Page 31 of The Play

But he wasn’t Jem. He wasn’t Deacon’s best friend.

Jem’s absence shouldn’t hurt, but it still did. Deacon knew he was making his peace with the hand fate had dealt him, and Deacon should be too, but it turned out it wasn’t all that easy.

“Where’s Landry?” Deacon asked, changing the subject.

“Grabbing us drinks. Surprised you didn’t see him.”

It was hard to miss Landry Banks—the guy was built like a small mountain.

“Me too,” Deacon said. Didn’t mention that he’d only been looking for one person when he’d stepped into the Pirate’s Booty.

“Oh, good, you came,” Landry said, walking up to them. He gave Riley one of the drinks in his hands and a kiss on his cheek, his lips lingering there. He whispered into Riley’s ear and then, drink in hand, took off towards the dance floor.

Deacon took a long gulp of his drink, glancing away from the private moment.

He wasn’t jealous of either Riley or Landry—but together? The happiness they’d found? He was at least man enough to admit he was envious of that.

Same with Micah and Beck. He could see flashes of them on the dance floor, smiling at each other, the lights glinting off their matching platinum wedding bands.

God, even Carter had found someone, his head ducked down low, his expression tender and his smile undeniable as Ian whispered something in his ear.

“It’s okay to feel that way,” Riley said, putting a hand on his forearm, squeezing reassuringly.

Deacon jolted a little. Surprised. Had his melancholy been written all over his face? God, he hoped not.

Maybe Grant had only come outside with him yesterday because he felt sorry for him. That would be even worse than the fact that it had happened at all.

“I don’t feel—”

“Bullshit.” Riley’s voice was still kind as he interrupted him. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling lonely. Especially with Jem gone.”

“I’m not . . .I’m not lonely,” Deacon said. “I have more friends on this goddamn team than I know what to do with. Y’all are giving me gray hair, too.”

“You know, that Nate kid is nice,” Riley said, his smile dimpling his cheeks. He looked like he was up to something.

At least he and Carter were painfully straightforward in their attempts to set him up.

“Yeah, you were right there. He’s a kid,” Deacon said.

“I think he’s got a crush on you,” Riley pointed out, still sounding kind, but there was an echo of steel in his tone now.

Just in case anyone had forgotten that Riley had been forced to fight like hell for everything he’d gotten, every opportunity he’d made the most of, there was the evidence. Riley didn’t fuck around.

Which made this . . .worse, Deacon decided.

“It’s just a bit of hero worship, ’cause I’m helping him out,” Deacon argued. He didn’t want anyone to have a crush on him. Even if he had the time for romance, he knew he was essentially unavailable.

Lie. You want one man and one man only to have a crush on you.

And that was the problem.

He was already taken.

Metaphorically.

Fuck.

“If you say so,” Riley said, sounding entirely unconvinced.

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