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“I feel wonderful.” I smiled and patted his back. “Go have fun. That will make me happy.”
It took fucking forever, but Ty managed to drag Lane away to the boat, and they took the dog with them.
The Tenley triad was next to retire for the evening, and Reese said he’d set an alarm for two hours. They were crazy. I didn’t need any goddamn babysitting. I was fine on my own. I preferred it. Because then, and only then, I could let the mask slip.
Stupid things happened when I let it slip around other people. Such as my brother-in-law. That was how I’d ended up in his bed.
Don’t think about that.
I kinda shut off once the Tenleys said goodnight. I humored Colt and ate a sandwich he’d prepared with too much mayo. Leftover buffalo wings followed, straight from the microwave, and they were actually good. But after that, I was fucking stuffed. If I ate another bite, I’d hurl.
I stumbled indoors and eyed the couches blearily. A part of me wasn’t sure I deserved Lane. He could’ve just thrown a blanket and a pillow on there, but that wasn’t who he was. Ty must’ve given him fresh linens. With the AC blasting, I was thankful for the duvet. Lane had set a stool next to my pillow too, as a makeshift nightstand, with a glass of water, a chocolate bar, and what I presumed were painkillers.
I went to the bathroom first, knowing I wouldn’t get up from the couch once I sat down. Brushing my teeth would have to wait till morning.
I slumped down on the toilet, planted my elbows on my thighs, and covered my face in my hands. It was too soon to close my eyes, but they felt so damn heavy.
Bad idea. In the woozy, drunken spin, Walker’s face appeared too quickly, too easily, too automatically. Always him. Always memories of good times first. How he reeled me in from the moment we’d met. His charismatic smile and those steely sea-green eyes. Dirty-blond hair that got darker in the winter and more silvery as our relationship ticked one anniversary after another.
I remembered exactly what’d drawn me to him. He couldn’t act interested to save his life. If it wasn’t there, he zoned out. And it’d become fun to watch him. In fact, he’d been my entire focus for a solid hour before I’d approached that afternoon. I’d tagged along as moral support for a friend who’d been invited to a wine mixer at his college professor’s house. Very prestigious stuff. Georgetown professor with his own library and diplomas on the mahogany-paneled walls.
I’d lost sight of my buddy about ten minutes after arrival.
Shortly thereafter, I’d stocked up on wine, shrimp, and canapés, and I’d positioned myself in a corner to people watch. And right there, I’d spotted a guy my age trying to impress a couple professors. Or so I’d thought. Only one of them was a professor, and he didn’t even teach at Georgetown. He’d been invited as a friend. Dean Aavik was a professor at another university, and the man he’d brought was his younger brother Walker McKenna.
The exact second that’d changed the trajectory of my life had been when the young guy had made a joke, at which he’d laughed. Dean had chuckled politely, and Walker had raised his brows and drained his wineglass as he’d looked for the nearest exit.
I’d grinned around a mouthful of mediocre canapés and decided to approach him at some point during that afternoon. I’d already seen him check out a male ass or two, so I’d been fairly certain he was gay.
Worst decision I’d ever made.
I frowned and squinted. Something had changed in the living room besides nearly all the lights being turned off. The porch was dark now too. The house was quiet, and the TV was running silently.
Lucas had been here earlier, right?
The least-expected twin had taken over.
“Get over your surprise and sit down.” River yawned and patted the spot next to him on the couch.
All right, but I was confused and slow on the uptake. I scratched my head.
“What did you do to my guards?” I joined him and hauled my tee over my head.
“I ate them.” He handed me a bottle of Coke. “Drink. You need sugar.”
In a minute. I squirmed my way out of my shorts first, then got under the duvet. “Thanks.”
The Coke did taste good. Ice-cold and refreshing.
River’s presence made me a bit wary. He could be the sweetest guy, unbeknownst to most people who just saw the stone-faced Sadist who never spoke unnecessarily. But it made him unpredictable, because when he did speak up, fucking anything could come out, and it would be something he’d thought about a great deal.
He gave off the impression of having all the time in the world and no agenda. Sitting there in a pair of sweats, hands clasped over his stomach, ankles crossed on the floor, semi-sleepy gaze trained at the flat screen. It looked like some old war documentary.
