Page 6 of Tangled Hearts

“Started without us again?” Luna asks, cutting right in. Crap. I’d totally forgotten she and Julie were meeting us.

“You’re late.” Frankie takes a sip of her beer. “Grab the table.” She points to one next to ours. “I’m talking to you, big guy.” She bumps her shoulder into Kaden’s.

“You’re bossy.” He grumbles but gets up. I see a whisper of a smile on Frankie’s lips before she quickly covers it by taking another sip of her beer.

“Thanks,” Julie and Luna tell Kaden as he moves the other table in with ours.

“You’re in a better mood, I see,” I say to Julie, who is all smiles tonight. I think she might be glowing too. Does good sex make you glow? Dylan flashes through my mind. Wow, I need to get it under control, or maybe for tonight I don't. He really does seem genuine and sweet.

“Well, the boyfriend and I?—”

“Sorry about that,” Dylan says, returning to the table.

“Dylan?!” Julie squeals. “Oh my gosh. I didn’t know you’d be here.” She proactively throws herself at him. My stomach sinks.

That’s the boyfriend. No longer the ex.

Chapter Five

DYLAN

Itry not to grimace as I peel Julie off me.

“Luna told me it was a bad idea to go and see you the other night, but I didn’t listen. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.” She pats Luna on the shoulder.

The glossy blonde shrugs. “If it works for you, it’s all good.”

“Luna was right,” I say. “We’re broken up, so you should not be crashing at my place after a night of drinking. Listen to your friend.”

I try to emphasize the broken-up bit for Natalie, who has gone from looking at me with wet lips and hot eyes to a pinched, unhappy expression. Kaden’s eyes bounce from one person to another until he arrives at the probably correct conclusion that I’m screwed.

“We out of here?” The only move he makes is the arch of his eyebrow.

Given how close he’s positioned himself to the brown-haired girl, Frankie, he does not want to leave. Like any good friend would do, I sit my ass back down. “Nah. We just ordered, andsince you haven’t signed your new contract yet, this is probably the only drink we can afford.”

“If you took in more clients, you wouldn’t have these cash flow issues.” Julie shakes her head mournfully.

“True.” I’m done explaining myself to her.

“I’ll cover your shot.” Kaden grins. He’s enjoying this and is recording every word to repeat at our next poker meet.

“It’s not this one drink that matters, though, is it?” Julie will not let up. “It’s every time we go out. Will Kaden always be there to pay your way?”

“Yes.” If he’s going to get so much pleasure out of my pain, then he damned well better be paying.

“I’m good for at least five more happy hours. After that, we’ll have to renegotiate.” Kaden’s almost laughing now.

“That will just make you both uncomfortable until you get to the point that you don’t even want to go out anymore. Your friendship will wither and your self-esteem will plummet, and soon you’ll just be holed up in your living room with your lights off, eating ice cream straight out of the tub,” Julie cries.

A pall descends on the table. Natalie stares at her hands. Kaden’s shit-eating grin has slid off. I take a big gulp of my drink. Julie has issues that stem far beyond my current career choices.

The girl with the big rock on her left hand pats Julie on the back. “Oh, honey, it’s okay. Let’s talk about this later.”

“Actually, isn’t this the best time? We’re all professionals here.” Julie’s getting worked up and, not to be mean, but if we were dating, I would have sent myself to a professional because no amount of sex would be worth this. “We can give him all our collective advice. We know that to build a book of business. You have to be consistent, and to throw it all away for no reason doesn’t make sense.”

“No reason?” Kaden interjects, but I give him a rough shake of my head. I never shared my mother‘s circumstances with Julie because despite her thinking we were a couple, I never thought we were close. Notshare my mom’s medical diagnosisclose, at least.

Natalie catches my silent signal to Kaden and tilts her head. I give her a tight, regretful smile. I know I’m not making a good impression.

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