Page 52 of In Plain Sight

Even knowing that, it still hurt when she said shit like that, which was exactly why she did it.

With a loud sigh, I sat back up. I was awake now, and my alarm would be going off soon anyway. No point trying to go back to sleep.

“For fuck’s sake,” Asa muttered. “Can I have just one night to myself?” he asked under his breath.

I glanced over as he typed something into his phone, his thumbs flying over the screen.

When he was done, he huffed out a disgruntled sound and put his phone face down on the table.

It was Saturday night, and we were at a bar with some of the guys from work. Isaac and his best friend Jamie were playing pool, and Jesse and Sebastian were at a table across the bar, their heads bent together as they talked about something. Luka was chatting with a group of women near the bar, and Asa and I were at the table.

The only ones missing were Nate and Devon. Nate had five-year-old twins, so he didn’t come out with us much. Dev, like usual, had stopped by and had a drink with us but left early. He was our boss, and even though he was one of my best friends and was like a big brother to the younger employees, he was carefulto give us a boss-free zone so we could decompress and not have to worry about what we said.

My gaze found its way to Luka and the crowd of women surrounding him. They were all beautiful and very interested in whatever he was saying.

He looked incredible in a pair of fitted dark wash jeans that showed off his thick thighs and round ass. His electric-blue long-sleeved shirt hugged his frame and made his eyes pop.

He also looked happy and relaxed as he flirted and smiled at the women. It was a far cry from the stressed-out and distracted man I’d seen at work for the past few weeks.

Something ugly curled in my stomach as one of the women put her hand on his chest and gazed up at him like he’d hung the moon and stars.

I didn’t miss how Luka gently took her wrist and stepped back, giving her a big smile and casually lowering her hand so she wasn’t touching him anymore. The move was so confident and natural that she didn’t even seem to notice the rejection.

The ugly feeling settled a bit, which was stupid.

I shouldn’t give a shit who Luka was talking to, or who had their hands all over him.

Tearing my eyes from Luka, I glanced at Asa. He was glaring at his phone like it owed him money.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He rolled his shoulders and blew out a breath. “Yeah. Just my family being annoying. Nothing new.”

“Are you sure?”

Asa was incredibly private, and the best way to make him shut down was to try and force him to talk about something. Normally I wouldn’t press, but he’d been acting off for the past few weeks, and I was worried about him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. My stepbrother moved back to town and our parents are… They’re being theirusual annoying selves,” he finished, his tone telling me that barely scratched the surface of what was going on.

I’d worked with Asa for just over three years. He started as an apprentice and came on as full-time staff after he finished his training. He worked days with Jesse and Isaac, but we’d become good friends, even with our age difference.

Asa was only twenty-two, but he was one of the most mature people I’d ever met. He was what people called an old soul, but he was also stoic and reserved and preferred to observe people rather than participate.

Something we had in common.

Even after years as friends and coworkers, I didn’t know much about his family life. I knew his parents were divorced, and he had several younger half and stepsiblings. He’d mentioned an older stepbrother, but all I knew about him was that they didn’t get along, and he was some sort of athlete who’d gone to college on a scholarship. Was that the stepbrother who’d moved home?

“You’re lucky you’re an only child.” Asa grabbed his phone off the table and shoved it in his pocket. “I remember those days. I miss those days.”

“It has its advantages,” I said, keeping my tone neutral. Most people with siblings wished they were an only child, but like a lot of single kids, I wished I had a sibling.

Having another kid around would have made growing up easier. So would having someone to split my mother’s attention with.

“So why have you been a grump today?” Asa slid his gaze to mine and picked up his glass. “That’s my thing. You’re the brooding one. I’m the grumpy one.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one with family issues.”

“Your mom?”

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