Page 59 of Wild Card
“Oh, well, it was Dalton’s idea to begin with.”
“So bring him,” Emory said, as if it were that easy. “Gray is coming with me. It won’t be a big deal. We’re just gonna hang out. I think Matteo will be there too.”
“Sounds like a party,” I said.
A party of two couples and me, the fifth wheel, unless I asked Dalton along.
“You all should come,” Emory said, including Bailey and Holden in the invite.
“That’s okay,” Bailey said. “Nova and I are going to a concert in Omaha that night.”
No wonder he wanted to make extra money playing pool. Concerts weren’t cheap.
“What about you, Holden?” Emory asked.
Holden shook his head. “Nah. I’ll stay home and watch Banshee. If I’m going to think about adopting her, we need some quality time together.”
Damn. Now I really had to invite Dalton, or I’d be the odd guy out. Maybe I’d leave out a few details. If he realized he was my plus-one to a table full of couples, he might think twice about agreeing to go.
“Are you sure Allison won’t mind us talking shop on her night off?”
“Nah, she loves this stuff,” Emory said as he texted on his phone and chuckled. “Yep. She’s already suggesting we all meet up.” He shot me a wide smile. “She’s the best.”
Gray got riled when I flirted with Emory in front of him, but when Emory talked about his best friend—and former girlfriend—with such fondness, he was totally unfazed.
He brushed a kiss across Emory’s temple and collected their plates. “I’ll clean up.”
Bailey glanced at me. “So? Pool hall?”
I shrugged. “Sure, if Holden doesn’t mind dog-sitting?”
“I can handle it,” Holden said. “Just stay out of trouble.”
“Nova can come along,” I suggested. “She’ll keep Bailey from pissing off anyone with his pool hustling.”
“Ooh, it’s been a while since I saw Bailey absolutely rob some big dude of all his money. This should be fun!”
“Okay, so Emory will keep Bailey in line,” I said with a laugh. “You’re coming, guys, right?”
Gray half turned from the sink. “Oh, I don’t know. We were just going to watch a movie.”
“Come on, man. Don’t make me the responsible party. You know that never ends well.”
Emory smirked. “We can go for a bit. It’s fine. But can you do me a favor too?”
“Anything,” I said.
“I’m moving my stuff out of my apartment next week…”
I groaned. “Son of a bitch. I walked right into that one. Don’t you have family and friends to torture?”
“You’re my family, aren’t you?” he said so sweetly I almost missed the mischievous spark in his eye.
Gray slung an arm over his shoulders and smirked at me. “Yeah, Ax. Doesn’t our bro code extend to our boyfriends?”
I sighed. “Fine. But only because Emory’s so adorable. And I appreciate you calling Allison on this grant thing. The shelter can really use more funds.”
Emory blew me a kiss. “You’re the best.”
