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WES
Beckett lookedmiserable on his side of the table, and while Bobbi was entertaining me with commentary on the other couples in the room—half of them old enough to be our grandparents, though I spotted Garrett Rafferty and Kevin Rhodes in a cozy corner, candlelight flickering over Kev’s glossy lips—Anna looked a little pissed off.
I kicked his foot and shot him a smile that he struggled to return.
“I’m gonna hit the john,” I said, giving him a pointed look. “Don’t leave without me.”
“As if we could,” Anna said with an eye roll.
I squeezed Beckett’s thigh under the table, hoping he understood I wanted him to follow, then headed for the bathroom in the back corner of the restaurant. I was delayed briefly as Garrett called out a hello and I stopped to greet them both and happily accept an invitation to one last backyard barbecue before a cold front swept in. Garrett still held gatherings in the winter, but they turned into indoor potlucks.
By the time I made it to the bathroom, I was practically vibrating with the need to touch Beckett. The door opened behind me and I whirled, grin on my face.
“Finally—” I started, only to cut short when Bobbi sauntered into the men’s room, bold as you please. My eyes went wide. “Bobbi, what the hell?”
She tilted her head. “I was sure that you were sending out an invitation to come into the bathroom. I’m pretty good at reading signals.”
“You read wrong.”
She came closer, and I fought the urge to scuttle away. “If you didn’t want me to follow you in here, then that signal must have been for someone else.” She raised an eyebrow, andshit, shit, shit. She knew, didn’t she?
I shook my head, but I couldn’t summon the words to properly deny her insinuation.
“You and Beckett have always been close,” she said carefully.
“We’re brothers,” I said.
“Hmm yeah, but you’re closer than brothers even, aren’t you?” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Unless…you really did want me to follow you here?” Her tone was teasing. “If you’re not hoping Beck comes through that door, why don’t you prove it?”
I thought about it for half a second, leaning in toward her. Thinking that Beck could forgive one kiss surely, one kiss to deflect Bobbi’s suspicions.
At the last minute, though, I pulled away. “No. I can’t. No.”
“Why not, Wes?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Because… I wasn’t waiting for you.”
“Who were you waiting for then?” she persisted.
My heart thundered, and my palms grew clammy. Bobbi met my gaze directly, and I found it impossible to lie in the face of such a direct question.
“It’s okay,” she said softly after a beat. “I shouldn’t have teased you like that. I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me. I just want you to know that youcantrust me if you ever want to share.”
Her statement broke the last shred of my resolve, and the words tumbled out, too fast for me to censor or retract. “I was waiting for Beck. Yes, okay? You’re right. I was waiting for him to follow me back here.”
“And why is that, Wes?” she asked softly.
“Because I love him,” I blurted. “I love Beckett.”
“Of course you do,” she said gently as she drew me into a hug. I was shaking a little as she wrapped her arms around me, my own words shocking me. I’d known at some level all along that I loved Beck. But I’d loved him as a friend, as a brother. Now, it was something different. Something more. Something all-consuming.
The door burst open, and Beckett walked in. He took in the sight of me and Bobbi in an embrace, and his jaw clenched. “The date is over. I paid the check, and Anna left.”
