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“No one else caught the love bug nearly as bad,” he drawls.
“The love bug?” I scrub a palm down my face, seconds away from showing myself out after that comment. “Are you serious with that shit?”
“Nah, you’re just fun to fuck with.”
I rip at the soggy coaster under my beer, crushing the cardboard in my fist. “Can I tell you how happy it makes me to be your entertainment?”
“No need. It’s written in your signature grimace. Why don’t you do us all a favor? Get it over with. It’s for the good of the group at this point.” He gestures behind him as if I need directions.
“If it were that easy, I would.” The honesty pours from me. “We can’t be together.”
“But you can glower and grump and be an unreasonable jackass whenever she’s around?”
“You’re one to talk about being an unreasonable jackass,” I counter.
“Least I know what I am,” he says. “There’s a simple solution.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” I say to round off the statement.
“Why not? Harper is fantastic with kids, which is a huge bonus. Your daughter already loves her. I’m certain the feeling is mutual. She’s the only one other than Syd who gets you to smile.” He holds up a finger, saving the best for last. “Don’t bother denying that she’s special to you.”
“It’s not that cut and dry.”
“Enlighten me.” His spinning wrist motions my refusal onward.
“I have to think about what’s best for my daughter.”
“And providing her with a supportive, reliable female role model wouldn’t fit that priority?”
My muscles flex under the strain of his pestering. “What if she leaves us, huh?”
“Don’t give her a reason to.”
“Fuck, Foster. Why didn’t I think of that?” I roll my eyes to pair with the sarcasm.
“Harper isn’t Morgan. Hasn’t she already proved that? That woman is loyal to you for no reason. Take the fucking risk, and put us out of our misery.” He’s making too much sense.
I peel at the label on my bottle, using any distraction to avoid the obvious. “Are you my therapist now?”
Garrett snorts. “You couldn’t pay me enough to fill that role. This is more of a… civil service.”
“So you’ve said.”
“Yet you still haven’t budged. It’s almost like you enjoy being angry and spiteful.”
“Especially when pushy bartenders insist on getting in my business.”
“Fine, I relent.” He holds his arms up in surrender and begins backing away.
“How ‘bout another beer while you’re at it.” I finish what’s left of the warm one in front of me.
He snags the empty Coors. “Sure, Evans. Let me grab that while you sit back and watch your soulmate get groped by another man.”
I’m across the room at the edge of the dance floor before he even finishes the sentence. A red mist covers my vision while I approach the guy grinding into Harper. He doesn’t even seem to notice the rage painted all over my features, choosing that moment to fondle her ass with both palms.
The instinct to dismember this dumbass is barely restrained by a single thread. Garrett’s pep talk mixes with irrational jealousy to blend a potent concoction that inebriates my common sense. I clench my fists until the knuckles turn white. Absent of sound logic or not, even I can recognize that wouldn’t slide me into Harper’s good graces.
“If you want to keep your hands, I suggest you refrain from touching her.” It’s a miracle my voice remains level.
