Page 69 of Crossing Lines

“Yeah? Where’s that?” Ryan’s gaze swept to mine.

“It’s on the Baja peninsula, about three hours south of here. It’s on the Sea of Cortez.” How I’d remembered that I hadn’t a clue.

“Oh, maybe we should go some time.” Ryan offered a warm grin.

“Remember our trip to Puerto Vallarta?” Laurent took a sipof Ryan’s cucumber jalapeño margarita, then hissed and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Oh my God, that’s good, but it’s got a kick to it.”

The Frenchie can’t handle the heat. I chuckled to myself. I wasn’t going to ask about their trip. I wasn’t falling for the bait.

“Yes, Puerto Vallarta was so much fun.” Ryan nodded, then tapped my forearm. “We took these ATVs on a tequila-tasting tour up in the mountains.”

“Did you now.” I forced a smile at him. Was I really going to be subjected to listening to all the fun things they did together as a couple without any alcohol?

“Yes, and there was this iguana at the one place that loved Ryan.” With a quick laugh, Laurent scooted his chair closer to Ryan’s. “Well, Ryan fed him some tortilla, and that was it.”

“Love at first bite?” Ryan turned his warm smile on Laurent.

“Exactly.” Taking a long pull of his drink, Laurent leaned toward Ryan. “Iggy—we named the iguana Iggy—climbed up Ryan’s back and sat on his shoulder for, like, a half-hour.”

“Iggy.” I freed a stuttered chuckle. ’Cause what else are you going to name a fucking iguana? As I made to give Ryan an eye roll, I stopped myself. I had to be more mature than this. Laurent and Ryan were close friends now, nothing more. But then, why was I getting this competitive feeling in my gut?

The server brought out all the ingredients for our guacamole on a cart and made it for us, squeezing out fresh lime at the end of the demonstration, then placed it on the center of our table with warm corn chips. As we dove into the guacamole, he took our order. We’d all ended up with various taco combinations.

“So, Laurent, what do you do exactly?” I swiped a chip in the guacamole, then stuffed it into my mouth. What had Ryan seen in him anyway? I mean, yeah, he was a good-looking guy, but he seemed a little on the arrogant side to me. And why had he wanted to share Ryan with other people in bed? I’d never share Ryan with anyone. No way, no how.

“Oh, I work for an electronics distributor. We sell electronic components of all sorts.” He lifted

a shoulder, then drank his margarita. “Did you try my drink yet, honey?” He set his drink down in front of Ryan.

“No, not yet.” He sipped Laurent’s margarita. “Yeah, that’s good,” he said, sneaking a glance at me. “Want to try it?” He pushed the drink toward me.

Honey? What the fuck?As I shook off the comment, I peeked at Laurent and nodded. “Yeah, sure.” I slid the drink closer to me.

Laurent wrinkled his nose, then flipped his napkin out as he unfolded it.

“Itisgood. We should come back here again when my concussion is healed so I can have a few of these.” I pushed the glass away from me. “Can I try yours, Ryan?”Honey?I smirked. I’d have to think of my own pet name for him.

“Of course.” He set Laurent’s drink in front of him, then pushed his toward me. “Watch out, the finish is a little hot.”

Stirring the margarita with a straw, I said, “Don’t worry about me. I can take the heat.” As I took a long sip of the drink, I wound my gaze to Laurent’s. I was back to being childish again, but fuck if I cared. “Mmm, good.” I slid the glass to Ryan.

The waiter stopped off with our tacos, each one of us getting a mixture of roasted pork shoulder, butternut squash, and mahi mahi.

I looked down at my plate, meat, cheese, and vegetables spilling out of the tortillas, and my mouth watered. As I rubbed my hands together, I said, “Looks good.”

“Sure does. I don’t think I’d ever find anything like this up in Toronto.” Laurent brushed his fingers down Ryan’s shoulder. “Thanks for taking me someplace special like this.” His gaze locked on Ryan’s.

Slack-jawed, I stared at them. For a second, I could see what they’d looked like as a couple. Shit. But they weren’t a couple. Ryan was withmenow, new as it was. This whole thing wasreally fucking with my head. Or maybe my brain still wasn’t working right because of the concussion?

“You’re welcome, Laurent. I’m glad you could come down here and experience a little bit of Arizona.” Ryan picked up a taco and bit into it, the contents spilling onto his plate. “Damn, these things are a little messy.”

“But so, so good.” Laurent ate a bit of his pork taco. Swallowing his food down, he wiped his fingers on his napkin. “Jonah, what are you studying in school?”

“Oh, uh, I’m pre-med.” I straightened my shoulders. At least it sounded impressive.

“Wow, so if you don’t become a star hockey player, you plan on being a doctor?” Laurent tilted his head, the edge of his lip curling.

“I am. But I think my prospects for hockey are a little better now.” I glanced at Ryan. What had he told him about me? Had he told Laurent anything?

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