Page 5 of I Could Be Yours

Essie glances over her shoulder. “Oh, he’s with me.”

Disappointment flashes across his face, but he plasters on a smile. “Of course. Follow me.”

He guides us to the table where Tristan, Rix, and Flip, my roommate, who is Rix’s older brother and Tristan’s good friend and teammate, are already seated.

Rix gets up to hug me. “Thanks for picking up Ess.”

“No problem,” I lie.

“I could have picked up Essie,” Flip says.

“You were with me on a beverage run. You wouldn’t have had time.” Tristan stands to give me a brotherly back pat as he pulls me in close and whispers, “Everything okay?”

“All good. Just hit traffic.” I slide into the seat next to Essie, which is the only one available.

The server stops at the table and takes our drink order.

“Did you sort everything out?” Essie asks Rix. “Nate said you had some kind of emergency. Was it wedding related? You know you can always offload stuff to me. I’m here to help.”

“It was work related,” Rix explains. “It’s fine now.”

Tristan stretches his arm across the back of her seat. “If it’s too much, you can always reduce your hours, Bea.”

Her full name is Beatrix, and he’s the only one who shortens it to this.

She smiles up at him. “I know. I have it under control.”

He purses his lips. Tristan would love for Rix to quit her job. He and Flip are pro hockey players with the Toronto Terror, our local team, and both have multimillion-dollar contracts. But Rix and Flip grew up in a house where it was tough to make ends meet. Rix is used to taking care of herself financially, and she wants the autonomy, which I can respect, even if it means she’s spread a little thin right now.

She kisses the edge of his jaw. “Put your serious face away. We’re planning all the fun stuff tonight.”

His expression softens. “I can’t wait until you’re my wife.”

“I can’t wait until you’re my husband.”

“You two are so cute!” Essie takes a picture.

“Almost as cute as me, right, Ess?” Flip winks.

Essie laughs and holds her fingers a hairsbreadth apart. “They’re this much cuter than you.”

I try not to let my feelings show, but for some stupid reason, I seriously want to punch Flip in the face.

The server returns with my vodka and soda and Essie’s Aperol spritz.

“We already put in an order for all of our favorites,” Rix informs us.

It’s a tapas-style restaurant, and everything is made for sharing.

Essie’s eyes light up. “Did you get the tempura cauliflower?”

“Of course.” Rix smiles.

“I’m so excited.” Essie does some weird thing with her hands and bumps my arm. Her fingers brush my wrist. “Sorry.” She snatches her hand away. “Okay, should we get down to business?”

“I would get down to business with you any day,” Flip quips.

“Oh my God, stop flirting with my best friend.” Rix flicks his ear.

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