“Good night, Lucy,” Miles said, woodenly.
“I, um…” Her desire evaporated in the blink of an eye, and she shook her head like someone trying to come out of a trance. It was clear she was embarrassed by her actions, aware she’d just kissed one guy and was ready to kiss a second. Lucy didn’t realize exactly how much that would NOT piss Joey off. “Good night.”
Joey sighed. “Night, honey.”
He and Miles waited until she walked inside and locked the door. As they headed for the truck, Joey could feel the heat from his friend’s anger.
“What the fuck was that?” Miles asked as soon as they were in the vehicle.
Joey, a smart-ass from way back, didn’t bother to hold back. “A good-night kiss. A good one too.”
“Way to make me feel like an awkward third wheel, asswipe.”
“You didn’t have to be a third wheel.”
“What the hell does that mean?” he barked.
“Why didn’t you kiss her too?”
Miles reared back as if Joey had struck him. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
Joey smirked. “Because you wanted to.”
“No, I didn’t.” It was the quickest protest Joey had ever heard, and the most hilarious when Miles tacked on, “She’s not my type.”
Joey laughed loudly. Too loudly.
Miles was not amused, and his scowl grew more pronounced as he started the truck in order to avoid eye contact. “And even if she was, which I’m not saying she is,” Miles continued, as they drove down the dark lane, “you’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re interested in her, and I don’t poach.”
“It’s not poaching.” Joey twisted on the seat because he wanted to see Miles’s reaction to his next comment. “It’s sharing.”
This time,Mileslaughed, but there wasn’t a drop of humor in it. “That’s not happening.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not a Moretti. I don’t believe in threesomes. Hell, I’m not even sure I believe in love at the moment because that shit fucks you up.”
Joey scoffed. “That’s because you’ve decided to let Rhiannon live in your head rent-free again. Kick her to the curb once and for all.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“No, it’s not.”
Miles’s teeth were clenched, his lips pursed shut.
“You still talking to her?”
Miles shrugged. “Few texts, nothing more.”
Joey hated his answer, but he dropped that line of argument because he had another one he needed to pick up. “Let’s put Rhiannon aside for a minute. Because you need to open your eyes and stop lying to yourself.”
Miles’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly “About what?”
“I don’t believe you when you say Lucy’s not your type. I saw you dancing with her. I saw the way you were looking at each other.”
Miles shook his head as they pulled up in front of the cabin. He shut off the truck, then turned to look at him. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not going to work, bro.”
Before Joey could question him, Miles climbed out of the truck, clearly hoping to make a quick escape to his bedroom.