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“If it’s the beach you want,” Scott said, “you should go down to the Bahamas. My aunt and uncle’s resort off the coast of Eleuthera. I can hook you up.”
Scott and Zane had talked many times about making that trip. Scott’s mom was Bahamian, but had moved to the US permanently after attending college stateside and meeting Scott’s dad. “Yes. Dudes’ trip. We’ve talked about it a hundred times. It’s perfect.”
“Sorry, man. You’re on your own. Brittney just got a promotion at work, and her schedule is crazy. It’s June, so the kids are out of school. I can’t just take off. Plus, if you’re picking up women, I think we can both agree that my days of being your wingman are over.”
Zane didn’t let the disappointment get to him too much. Everything was a downer of one sort or another. He was used to it. “Okay. I guess I’m flying solo. Can you text me the info? I’ll call first thing tomorrow morning.”
Scott shook his head. “Just give me the dates and I’ll take care of it. It’s on me.”
“I do not need your charity. This isn’t high school.”
“Will you just shut up and let me do something nice for you? Plus, I gotta keep you happy. I would be ridiculously bummed out if you moved out of Falling Brook.”
Zane glanced over at Scott. He didn’t know what he would do without him. He was the thing tethering him to earth. Keeping him from going off the deep end. “I’m not leaving. I might desperately need a few days on that beach to clear my head, but I’m not going anywhere.” He knocked back the last of his beer. “I have to at least stick around long enough to avenge this loss.”
“Black Crescent?” Scott asked.
“No. Tonight’s game.”
When Allison Randall saw her ex-boyfriend’s name on the caller ID, she flipped off her phone. Juvenile, but incredibly satisfying.
“Let me guess. Neil?” Allison’s best friend and business partner, Kianna Lewis, was perched in a chair opposite Allison’s desk, flicking a pen back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. They’d been discussing the state of their corporate recruiting business, which frankly, wasn’t that great.
“I really don’t want to talk to him. Ever.”
“Aren’t the movers at his house right now? What if there’s a problem?”
Kianna was so levelheaded. Allison needed that. She could get tunnel vision. And a little spiteful. “You’re right. I’m just ready for one of these conversations to be our last.” Allison plucked her phone from her desk and spun her chair around to peer out the window of her office, which overlooked nothing more scenic than a sea of expensive cars in a parking lot. Such was LA—asphalt and BMWs. “What’s wrong now?” she asked Neil.
“You could have hired a normal moving company, Allison. Hunks with Trucks? Seriously?” Her ex-boyfriend was not taking her departure from his life well. That was perfectly okay with her.
Allison snickered under her breath. Neil was in ridiculously good shape, and he loved to flaunt it. He took any excuse to whip off his shirt in public. Allison had figured he might as well spend the afternoon with a bunch of guys who were even more buff and cut than him. Served him right for cheating on her. “They hire college students, Neil. These guys need the work. For tuition and books. Just forget the name, okay?”
“That’s a little difficult when their ten-foot-high logo is emblazoned on the truck outside my house. The neighbors can all see it.”
What a drama queen.She should have known better than to date a movie producer. “Sounds like good marketing on their part.”
“There’s a crowd gathering. A bunch of women from my street are outside taking selfies with these guys.”
This had gone far better than Allison could have anticipated. She nearly wished she’d been there to witness it, except that would have meant seeing Neil, and she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t strangle him. “If you hadn’t cheated on me, you wouldn’t have to suffer this supposed embarrassment.”
“I made a mistake, okay? It happens. You need to get off that high horse of yours. Not everyone can be perfect like you.”
She choked back a grumble. “Not cheating does not make me perfect. It makes me a decent human being, which is more than I can say for you.”
“I’ve told you one hundred times that she meant nothing to me. It was just a few months of hookups. I was stupid for doing it, and I’m sorry.”
Allison clamped her eyes shut. She was not going to let him manipulate her anymore. “I’m done with this conversation, Neil. Unless there’s a real problem you need me to address, I’m going to hang up now.”
“I want my key back, Alli.”
“Change the locks. And don’t call me Alli.” She hit the red button on the screen and tossed her phone onto a pile of papers on her desk. The desire to scream was so intense she dug her fingernails into her palms.
“You okay?” Kianna asked, arching her perfectly groomed eyebrows.
“I’m fine.” Allison was a firm believer in fake it ’til you make it. She would keep saying she was fine until she was actually fine. Still, the Neil situation had her shaken. How had she not seen that Neil was an arrogant jerk? How had she managed to miss the signs? As an executive recruiter, it was Allison’s job to read people, but she’d clearly been all wrong about Neil.
“It’s okay to have a human moment. Your boyfriend cheated on you. No one would blame you for crying or throwing things.”
