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“There he is, the man of the hour!” Milo announced as he walked up to the bar with a wide grin on his face. Gavin chuckled at his best friend and set his drink down to hug him. Along with Milo were Frankie, Everleigh, Jackson and Oleander, all of them beaming as they stepped forward to give him quick hugs. He might have personally invited them, but Gavin hadn’t expected them to give up their Friday night for him. Everleigh squeezed him extra hard and he almost asked about Lachlan, but noticed that the bright light in her eyes had been snuffed out.
But it was also a reminder that while he was busy with work and this whole ‘Ginny thing’—that’s how he was going to refer to it for the foreseeable future—he’d been ignoring his friends.I need to fix that right away.
“I think Ginny’s outdone herself with this. It’s absolutely fantastic,” Frankie said with a grin.
Gavin nodded as he sipped on his drink. “She did.”
From the perfect hotel to host the event to the new caterers that donated a portion of their earnings to shelters—human and animal alike—and making sure all of the decoration was recyclable, Ginny had gone above and beyond. While you had to pay for your drinks at the bar, the prices had been reduced quite a bit and every drink had been renamed courtesy of Bronte.
“I think it’s time we went by the shelter for cuddles,” Oleander said and turned to Gavin. “When’s the best time to show up?”
“Weekdays are probably a good idea, things get a little crazy on the weekends.”
“I’ll make an appointment,” she added and then walked off with Frankie and Everleigh to look over the easels.
Each easel featured a large information card for the animals that were up for adoption and Gavin had to admit that he was impressed with the design and presentation of that as well. He heard the boys order themselves drinks, but Gavin’s eyes were doing another sweep of the ballroom, because apparently he liked to punish himself.
Milo bumped a shoulder against Gavin’s and asked, “How are things?”
“Between you andher, he means,” Jackson added, coming up on Gavin’s other side.
“Things are fine.” Because there was absolutely no way he was telling his friends he’d totally indulged in somehate sex. Except, he didn’t hate Ginny, he just didn’t know how to behave around her. Was that the same thing? “What’s going on with Leelee and Lachlan?”
Jackson groaned softly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sounds like they broke up, but she isn’t using those words.”
“She’s staying with one of his friends while they deal with…whatever,” Milo offered, both his friends shrugging as they took sips of their drinks.
Gavin nodded, glancing at them briefly and then sighed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around these last few months. I don’t even have a reason or excuse, I just suck.”
There was a moment of silence before two arms came around him and he was sandwiched between his best friends. “It’s not like we’ve been around much either, so you’re off the hook,” Milo told him, pressing a loud smacking kiss against the side of Gavin’s head.
“Fantastic, that’s what I needed, your cooties attached to me for the rest of the evening.” Gavin pushed his friends off, three of them laughing. “You guys good, though? Life, work, love?”
Jackson beamed so wide, Gavin felt like he was being blinded. “I’m going to ask Oleander to marry me. Not sure when, but I have all the blessings I need, so soon.”
“Dude. That’s fucking amazing!” Gavin and Milo took turns hugging Jackson. “Congratulations, man.”
He nodded, a big smile still fixed on his face. “Thanks, guys. I’m pretty fucking excited.”
“As you should be,” Milo told him and Gavin’s heart felt like it was going to explode with love and affection for these two men.
“What about you and Frankie?” Gavin asked and Milo’s smile matched Jackson’s.
“Things are so good. I keep telling myself not to get carried away in case I jinx it, but she’s been the one since I laid eyes on her.”
They clinked glasses and knocked back what was left before turning to get fresh drinks. As Jackson and Milo gave the bartender instructions, Gavin looked out into the crowd and spotted Bronte and Spencer standing close and talking. His brother was looking at his friend like she hung the moon while Bronte animatedly told him something. Whatever was going on there, he wanted them to see it through. They deserved each other and all the good shit in the world.
“But I’m definitely more interested inyouright now,” Milo said, making Gavin grit his teeth. His friends were like a dog with a bone. “Because I can tell something’s changed.”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, he realized it was silly to not tell his friends. “We fucked.”
“Oh shit,” Jackson muttered and cleared his throat. “I thought we discussed no hate sex?”
“It wasn’t reallyhate, just more of let me get you out of my system and move on with our lives kind of sex.”
“So you took Leelee’s suggestion to heart.” Milo laughed and took a big gulp of his drink. “And what about those pesky feelings?”
