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Tate almost chokes on his beer. “Bree, you and Sterling know why I don’t commit. It’s better for everyone if I don’t. I can’t ever be who Lucy needs me to be. And if I hurt her, heaven forbid, y’all would rain hellfire down on me, and I’d deserve it. I care about Lucy, therefore I can’t and Iwon’tgo there.”
My eyes flick to Lucy, who is standing right behind Tate, hearing every word. I didn’t tell Tate, but I invited her to tag along tonight after her talk with Rhett. She walked up at exactly the right time to hear him say he’d never be anything with her.He’s such an idiot. He sees me looking over his shoulder and turns to see Lucy standing there, ashen.
I see the color drain from his face too. “Lucy. How’d it go with your dad? I mean Rhett?” She recovers quickly and I scoot over so she can sit beside me.
“Fine. It was fine,” she says tightly. She’s shooting daggers at him.
Brittney returns to the table once she sees Lucy arrive. “Hey Lucy. Can I get you something to drink?”
Lucy flicks her gaze from Tate to Brittney. “Sure, I’ll take a whiskey sour.”
“Coming right up. Anything else for y’all right now?” she asks sweetly, taking in Tate a few minutes longer than necessary.
“I think we’re good,” I answer for us both. Lucky for Tate, he didn’t take his eyes off Lucy. Brittney walks back to the bar for Lucy’s drink, and before anyone else can speak, Dean Warren walks in with a gorgeous man I’ve never seen before, effectively making me lose my train of thought about Tate and Lucy.
Dean catches my eye and smiles.Oh hell, I hope he doesn’t think I have bedroom eyes over him. They walk over to our table and Mr. Hunk, whose name Iwilllearn, has already zoned in on me as well.
“Hey guys, didn’t know y’all would be here too.” Dean says as he looks over us all and it must dawn on him there’s tension so thick you couldn’t cut it with a knife in the air because he looks to me for help.
“You gonna introduce us to your friend? And why are you here anyway? Didn’t you go back to Coffee County?” I ask quickly to help ease the tension. Dean uses this opportunity to wink at me.
“Aw BB, I’m glad to see you care,” he says and chuckles deeply. If he wasn’t my big brother’s best friend, it might affect me. Dean Warren has always been hot as sin, and way off limits for obvious reasons, so instead, I roll my eyes at him. He’s the only one to ever call me BB.
He laughs again. “I’m moving back. I decided to take the job here. I get to keep my rank and be at home. I figured I’ve been gone too long.” He claps the hunky man beside him on the shoulder, “This is Drew Thomas. I was at the fire academy with him, and he recently relocated here too. He’s a sergeant and gets to keep his rank as well. He’s a little bit older than me, but I’m still his lieutenant.” Dean uses his thumb and pointer finger to illustrate.
“Nice to meet you…?” Drew extends his hand to me, waiting on me to tell him my real name.
I take it and reply, “Briella. Briella Brigg but my friends call me Bree.”
Dean grabs his chest as if wounded. “Not all of us call you Bree, some of us call you BB.”
“I guess that means you’re not my friend then, doesn’t it?” I shoot back. He laughs a little, but his stormy eyes ignite into something I’m not going to analyze.
Right then, Brittney reappears with Lucy’s drink and a couple beers for Dean and Drew.
Lucy downs hers in one go as she watches Brittney sidle closer to Tate and whisper in his ear. Tate keeps his eyes on Lucy but doesn’t move away from Brittney. I could throttle him. Before anyone else can react, I grab Lucy’s hand and drag her, Dean, and Drew to the dance floor. Tate wants to be a dick, so I’ll make sure Lucy doesn’t give him a second thought. But boy, oh boy, will I rip him a new one tomorrow.
Once we get on the dance floor, I whisper to Dean, “Help me keep Lucy happy tonight. I don’t know what’s up with Tate but he’s making himself look like an ass and I’ll be damned if Lucy gets punished because he’s too chicken shit to know what’s in front of him.”
Dean glances at Lucy sympathetically. “You got it, BB.” He winks at me with twinkling eyes, and I grab Drew’s hand, leaving Dean to dance with Lucy. Lucy drank her whiskey sour so quickly her cheeks are flushed and she’s already moving to the music. Dean joins her, looping her arms around his neck before putting his hands on her hips as she sways. If that doesn’t get Tate’s blood boiling, I don’t know what will.
I glance at Tate to find him clenching his jaw, staring daggers at Dean and Lucy. He says something to Brittney and makes his way to the dance floor too—right for Lucy.
Brittney asked if I wanted to meet up with her later. I’ve never been with her, and I have no plans to be, but she’s made a roundabout suggestion a few times. It’s not because she’s not gorgeous, she is. She’s also a good person and someone who deserves more than I can offer. I politely turn her down, again. She accepts my refusal gracefully. She’s got someone out there waiting for her. She’ll find him one day and he’ll be one lucky bastard, but he’s not me.
I feel jealousy coursing through me as I watch Lucy dance with Dean. He’s touching her and she’s touching him. I get up and make a beeline for where they are, and I can feel the daggers Bree is shooting me, but I don’t care.
“Lucy, can I talk to you?” I interrupt the dance. Dean looks apologetic but almost amused. He steps back and releases Lucy.
“What is it? I’m trying to have a little fun. Looks like you’re getting ready to go have some fun too.” She points in Brittney’s direction behind the bar.
“I’m not. I politely turned her down.” Lucy appears exasperated.
“Better luck next time then I guess. Can I get back to dancing now?” she asks.
“I think we should talk, Lucy.” I hold out my hand for her, but she pushes it away. “We don’t have anything to talk about. You’re not mine and I’m not yours. End of story.”
She walks by me in search of Dean who is now sitting at our table sipping his beer, while watching the scene unfold. I need to be careful because I know he’s protective of Lucy as well. Ivie was his first love, so he was with Lucy a lot over the years. They’ve been friends a long time. He has more of a right to be in her life than I do.
