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She isn’t lying either. I helped Chris pick out a new frame for it after it fell off the wall and broke a couple of weeks ago.
“You do?” Liam turns to Chris with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “All this time, really?”
Chris doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. He wears his heart in his eyes, and the way his hand clenches around Liam’s briefly says everything.
“Oh, snaps.” Bria takes a picture of them, staring at one another. “Here’s another one for the wall.”
Neither Chris nor Liam bother to even look in our direction. They keep staring at each other with moon eyes, and as ridiculously adorable as it is, they need to move.
“I’ve got to pee,” I tell them both. “Move now, so I can get to the bathroom.”
“Oh.” Bria laughs. “I gotta go, too. Bathroom buddies.” She links her arm in mine and we walk the very long distance of thirty feet to get to the bathroom. “That took forever.”
“You are very drunk.” I pat her on the head and hold the door open for her to go in. “Let’s get this done, and then we can go home. To your home. I don’t think I should go to my home, not tonight anyway.”
“Nope!” Bria laughs. “Chris is gonna get some.”
After I do my business and wash my hands, I wait for Bria to finish.
“Everything’s harder when you’re drunk.” She burps. “Can we get tacos on the way home?”
“Of course we can.” I pat her head again. “Let’s go make sure that Chris is taken care of and I’ll call a cab.”
She smiles and rests her head on my shoulder for a moment. “You’re the best.”
We walk back into the bar, only to walk directly into someone’s back. Two people actually.
“Move your ass, Casey.” Bria snarls immediately, glaring daggers at the man she married right out of high school.
I don’t even know how she knew it was him, but there isn’t any doubt in my mind. Especially not when he turns and shoots her a heated look. His brother, Carter, the one who had tried to arrest me, stands at his side. His eyes are rimmed with red when he smiles down at me sadly.
He hesitates before saying anything, and when he does, it lacks any real enthusiasm. “I think we should stop meeting like this.”
“At least this time you don’t have handcuffs.” I try to hide the embarrassment that overtakes my face even as I say the words. Thinking about his handcuffs does something to my libido that I can’t control.
That earns me a response. A short bark of surprised laughter, followed by him reaching into the pocket inside his jacket.
“Actually, I do.”
I can’t help blushing at that, and I swear the fact that I bite my lip isn’t me trying to hit on him. Sure, I may be picturing him naked, holding those cuffs at the edge of the bed, but that isn’t the real me. That is the alcohol and my current lack of sex. It has to be.
My voice comes out a strangled mess. “Can we get by?” I reach for Bria’s arm, who stands a foot in front of Casey, looking like she is about to faint.
“Can I talk to you?” Casey reaches out to touch Bria’s arm, but I step in the way, blocking any contact between him and one of my best friends.
“No chance in Hell, Casey,” I say firmly. “Bria’s drunk, and you’re her kryptonite. You can’t talk to her. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. Shoo, fly. You’re bothering me.” I ramble, unsure of how to get us out of the complicated situation we are in. Also the fact that they’ve just buried their brother doesn’t escape me either. I just need to protect her from him.
Suddenly, the friendly expression that has been on Carter’s face only a moment before is gone. Not only that, but the two of them are joined by four more giants, immediately flanking us and making it hard to breathe with all the testosterone. Only recognizing one of the men, I offer a smile to Cameron, who doesn’t bother to smile back. Instead, he glares at me like I’ve just shot his puppy.
“What did you just say?” Casey whispers, looking for all the world like he is having his heart cut out of his chest where he stands.
“I said no.” The words come out a lot stronger than I feel. Bria titters uncomfortably behind my back and I swat her blindly. “Bria’s drunk. Yes, she was there with you earlier. She gave you what you needed. Now, you need to give her what she needs. Space.”
Cameron steps forward to defend his brother, but Carter grabs him by the arm. “She’s right.” He looks over at Casey. “Maybe now’s not the best time.”
Casey, reluctantly, nods his head. “I’m gonna tell your mother on you,” he tells Bria as he walks away. “Then we’ll see who’s avoiding who.”
Bria stops laughing and yanks on my hair. “You can’t let him do that. My mom doesn’t know I locked him out of the house.” She is trying to whisper, but she is definitely drunk. I decide, when Casey stops in his walk away to smile at her over his shoulder, that it is beyond time to get out of there.
