Page 62 of HEA: Happily Ever After

Oscar’s hand slid easily into mine and held tight. “The brother-in-law, right?” Oscar asked with a big smile. “Nice to meet you. Have you met Ben?” he asked as Ben returned to our little group with a drink in each hand. “He plays music.”

It was harder than it should have been to keep from laughing. Oscar was so enigmatic and so effortlessly charming when he wanted to be that it would have been virtually impossible for a stranger to know whether he was being offensively petulant or sincerely polite. No one else at this party could see the strong emotion underneath his polished surface any more than they knew about the tiny hedgehog secreted in his pocket.

But I did.

“Yes,” Jared said. “Ben’s my boyfriend. We’re together.” He had to step back when Ben pushed between us to hand glasses of beer to me and Oscar. “So, ah… how long have you two?—”

“A while now,” Oscar cut in with that same affable smile before Jared could finish his question. “We met at a friend’s wedding a year and a half ago.” His eyes met mine. “Didn’t we, baby?”

“W-we did,” I said with total honesty.

“It wasn’t easy to win him over, let me tell you,” Oscar told Jared without looking away from me. “I had to pull out all of my very best pickup lines?—”

I snorted.

“—while Hugh rated them,” Oscar added slyly, “on a pity curve.”

“Hey!” I squawked, unable to stop grinning despite my outrage. “That is not an accurate interpretation of events, Oscar Overton?—”

“It was tricky to make things work at first because I travel around the world for work, and Hugh’s job keeps him incredibly busy on the weekends, but the truth is… I just couldn’t stay away, no matter how hard I tried.”

“That’s great,” Jared said. “I’m really happy for?—”

“Every time his name came up on my phone,” Oscar continued, staring into my eyes, “my heart would leap just knowing that he’d been thinking of me. And no matter where I was or who I was with, I had to stop and see what Hugh had to say because it was always something funny or brilliant or thought-provoking.”

“Yeah. Hugh, remember the time—?” Jared began.

My cheeks were on fire, my fingertips tingled, and I didn’t so much as turn my head to see what the hell Jared was talking about. Oscar’s eyes hadn’t moved from mine, and the things he was saying…

“There were a lot of nights I spent on the other half of the world thinking I’d give my entire bank account to have Hugh beside me… in my bed.” He gave me a sultry look that nearly ignited all of my clothes and everything around us.

I made a guck sound and wondered if the floor might be willing to open up and take me to the comfort of the underworld for a few minutes so I could cool off.

Oscar looked at me with warm affection before leaning in to kiss my cheek softly. “Hugh’s the sort of boyfriend any mother would adore too. My own mother once said my family wanted nothing more than to see me happy and settled. But they say it doesn’t feel like settling when you’ve found your person, right?”

“Er. I suppose,” Jared agreed. “My mother also?—”

“And then there’s my best friend. He might like Hugh more than he does me,” Oscar went on, his gaze never wavering. The look in his eyes was doing something filthy to my stomach and groin.

I frowned. “Your best?—”

“Poor Frank. He gets so socially awkward at parties, but Hugh knew just what he needed.” Oscar’s lips twitched up in a smile. “Didn’t you, sweetheart?”

I shook my head slowly. Unbelievable, I told him with my mind, and Oscar lifted a challenging eyebrow.

“Meeting Hugh changed my life,” Oscar assured Jared and Ben… and me. “No lie.”

As I stared at him, I realized he wasn’t lying. He very carefully hadn’t lied once to Jared and Ben about any of the facts of our friendship. And as for the way he’d said them… My breath rushed out in a whoosh, and I had to forcibly remember to inhale.

“Uh-huh. Well, it was nice to meet you,” Ben interrupted, sounding bored. “Please excuse us. I see Jared’s mom just arrived, and I’m dying to give her a hug.”

For weeks, I’d thought it would bother me, knowing Ben would have the life and family that I’d wanted. But at that moment, I didn’t care. None of it mattered. The entire party could have been abducted by aliens, and I wouldn’t even have noticed.

As long as Oscar Overton was looking at me with fire in his eyes and calling me sweetheart, there was no famous drummer in the world who could come close to the staccato rhythm pounding a crescendo in my chest.

15

OSCAR

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