Page 44 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

Molly pulled Harlow into her arms as soon as she sat down. I nodded to Finn as he leaned back, drinking his beer.

The girls were whispering and laughing. I found myself relaxing for a little bit.

“Where is Hayes?” I asked Tuck, who was staring at his phone.

“Over at the pool table.” He used his half-drunk beer bottle to point to our younger brother, who was smack in the middle of a group of pretty girls, showing off as usual.

Hayes was the life of the party. He’d always been like that. He thrived on attention, and judging by how the girls were giggling at his antics, I’d say he was getting plenty of it tonight.

I shook my head and turned to my buddy Finn. “The man has no shame.”

“None,” he said, as we watched my brother lean a little too far over the table, trying to help some poor unsuspecting girl shoot the ball into the pocket.

“He’s always liked playing it up for the crowd,” I said, resting my arms on the cool wood table.

“He’s putting on quite a show tonight. Gotta respect his determination.” We both watched him dramatically line up ashot behind one of the girls. He was pretending to help, but Finn and I both knew what he was up to.

I shook my head. “He’s trying too hard.”

“He’s been trying hard since middle school. The only difference now is he no longer wears his Hollister cologne.” We both laughed.

I’ve known Finn my entire life. We grew up on the same street. Rode our bikes to school every day together. He taught me how to water ski, and I would let him copy my math homework.

When our family’s construction business took off, we moved closer to the lake in an upscale neighborhood. My dad built my mom a bigger house in a quiet cul-de-sac. He’d come over for sleepovers in high school. We would sneak out of the basement window once my folks went to bed. Together we were trouble, but he was one of those friends you could trust with your life.

He was also married to Harlow’s best friend, which made things complicated, and that was putting it mildly.He looked over where the girls were laughing a little loudly.

“You going to be nice tonight?” I asked, bumping his shoulder.

“My wife threatened me if I wasn’t, so I’ll try my best.”

I laughed, but to be fair, he was there when everything blew up. He saw the worst of it, so I cut him some slack.

I laid my hand along the back of the seat. “Just be cordial, it shouldn’t be that hard. If I can do it, so can you.”

He tilted his head. “I am cordial.”

“No, you look like you would rather eat nails than talk to her.”

“I’m just in a sour mood.” He grabbed a beer out of the bucket. “One of my guys quit, so I think I hit my limit today on how many hours my old ass can handle shoveling dirt and hauling trees around.”

“You’re only thirty,” I pointed out.

“I feel ancient,” he grumbled. “You wait. Two more months and you can join me in the thirty-and-older club.”

“I’ll be fine.”

He squinted his eyes. “I don’t know, dude, I saw the way you were stretching your back when you walked in.”

I wanted to deny it, but the truth was that I’d been feeling a little off lately. I was pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my back while tearing up the warped floorboards of Harlow’s house. We stopped by earlier today to meet with the plumber. I wanted to make sure they pumped all the water out. I only intended to drop off a few dehumidifiers, but I ended up doing a little more physical labor than I planned on. My back was sore, and I noticed my knees weren’t bouncing back like they used to. Working in construction my entire life has caused a lot of wear and tear on my body. Thankfully, with my new role in the company, I would be spending more time in the office and less time hauling around heavy lumber.

I leaned over and tapped Harlow on the shoulder. “What do you want to drink?”

She paused her conversation with Molly. “I’ll have a vodka with club soda, please.”

Finn and I climbed out of the booth and went to the packed bar to get our girls their drinks. As soon as we were alone, he started in.

“What’s going on with you and Harlow?”

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