Page 16 of Get Undressed With Me

“And you’re ready for this guy?”

“Absolutely.” He said it with a conviction that Brittany felt in her bones, and she was hit with the flash of her almost-year with Robbie. Whenever Robbie had a problem, the response was always to call Gus. And now she had Gus on her side, protecting her, and it felt…

…nice.

“So what’s the plan for this Kickoff? Anything special?”

Brittany shrugged. “The usual. Heading to Randall’s booth now for a live stream. A couple meet-and-greets through the weekend.”

Min eyed her. “And the sexy plans?”

“Still on. Assuming I find a willing participant.”

Min huffed. “Any man would be so lucky.”

“Not according to the last one.”

Brittany had been aiming for a self-deprecating joke, but it had come out sounding a little more serious that she expected. Which had Min and Hayden turning sympathetic eyes on her. Christ, it was one thing for Min to look at her like that, but Hayden too?

“He was a jerk and didn’t deserve you, Brittany,” Min told her. “His actions made that abundantly clear. Tell me you’re not broken up over him.”

Brittany could feel Gus’s eyes on her, but she ignored him. He only knew Robbie’s side of the story, and whatever she had let slip that night in Robbie’s apartment. And he was Robbie’s brother. There was nothing Brittany could say that would move his opinion in her direction.

Brittany rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the mood she had inadvertently brought down. “Hell no. Pissed, yes, because I feel like an idiot that I stayed so long.”

“Have you dated anyone since?”

“No.”

“Brittany.” The way Min said her name, so full of sympathy, had Brittany feeling a suspicious burning behind her eyes, which she quickly pushed down, very aware of Gus’s eyes on her.

“It’s not a big deal.”

Min looked at her with sympathy. “He really got to you, didn’t he?”

“I think it was more that he opened my eyes to how little I was demanding from a romantic partner. And then he stomped all over me.”

“Don’t let him turn you bitter.”

Brittany snorted. “He doesn’t have that power.”

Min nodded, looking relieved. “You don’t actually have to be around him, right? Just because…” her voice trailed off as she looked at Gus, who was purposefully looking in the other direction even though he had clearly been eavesdropping on the entire conversation.

“No,” Brittany said, tapping Gus’s arm. “Just the big guy.”

“Is Robbie here?” Hayden asked. His eyes had gone narrow, focused, even as he put his arm around Min and pulled her awayfrom the guy behind them in line who wasn’t respecting the idea of personal bubbles.

“Yes.” Brittany almost jumped at the sound of Gus’s voice.

There was a silent pause. A tense pause. Mostly from Min. Brittany had known Min since college, when they made a pact to fucking hate each other’s exes no matter what. And if Robbie was here at Kickoff, Min was ready to either pretend he didn’t exist or cause a big scene, depending on what Brittany wanted.

If the situation was reversed, Brittany would’ve done far worse to Hayden. In fact, she’d had a whole car barbeque planned before the idiot fixed his ways.

Brittany rolled her eyes. “He’s here, but unless he’s dying to come to one of my meet-and-greets, we won’t see each other. Kickoff is a huge event, and we sure don’t run in the same circles anymore. It’ll be fine.”

They had finally reached the front of the line, so Britt, exhausted from the conversation and from dodging questions, scooted toward the far scanner for her badge, throwing a wave behind her.

“Running late, gotta go, love you, bye!”

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