Page 2 of Bedding The Best Man (Bedding the Bachelors)

He and Jamie had already talked about Kylie, and Gabe hadn’t been interested. Even if he had been, Jamie was a cool guy, and he was a friend. There was no way he was going out with a girl who had dissed his friend like that.

“What’s up guys?”

He looked around to see Eric walking toward them, his lean body clad in board shorts, sunlight glinting off his brown hair. He looked comfortable and at ease as he plopped down into the vacant chair next to Gabe and Jamie.

“Did Dad corner you again?” Jamie asked.

“Ah, it’s okay. I always enjoy talking to your old man.” Eric fist-bumped Jamie and asked, “So where’s Brianne?”

Jamie turned to Gabe. “My sister. She’s in her first year of college but she might stop by.”

The talk turned to other things and Gabe loosened up a little. The view was amazing, and he’d needed a break. He was in school on an athletic scholarship and he had to work hard to keep his grades up.

He’d been a football player all through high school, but he’d always preferred soccer when he wasn’t boxing in the gym. He liked his courses. But the constant worry that if one thing went wrong he’d be trying to scrape up a living in a factory somewhere had worn him out, and so had his huge workload at school.

He eyed the other guys. None of them seemed the least bit intimidated by the house or the people who worked in it. They didn’t even seem to notice the man pruning the bushes.

He closed his eyes, letting the sun lay on his lids.

“Hey, Jamie,” the voice was low, musical and decidedly feminine.

“Brianne!”

Gabe’s eyes snapped open and he watched as Jamie greeted his sister with a huge hug, then turned to introduce her to them. “Meet my friends.”

Brianne was gorgeous. She had long brown hair that fell in a thick waving sheet to the small of her back. She was of average height, but lean, the most elegant thing he’d ever seen. She looked like a princess, even in the plain denim shorts that showed off the upper reaches of her tanned thighs and the plain pink tank top. His eyes went back to the shorts she wore. They’d been cleverly designed to make it look like she’d carelessly cut up a pair of jeans. The pockets hung below the hem and little strands of white thread dangled across her golden skin.

Her smile was blindingly white as she spoke to Gabe. “Hello.”

He realized everyone else had already introduced themselves. “Hey there. Gabe. Nice to meet you.”

Their eyes locked. Gabe’s heart beat just a little faster and his cock hardened. He managed not to shift and give himself away but it took a great deal of effort.

“Mind if I sit there?” She waved one slender hand toward the chair next to his, recently vacated by Luke, who stood staring at Brianne from the table that held their beer.

“No, not at all.”

As she sat, her shorts rode up her thighs. “So you’re the star soccer player, I hear.”

He shrugged and took a long pull of his beer. “I’m part of the team.”

“He’s so modest,” Jamie said. “He’s the only reason we win most of our games. He’s a bad ass on the field.”

Brianne’s eyes held his.

“Brianne plays soccer too. She’s good but she kicks like a girl.”

“I’d hate to get in front of one you were trying to put in the goal then,” Gabe said. “You women play hard.”

Brianne laughed and her hand came out, touching his briefly. Even that tiny contact was enough to send little thrills racing up his back. “Why thank you. It’s nice to know there’s one guy with sense in the bunch.”

“Aw come on…” Jamie groaned and their laughter rang out.

Brianne asked what they were all doing in school. Gabe looked into his beer bottle’s mouth, not speaking. Jamie was in Business, Cole and Luke were exploring law enforcement, Ryan wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, and Gabe…he was even more lost than Ryan.

He had no idea what to say. As usual, he was outclassed. Would there ever be a time when he’d feel comfortable in this world? He was sure he stuck out like a sore thumb, the odd man out in his group of friends.

“I think I’m gonna take a walk.” Everyone looked at him, and Gabe felt a tell-tale warmth creeping over his face. He’d nearly shouted, desperate to get away from the pool. There was too much happening in his head.

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