Page 250 of Vegas Heat

“What about me?” I ask.

“You dating anyone?” he asks. “A few of my wife’s friends were discussing what asnackyou are the other day, so if you’re looking to meet someone, I know a few single ladies who are interested.”

I laugh. “Asnack?”

“Their word, not mine.” He shrugs.

“Is it supposed to be a compliment?” I wonder aloud.

“It means good enough to eat,” Victor Bancroft, the famous actor and the third co-owner of Coax, pipes in. He wiggles his eyebrows up and down to make sure his meaning is clear—a snack is something sexually appealing, apparently.

And that’s the foursome with the groom to be today. Three sex club owners plus a third baseman. It sounds like the start ofsome raunchy joke, but it’s just my Saturday morning on a golf course.

James and Victor are Troy’s closest friends outside of ball, and they’re here to support him on his wedding day. He didn’t ask either of them to stand up in the wedding, but he did ask them to be there tonight on the very small guest list.

Troy walks back toward the golf cart we’re sharing, shaking his head at the way his ball sliced right, and I start driving to the next tee as soon as he gets in.

“Did you ever answer the question?” he asks.

“What question?”

“The one James just asked you. For as close as we are, younevertalk about your personal life,” he presses.

I sigh. I can’t exactly do this without Gabby by my side. “It’s complicated,” I offer instead.

“With Stacy?”

I shake my head, my brows dipping as my head swings over in his direction for a beat before I turn back to the road as I take the curve around toward the next tee possibly a bit too fast. “What makes you say that?”

“She showed up out of nowhere a few months ago, and you went radio silent right around the same time. I figured one had to do with the other and you didn’t want to admit you were fucking your nutty ex.”

I turn to narrow my eyes on him. “Question.”

He raises his brows as if to tell me to ask away.

“What if Iwasfucking my nutty ex? Do you really think I’d take kindly to you calling hernutty?”

He chuckles. “I figured I’d either get a rise out of you or you’d let it go, but either way I’d get the answer. So I take it it’s a no?”

“It’s a hardcore no. I want nothing to do with my ex-girlfriend and I made that very, very clear to her.”

“Then who’s been yanking your crank? You’re in a perpetual good mood, so you must be getting it somewhere.”

Jesus, this is uncomfortable. I’m trying to come up with some answer when I pull up to the next tee.

“Hey Bodine, is your daughter seeing anybody?” Victor asks when we pull up to the next tee, thankfully saving me from having to answer more of Troy’s questions…but also throwing a brand-new wrench into the thick of things since I could essentially kill two birds with one stone if I answered Victor’s question.

“Not that I know of,” he answers, and I force myself not to freeze, to feign total disinterest…to act like I have no horse in this race even though I essentially own all the horses. “Why?”

Thank God he asked so I don’t have to.

“Jade’s younger brother is moving to town. He’s in his early twenties, and I thought he might like a friend close to his age,” Vic says.

He.Heis in his early twenties.

Victor is trying to hook Gabby up with some woman from the club’s younger brother, and my hackles rise all the way the fuck up to the sky.

I’m about to get involved when I realize I can’t. It’s supposedly not my place even though it most definitelyismy place. Still, Gabby should be here for that particular conversation.

---