Page 72 of Whatever You Need

“Well, I’m not.” Surprise flashed in her eyes as she stumbled back on her heels. “Why don’t we go find our friends,” I suggested, letting her know that she’d gone too far. She probably didn’t get turned down very often, if ever.

She gave me a stiff smile and made a point of stalking away. Her long red hair swayed from side to side, her steps were long and angry. So much for coming out to unwind tonight. Now I wish I had listened to my gut and stayed home.

I was questioning why I even agreed to this. What I was certain of, however, was that I was going to kick Logan’s ass for putting me in this position.

“What are we celebrating?” I asked the guys when we finally reached the table. Fiona went to stand next to her friend, no doubt complaining about what an asshole I was. Now that there was a little distance between us, I was finally able to relax a little bit.

“Dwayne finally asked Amanda to marry him,” Logan announced loud and proud.

Dwayne worked in the vice unit and our paths crossed many times. His nickname was Stone Cold because the dude never smiled, however he had a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon as he stared down at his fiancée. “Congrats to you both. That’s awesome,” I said, as Amanda held her hand out, showing off her ring. She looked as happy as could be. “It’s about time, considering you bought that thing two years ago,” I reminded him.

Dwayne looked down at Amanda, his dark eyes sparkled with affection. “I would have married her the day we met if I thought her parents would be okay with it.”

Dwayne and Amanda were perfect for each other in every possible way. But Amanda came from a strict religious Caucasian family, her father was a pastor and Dwayne was African American. It took a while for him to win her parents over, but once they realized how happy he made their daughter, they finally saw him for the stand-up guy he was.

“Well, I’m happy for you guys.” I patted him on the back and kissed Amanda on the cheek. I was sincerely elated for my friend, because he deserved all the happiness in the world, but a part of me was envious as hell. He got to be with the woman he loved, while I had to stand here, missing the one I lost a piece of my heart to.

“Thanks, man.” Dwayne clinked his drink with mine, and I couldn’t help but notice how much his eyes lit up just talking about it. “I’m pretty fucking thrilled myself.”

“So, when’s the big day?” Logan asked before chugging the rest of his beer.

“It depends.” Dwayne looked to me. “We were hoping to book the ballroom at Amelia’s hotel, but they book up to three years in advance. Do you think she can pull any strings and help us out?”

I pulled on the back of my neck, feeling Logan giving me a side glance. Dwayne was obviously too wrapped up in his own happiness that he didn’t realize that I came here alone.

“Uh…” I paused, searching for the right words; it felt like everyone’s eyes were on me. “We aren’t together anymore.”

“Oh, shit.” He reached out and patted me on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, dude. That sucks.”

“Thanks, but I’m good,” I lied, keeping my eyes glued to the ground. “I’ll text you her number. I’m sure she will be more than willing to help you out if she can.”

“We would appreciate that,” Amanda said politely, her gaze darting over to Fiona.

“Thanks.” I glanced up, needing to get the hell away from this table for a minute. “I’m going to get another round. What are you guys drinking?”

I collected their orders and edged my way through the crowd. Logan and Dwayne were right behind me. I looked over at the girls who stood shoulder to shoulder in a small circle. Their conversation seemed heated. Logan’s date shot me a dirty look.

“Dude.” Logan nudged me. “Your attitude needs a serious adjustment. I don’t know what you said to Fiona, but Stephanie looks like she wants to cut your dick off.”

“Don’t give me a hard time, but I just wasn’t feeling it.”

Dwayne’s mouth hitched up to one side. “I think I know what this is about.” His brown eyes lit up with playfulness, but I didn’t dare smile back. The guy was sharp as a tack and the fact that he was busting my balls meant he had already had a few drinks before he got here.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Let’s drop it.”

Logan leaned into Dwayne’s ear and whispered, “He’s too stubborn to admit that he’s in love.”

I turned my back, studying the bottles of alcohol along the glass shelf, not giving them any reaction to feed off of. For the first time in my career I was wishing that marijuana wasn’t illegal, because chilling out with a nice big, fat joint sounded pretty damn good right now.

“You really think he’s still hung up on her?” Dwayne’s voice was filled with amusement.

I could see Logan nodding his head through the mirror. “Oh, I know he is, but he refuses to do anything about it.”

Dwayne let out a small, sarcastic whistle. “Is that why he’s over here avoiding the smoking hot redhead?”

I finally spun back around to face them. They were hitting every single one of my buttons. “Will you two idiots knock it off.”

“Not until you stop lying to yourself and admit how you really feel.”

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