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All it did was sour my stomach.
It used to be the four of us. We were unstoppable. I’d bet if we had ever taken the time to get the names of the girls we had bedded, the list would have covered most of Manhattan. Models, socialites, bartenders, anybody was fair game. Why not? We were young, rich, and knew how to play it safe. No harm, no foul.
Then, practically overnight, everybody started pairing off. Barrett and Lourde had their little thing that they’d tried to keep secret from Connor and failed miserably. Connor ended up with Pepper. Ari and Olivia had stopped bickering long enough to figure out they wanted to fuck each other.
It was like I went to sleep one night and woke up in the goddamnTwilight Zone,and I wasn’t happy about it. How did they end up with good, faithful women? What the fuck was wrong with me that my marriage imploded before it started?
But I had to pretend I didn’t care because that’s what friends did. “She probably just wanted to get you out there in the water to rescue her.” I smirked. “You should probably help your girl, huh?”
Ari shook his head, lifting his hands like he was surrendering. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that she doesn’t need my help.”
“She’d probably drag your ass down with her just to watch you splash around,” Connor pointed out with a laugh, and I could see it, laughing with him.
Barrett wasn’t laughing, and I followed the direction of his gaze to figure out why. Big surprise. All the girls were out there having the time of their lives, but not Little Miss Stick Up Her Ass. “I’m sure she’s fine,” I remarked before drinking again.
He sort of shook himself like he was surprised and didn’t think anybody noticed. “She’s sitting all alone.”
I looked her way again. Her delicate profile was still and unmoving while the other girls squealed and shrieked. “She’s under an umbrella with a glass of iced tea and a book. She looks pretty damn content to me.”
“She hasn’t turned a page in, like, five minutes,” he noted, worry lines creasing his forehead.
By then, the others started paying attention. “Maybe she’s having some pain?” Ari suggested. We all knew Evelyn had permanent damage to her leg thanks to an accident years earlier.
“Or maybe this isn’t her idea of a good time,” I mused. I had a feeling I was the one who’d hit closest to the truth. I had no idea what that woman’s idea of a good time was since every time we were together, she found it necessary to bust my balls. I was starting to think she was born without the ability to smile except when insulting someone.
“You should go over and see if she wants to sit with us,” Connor told him, and I had to bite my tongue. That was the last thing I wanted, but I didn’t want to insult my friend, either. We might have all acted like assholes in our own ways, but when it came to things that mattered, there was no getting in our way.
Barrett cared about his sister. He took care of her. Sometimes, almost obsessively, but that wasn’t my business.
My heart sank when Barrett lifted a hand to wave at her. “Eve! You okay over there?”
When she turned her head our way, I’d swear on a stack of bibles, the temperature dropped ten degrees. “Just fine!” she called back, closing her book and using a finger to hold her place. “Why? Do I not look okay,brother?”
Actually, she looked better than okay. That might have been the worst part. She wasn’t an ugly girl—not even close. She had a curvaceous body, full, lush. Not exactly my usual style, but there was definitely something attractive about her curves. She had a nice face, too, but a smile would have made her look a lot better. But even I knew better than to tell a woman to smile. I liked my balls where they were.
“Your brother cares about you,” I called out, unable to keep quiet. “Is that a crime?”
She lifted her sunglasses, perching them on top of her wavy, brown locks. “Oh, Magnus. I’m surprised you’re here. I figured you’d be balls deep in some unfortunate blonde by now.”
“Here we go,” Connor muttered, snickering.
“Evelyn! Come on out here with us.” Lourde skipped out of the water and jogged over to where Evelyn sat alone on her lounge chair. “The water is amazing.”
For Lourde, Evelyn softened her expression and her voice. “I don’t think so. I’m fine here. Go. Have fun.”
It irritated me more than it should have, the way Lourde’s face fell like she was disappointed.
“You’re wasting your time!” I called out. “Evelyn doesn’t like to have fun.”
“Ha! Exactly how would you know that about me?” she called back, fixing her sunglasses and opening her book. “I’m having fun right now. Some of us can have fun while we’re fully clothed.”
She was fully clothed, all right, wearing a silk caftan that reached her ankles. “What’s the matter?” I countered with a sneer. “You afraid to show a little skin?”
It wasn’t Barrett’s sharp intake of breath that told me I went too far. It was the way she flinched. She tried to hide it, but I noticed. It was in the tightness set across her delicate shoulders. For some reason, I saw everything about her. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. If anything, it left me somewhat confused.
“Not cool, man.” Barrett pinched his brows and tightened his jaw. “Too fucking far.”
“She’s the one who always has an axe to grind when it comes to me. I can’t do a damn thing without her making a comment,” I defended as I sat back with what was left of my beer and wished I hadn’t come out. What was the fun of day drinking when your friends stared like they were disappointed?
