Plump, pink lips parted. She sucked in a breath. “Listen. Um, I’m really—”
“Tell me your name,” I blurted, interrupting before she could run away. I needed to know, even though I had no right to ask.
“Nats! There you are,” came a desperate voice followed by a large man wearing a black wool jacket and an angry face. Dark jeans covered log-sized legs, and with those thick-soled Timberlands, he could flatten her with one ill-intentioned step.
The woman sidled closer to my side, mumbled, “Fuck my life.”
Her hair smelled like rain, and I refrained from ducking lower to smell her neck.
I recognized the guy from our scuffle in the coffee shop a month ago. If he recognized my mug, he didn’t show it. He did, however, size me up, his chest inflating, fists clenched. Blue eyes darkened and then aimed at the girl by my side. “Babe. Please. We need to talk.”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Plenty to talk about. Unless you’ve moved on already.” The asswipe nodded in my direction, then ran a hand through his long hair.
Clearly, the guy upset her. He was twice her size, and she trembled next to me. I thought she was afraid and was about to step in when she moved between us and jammed a finger into his massive chest.
Without a lick of fear in her tone, she commanded, “Stop following me. Stop calling me. Stop everything that has anything to do with me. We are done.” She finished with a hard slap to his chest, then marched away, her hips swinging something fierce under her long plaid coat.
I watched, stupefied, then chuckled when she shot me a glance over her shoulder.
The giant, overinflated douche rolled his eyes at me, mumbled, “Little lover’s spat, that’s all.” His brows pinched, he asked, “Do I know you?”
“Can’t say we’ve ever met,” I lied. He’d never pressed charges for the beat down. Maybe because I’d paid for the damages to the coffee shop. Or maybe, judging by what little I knew of his personality, the guy wouldn’t press charges because he’d be forced to publicly admit defeat. Or maybe, he was just that dense. Either way, I wasn’t proud of my fib, but I had a meeting in less than twenty minutes and couldn’t afford a scuffle of any sort.
“How do you know Nats?” he asked, chest puffing again.
He stepped closer. I held my ground. He had me by an inch and maybe fifty pounds and clearly enjoyed asserting his size. Nothing I hated worse than a fucking bully.
“Don’t know her,” was all I offered, and before he could respond, I walked away.
Wasn’t easy. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to tear the man apart for making that lady tremble. And how fucked was that? I didn’t know either of them. They were none of my concern, and I had no business letting that woman into my head.
But, goddamn, the way she looked at me.
Ellis met me at the corner coffee stand, ridiculous grin on his face, two mugs of coffee in his hands. “Can we skip poker tonight?”
I relieved him of one cup and brought the lid to my nose, absorbing the rich, nutty aroma. “What’s up? You got a hot date?” I asked, knowing damn well he did.
“Lacey’s making me dinner tonight.”
We headed north toward the gym, the wet cement slick and growing darker as the annoying mist gave way to heavy drops of rain. “Getting serious with this lady?” I asked, ducking deeper into my coat collar.
Ellis hit me with a big, dumb grin, then lifted his latte to his lips, taking a slow sip for dramatic pause. “Fuck, man. She’s the one.”
“You sure, tiger? It’s only been a month.”
“What can I say? When you know, you know.”
I couldn’t bridle my smile. I loved Ellis like a brother, and he obviously adored the shit out of Lacey. The two of them had been joined at the hip since their first date.
I’d never met a couple more suited.
And speak of the devil—the hot, curvy firecracker came bouncing around the corner, smile bright, dressed in workout gear and a waterproof jacket, her dark hair covered in a huge hood. “Oh, hi guys!”
Ellis scooped her up with one arm and lifted her for a kiss, her toes inches off the ground. Sweetest fucking couple.
Suddenly I was bitter, having woken alone in my king-size bed again. I shook off the negative vibe and continued walking.
“Did Ellis ask you about this weekend?” Lacey said, taking two strides for every one of ours to keep up.
“What’s up this weekend?”
She laid a hand on my arm to slow me down. “We’re hoping to make a love connection. My best friend and Martin.”
I snorted, spewing coffee. “Double date?”
“We were thinking more of a triple date.”
I studied Lacey’s pleading gaze, then shifted my attention to Ellis’s puppy dog eyes. Jesus. Fuck. They were killing me.
“You sure you want to risk that, bud?” I asked, hating the bitter taste of those words. “Martin isn’t exactly the dating type.”
He tucked Lacey under his massive arm and argued, “He hasn’t found the right lady yet, that’s all.”
Oh, Martin had found plenty of ladies. Trouble was, he could never recognize the beauty standing right in front of him, always looking for the next best thing, always wanting more.
We reached the door, and I shoved the key into the lock, wiggled the damn thing, then gave the door a hard yank. When the rush of sweat and leather and musty old building hit my nostrils, all tension left my body. I was home.
“I’m gonna head up to the office.” I shrugged out of my jacket and gave it a shake, then gave Lacey a peck on the cheek. “You two enjoy your workout.”
Small fingers gripped my elbow. “So you’ll join us on Saturday? Please?”
“Of course.” I nodded at Ellis. “Text me the deets.”
“Yay!” Lacey squealed, then bounced away toward the locker rooms, yelling over her shoulder. “We’re gonna have so much fun.
