Page 20 of Cody

I raised a brow. “So you knew you were crossing the line?”

For a moment she looked guilty, and I knew the answer to my question.

“I don’t play games, Evelyn.” I went to step around her, but she quickly jumped in front of me to block me. The desperate look on her face wasn’t attractive. “If you came here just to get close to me, you might as well go home.” I glanced past her just as Mia and Alina came outside.

Shit.I hadn’t expected to see Alina today. I remembered that she was originally from Coldwater, but it hadn’t occurred to me that she and Mia might be old friends. Our gazes clashed briefly. There was no surprise at seeing me on her face, and then her gaze darted back and forth between me and Evelyn before she smiled and followed Mia to one of the tables. Damn, she looked cute, in floral overalls that were cut short at her thighs and worn over a blue t-shirt. Her legs were damned near perfect.

In true Evelyn form, she drew my attention back to her by smoothing her palms over my pecs in a move she had no business doing. “Cody, please. Can we talk?”

With a sigh of impatience, I glared down at her. “You came with Lincoln,” I pointed out, deciding not to beat around the bush.

She studied me with a look of confusion for a minute, and I knew what she was thinking—it hadn’t bothered me before when one of my brothers had dated the same woman that I was. Her eyes lit up as she chose to misunderstand. “Are you jealous?”

I scoffed. “You know I don’t get jealous.” My gaze flickered over her shoulder to where Alina was engrossed in conversation with Max and sitting way too close to him.

Why did that bother me?

A sound of annoyance escaped Evelyn, and I glanced down to see that her expression mirrored it. “Yeah, I forgot. You don’t mind sharing your women.”

“If by sharing you mean that I don’t mind if the women I’m seeing are dating other men, then you’re right, Evelyn. That’s the meaning of being non-exclusive.”

“And what about sleeping with them?” she tossed back. “What if I let Lincoln fuck me?”

Hell. She was playing dumb, and she knew exactly how I felt. I was done with her selective amnesia and glared down at her. “I don’t give a fuck. I don’t expect the women I’m screwing to be faithful when we’re not exclusive. It wouldn’t be fair. I like to have fun and I like variety, and the women I spend time with feel the same way. How come suddenly you don’t understand, Evelyn?” Jesus, what had made her change? We’d had a good thing going for a while.

After that little speech, I’d expect to see tears of hurt in a woman’s eyes, but not Evelyn. The stubborn set of her jaw, the heat flushing her face, and the shards of glass scowling up at me said it all. She was pissed and about ready to blow. Why did she have to force me to be cruel? We’d had a mutually beneficial year, hanging out occasionally, enjoying each other’s company, and the sex had been some of the best I’d ever had.

Jesus H. Christ!Did she think she loved me? Was that it? As the silence between us grew, the truth hit my stupid ass like a thunder bolt. Women were sensitive creatures. They ruled with their hearts, even women like Evelyn. She had feelings and dreams like anyone else. I knew she’d been with other men, but I’d monopolized her time. Never once had I thought of her as a girlfriend, but rather someone to hang out with. My plus one.

I looked past her to where King was manning the grill. His smirk and the shaking of his head confirmed that he’d heard our conversation. His gaze was screaming, “I told you, Brother,” Because he’d warned me often enough that my lifestyle was going to backfire on me one day, and this is what it looked like.

The compassionate side of me wanted to hug Evelyn to soothe her and make her understand, but knowing the kind of woman she was, I sensed that that would be a mistake. She’d always given off the strong, independent woman vibe, but right now she seemed vulnerable and apt to misinterpret my intentions.

I’d come here to spend down time with my buddies, have some food and beer, not to get all tangled up with an ex and a serious conversation. It annoyed me that Evelyn had come here to confront me. Now wasn’t the time. I caught Lincoln’s eye and motioned him over. He got up and sprinted over to us with a look on his face that said that he knew he wasn’t going to like what I had to say.

“Yeah, man?”

Evelyn started at his unexpected appearance behind her. She crossed her arms, anger and hurt still seething on her face.

“Take Evelyn home.”

His brows shot up with surprise. Evelyn gasped and opened her mouth to say something. I narrowed my eyes on her and clenched my teeth in a silent warning to not make a scene, which made her promptly close her mouth again.

Lincoln didn’t question anyone. I was sure that the tension between Evelyn and me was explanation enough. When he reached for her arm, she pulled away with a huff. I stepped closer to her and snapped in a low tone, “You don’t want to cause a scene. Now go home.”

After a brief standoff, she stomped off with Lincoln right behind her. I scanned over the other people at the cookout, relieved to see that no one was looking our way. They all seemed involved in conversation amongst themselves. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying, but there was plenty of laughter in the air.

My gaze settled on Alina and Max. They were still sitting close together, and I didn’t like the way they were leaning into each other as if they were sharing a secret. What the hell did they have to discuss? They were strangers. Of all of us, Max was the easy-going brother. He was friendly with everyone, and we joked that he’d never met a stranger.

Realizing that I was still wound up from my interaction with Evelyn and slightly bothered by how cozy Alina and Max appeared, I headed over to King. I needed time to cool down. There was a cooler at King’s feet, and I helped myself to a beer. I popped the top and drank half of it down before either of us said a word.

His laughter rang out, and I glared at him. “Don’t say it.”

He shrugged with another chuckle. “Don’t need to.”

I watched him flip some burgers, trying to keep my interest away from Alina. I sighed and said after a while, “Why do women always go there?”

“You need to ask a woman that question, but if I were to guess, it’s in their genetic makeup. Women are softer. More sensitive. Their hearts rule their actions. Treat them a little different, and they begin to expect more.” He gave me a long stare. “They want more.”

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