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Hudson nods.
Staring between them, I don’t know what to say. They’re not exactly wrong. Not about the Mel thing—it was never about her. It was always about…Sky. And Abby. And what Sky deserves…which is what Idon’tdeserve.
Why not?a voice wonders.
I glance down at the table, not really seeing it.
“He seems nice,” Hudson says.
I nod, throat suddenly too thick to form words.
“And cute,” Cort says teasingly.
I cut him a glare and he pouts, turning to his fiancé. “Why the hell don’t you ever get jealous like that over me?”
Hudson snaps over his wide gaze, as if to say,Are you serious?
Cort smirks, eyes twinkling knowingly. “I bet if…”
“And that’s my cue to leave,” I mutter, standing and making my way over to the bar. The others from the bachelor party are gathered at the corner doing shots. Hudson and Cort join them as I head for the other end, not in the mood to feel tempted to drink.
Hell, if it wasn’t for Skyler, I probably would’ve already bounced.
A searching glance around the room shows Skyler chatting up with a table of girls in the back corner. I can’t help but notice how much more relaxed he looks now that he’s not facing off with my friends. He’s standing taller, looser, more like the Skyler I remember from the island.
The one who talked with his hands and couldn’t hold fucking still for the life of him.
He grins, ducking his head.
Fuck, he’s adorable.
Even now, three years older, broader, sharper, more filled out…he still carries this sort of…light to him. A youthfulness I don’t think he’ll ever fully shake.
But he’s different too. Like when he faced off with me back in the private rooms, calling me out for being mad, and for not coming to find him…
I saw the man in him that I only got glimpses of on the island. The man I knew he’d one day grow into.
He grew up in these last few years, and it makes me sad that I missed it.
“You’re gonna destroy that boy, aren’t you?” a voice says.
Turning, I come face to face with a guy inked all up and down his arms and all the way up to his neck. He’s got his black hair pulled back in a messy bun, and he arches a pierced brow at me.
“What?”
He jerks his chin past me. “You’re the one from the island, right?”
Mouth dry, I nod.
His jaw works. “You’re married?”
My eyes widen and I shake my head. “No. No, I…it was a misunderstanding.”
He narrows his gaze as if he’s not sure I’m telling the truth. I wave my hand, showing him my bare finger. Not that that really means anything, and by the dry, bemused look on his face, he agrees.
I huff and shake my head, at a loss as to what to say. I don’t even know who this guy is, but it’s clear he cares about Skyler. I saw the way he looked at him, then me, earlier when I all but stalked Skyler across the room. Blind to anything but him.
“I don’t know what your deal is, but I do know if you hurt a hair on that boy’s head, I will not hesitate to ensure you no longer have hands.”
