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All I could do was nod.
His back shot straight, indignation rolling off him in waves. “You have to tell her, brother. She needs to know the truth. She flipped out on you this morning because the past has shown her nothing good comes from letting her guard down, but that’s not the case.”
I let out a groan and dropped my head back. My chest hurt. My fucking shoulder hurt. I was pissed and didn’t know where to direct it. I thought that, after last night, Presley and I had finally turned a corner. After wanting her for so goddamn long, I finally had her. Then, like every time before, she slipped right through my fingers.
I felt like breaking shit.
“You think I didn’t try?” I shook my head, my chest feeling tight. “I tried to explain, but she cut me off. Didn’t want to hear it.”
“Then try again, man!” he shouted, throwing his arms out wide in a show of emotion that wasn’t usually the norm for him. “I mean, if Carmen was here, she’d be dragging your ass out the door by your ear this very instant. As it is, when I get home and tell her this whole story, it’ll be a miracle if I can keep her from jumping on a plane and flying here to try and fix this for you. But you can’t give up.”
I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs to the point of bursting as I remembered back to the night before, to what it felt like to have Presley beneath me, to hear her tell me she was mine.
“I don’t intend to give up. This morning was only a setback.”
Romero came over, clapping me on the back with a huge, cheesy grin. “That’s my man. Fuck your dad, Beau. You deserve to be happy, and if she’s the one who does that for you, I say go all out.”
And that was exactly what I intended to do.
Chapter Twenty-Five
PRESLEY
Colbie’s mouthhung open so far she was going to catch a few flies if she wasn’t careful. She’d was hanging with me at the bar before it opened to the public after giving me a ride to work because my car was currently in the shop, getting that stupid window fixed. I’d spilled everything that had happened with Beau the other night. The goal was to get her advice, but once I’d finished, she’d gone completely silent, gaping at me like a literal fish out of water, her wide eyes blinking slowly, like a cartoon character.
“Hello, Earth to Colbie.” I waved my hand in front of her face, hoping to snap her out of it. “Are you just going to sit there with your jaw on the bar the rest of my shift, because that’s not very helpful.”
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that you slept with a man you claim to hate, not once, but twice now.”
I dropped my head onto the bar and gave it a couple bangs for good measure, hoping to rattle some sense into myself. Instead, all I did was give my team a reason to stare at me like they were worried for my sanity.
Welcome to the club, guys.
Colbie leaned forward, sliding her palm between my head and the wood to cushion the blow. Her brows rose high on her forehead when I finally looked up at her. “You know I have to ask.”
I pointed my finger at her. “No you don’t. Youdon’thave to ask.”
She nodded solemnly. “Oh, but I do, and you know it. It’s girl code.” She leaned across the bar and lowered her voice. “So? How was it?”
I shook my head frantically. “I’m not—I don’t—it’s—” I let out a groan. “It was... I don’t even know how to describe it. Euphoric, maybe? It was out of this freaking world.”
My best friend sucked in a sharp gasp before her face split into an ecstatic grin as she let out a delighted squeal.
“Shh,” I hissed, clapping my hand over her mouth as she drew more of the attention of my staff. “God, crazy. Will you relax already before people start asking questions?”
“Oh my god, you guys are so totally going to end up together,” she chirped, completely ignoring everything I just said. “I’m calling it now. I mean, I totally get it. The two of you have been duking it out most of your lives. There’s this rivalry that’s always been there, that’s kind of aggravating, but really hot at the same time. And it’s basically in every enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy movie that chemistry like that eventually explodes, and the hero and heroine are helpless against it. Nora Ephron basically demands it.”
“Can we maybe get our head out of the clouds and plant our feet back down here on Earth. This isn’t a movie, Colbs.”
“No, it’s not. But you’ve now slept together twice, the last time being the best you’ve ever had.”
I held up my hand to stop her. “I never said it was the best I’ve ever had.”
She shot me a look that said,bitch, please. Did you forget I know you?
“Okay, so it was the best I’ve ever had,” I relented on a grumble.
Her grin was almost triumphant. “So, like I was saying, the chemistry’s already exploded between you two.”
