Page 5 of French Martini

“Great,” he mumbles.

“Wasn’t a good night?” I tease as we walk to the kitchen together.

“It was fine until I called him the wrong name while he was choking on my dick.”

I flinch at the mental visual. “Oops. What did you call him?”

Ridley glances at me like I’m missing something very obvious. Then it dawns on me.

“Oh shit. You called him Wren?”

“I called him Wren. It was the red hair.”

“He reacted poorly?”

“Tried to leave in the middle of it. I persuaded him to stay given the hour, but he slept on my couch. He told me even though he was just a hookup he deserved to be chosen and not a substitute for someone else. That cut deep. I couldn’t bear to face him this morning so I pretended to be asleep.”

“That explains why he looked like he couldn’t wait to get out of here.”

“Dick move on my part.”

“Accidents happen.”

“Yeah.” He bumps his arm against mine. “Too bad I’m hung up on someone I can’t have.”

“You never know.”

We find Kit and Stewart in the dining room setting the table, and then to our surprise, Salem strolls in carrying the platter of potatoes, followed by Indy who has two pitchers of juice in his hands. Bane enters next with a platter of bacon and a basket of toast, and then Jerryn comes in with the eggs.

We take our places, everyone complimenting how good the food looks, and we settle into our normal routine. The bar is closed for the day, so we can spend it how we like.

Before we dig in, Indy raises his glass of orange juice. “A new year toast?”

Nodding, I raise my glass too.

“May this next year be filled with wonderful surprises for all of us. I love you, guys.”

My chest tightens with emotion, but I nod, pushing down the budding hope that persists in spite of my attempts to kill it. I don’t know how to navigate love and romance anymore, not after trusting Alain with my heart and my livelihood. Could I ever give my heart to someone again or am I destined to be bitter and single for the rest of my life?

I sip my orange juice, but when I flick my gaze to Indy, he’s watching me, mouthing the words,Are you okay?

I nod and force a smile to my lips.Perfect, I mouth back.

Then I turn my attention to loading up my plate before he can see that I’m lying through my teeth.

TWO

OAKLEY

“As you can see,my cousin’s skill set more than meets the position requirements.”

A sharp nudge in my ribs gets my attention. “Ouch.” I rub the offending spot. “What the fuck, man?”

“You’re not listening to me, Oak. You’ve had that position open for three months and I have someone.”

It takes me a second to realize I didn’t hear a damn word Kreson said.

“Sorry,” I mumble, taking another sip of scalding coffee. “My head was somewhere else.”

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