
I smiled, amused by his complete naiveté. The guy definitely hadn’t met
his Reese yet. “I’m going to enjoy the day you meet your soulmate, and you have to eat all the crap you just spewed.”
With a dry glower, Ten muttered, “Never gonna happen.”
I chuckled and shook my head before I went back to searching.
“Lowe!” a new voice said in surprise as a third man joined us behind the counter. I looked up to find my coworker that everyone called Pick—no idea why—as he carried a crate full of bottles to the cooler before opening the door and stocking it. “What’re you doing here on your day off?”
“I’m looking for my wallet,” I grumbled, feeling lame for misplacing it in the first place. “I can’t find it anywhere at home so I was hoping I’d left it here.”
“Oh. It’s right there,” Ten said, pointing toward the other end of the counter.
“What?” I whipped my head that way and nearly smacked my palm to my forehead, groaning over my own ineptness. Why hadn’t I seen that before? And, “Why didn’t you tell me where it was when I first got here?” I scowled at Ten, nudging his shoulder as I passed.
“Huh?” His attention had already moved back to Noel. “I didn’t know what you were looking for.”
“I told you I’d lost my wallet as soon as I walked in.”
“Did you?” His voice was distracted. “Oh. Sorry, man. My bad.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d been bad off lately, but maybe not as bad off and unfocused as he currently was. The dude was seriously worried about his roommate.
“Will you stop staring at them,” Pick hissed, smacking Ten on the back of the head.
Ten obediently turned away, even as he whined, “But it’s so fucking weird. How could one woman just completely change him like that?”
“I guess you’ll understand when you meet the one woman you’re willing to change for,” Pick murmured, finishing up his task and stowing the empty crate on a free shelf under the counter.
Ten narrowed his eyes. “Why does everyone keep saying that shit to me?”
Pick glanced my way, and we shared a smile. “Speaking of special ladies,” he said. “How’s that lovely cousin of yours? Still pregnant?”
Jesus, Pick had been obsessed with Eva since she’d stopped by the bar last week with Reese. But I was studiously trying to forget that night had ever happened, so it irritated me to be reminded of it.
“She’s Reese’s cousin,” I bit out. “And yep, still pregnant.”
I had no idea why Pick was so interested in her, although even I had to admit Eva had mellowed a lot and become considerably less obnoxious since her parents had kicked her out and disowned her, leaving her pregnant, broke, and homeless. It still bewildered me why Pick seemed to like her. Then again, to me, no one could show Reese up, so… To each their own, I guess. But he was kind of strange about his curiosity; he alternated between not remembering who she was if I mentioned her to being the one to bring her up. I think he was trying to hide just how much he thought about her.
Pick nodded and opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask more but held himself back for reasons unknown. Then he turned away, and I swear he said, “Just take care of her for me.”
I exchanged a glance with Ten, who lifted an eyebrow as if he also thought that was a freaky strange sentiment.
So I turned back to Pick. “What?”
He shifted his attention to me. “I said, take care, man.” Then he waved, smiling tightly. “Have a good night.”
“Yeah.” I blinked and scratched my head. “Okay.”
That hadn’t been what he’d said at all, but I waved him goodbye, anyway, and then nodded to Ten, who just shrugged, mumbling, “I swear, the whole fucking world’s gone weird,” as he went back to watching his roommate as if he were ready to jump over the bar and smack Dr. Kavanagh’s hand if she dared to touch his roommate the wrong way.
Glancing toward the lovebirds, I felt the need to see my own soulmate, so I hightailed it out of there. I’d been bad about that these past few days, constantly checking on Reese to reassure myself she hadn’t left me. I’d become increasingly clingy and yet distant all at the same time. I know, being torn in two polar opposite directions should be familiar for me, but this felt extreme. I was just so ashamed about the event that happened last week that I wanted to burrow away in humiliation and hide from Reese, all the while this need to linger near her warred within me.
But honestly, ever since Patricia had come to Ellamore and walked into the bar last Thursday, trying to proclaim to the entire world that I’d gotten her pregnant, I couldn’t control myself. I’d been freaking the fuck out.
