Page 33 of Say the Words
“His brother, though—he’s a keeper. Sexyanda corporate lawyer,” she continued.
The warring feelings in my stomach hardened over. My cousins took turns casting furtive glances at each other, avoiding me. Apparently, town gossip hadn’t reached Chloe’s social circle in Austin. That brought me some comfort. With any luck, the only people at the wedding who would know about Bret’s little indiscretion would be my family and Ty.
Sensing the shift in the room, Chloe looked around. “What?”
After some hesitation, Eliza took it on herself to explain. “June used to date Bret. Before his current girlfriend. Like,rightbefore. And a little bit during.”
Chloe looked as if she wanted to disappear into the couch cushions. She watched me with big eyes, as if I were about to fly off the handle. “I didn’t know that. I mean, I knew he dated around, but I didn’t think he was a cheat, just a player.” She cringed. “I’m not making this better, am I?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m over it.” I didn’t like having to replay the low points of my recent love life, but I didn’t wish Bret back. Not even on my worst day.
“But you’re both going to be at the wedding?” she asked. I tilted my head in confirmation. She let out a low whistle. “Small towns, man.”
“I don’t really think of Bret as being part of Magnolia Ridge.”
“He grew up here just like the rest of us,” Harper said.
“I guess I’ve compartmentalized.”
“Compartmentalized,” Eliza repeated. “That’s a strange way of saying you want to throat-punch a guy.”
I laughed at the image. My days of wanting to do bodily harm to Bret were long over. Then again, I hadn’t seen him in almost a year, so…
“I mean, I only really knew him in Austin. We only came to town for dinners at his parents’ house.”
In hindsight, that whole scenario had been weird. Bret took me out in Austin plenty, but he’d bring me back to Magnolia Ridge a couple times a month to have dinner with his family. At the time, I’d thought it illustrated his deep family bonds, but now, I suspected it had all been for show right from the beginning.
“Still,” Chloe said. “Nobody wants to run into their ex at a wedding.”
“You used to date Shaun.” Eden flipped her neck wrap over, settling deeper into the couch. “Is that going to be awkward for you?”
Chloe made a face. “That was more of a friends with benefits type of thing. I don’t mind seeing him.”
“I could use a few benefits right now.” Eliza’s lament prompted another round of laughter over our mugs of tea.
At the suggestion ofbenefits, Ty sprang into my mind again, all ruggedly gorgeous, looking out for my well-being on the ranch.
I almost laughed at my brain’s stupidity. A ridiculous thought, and not just because of the whole ex’s brother thing. What had hurt most in my relationship with Bret wasn’t even the cheating revelation—although that had been a neutron bomb at the time—but how he’d never really let me into his heart.
It had taken time and hindsight to see it, but everything with Bret had been on the surface, a veneer of affection that didn’t go all the way down. I’d promised myself that the next time I got involved with someone, it would be with a man who was just as willing to share his heart as I was.
If any man kept his heart under lock and key, it was Ty Hardy. As great as thebenefitsof a relationship with him would likely be, I had no intention of risking my heart with someone whose emotions were just as shallow as Bret’s.
ELEVEN
ty
In all my thirty-five years,I’d never been asked to plan a bachelor party before, but I thought it turned out all right. Dinner at Antojito’s Cocina, followed by a couple of bourbons at a new distillery in town. No weekend trip to Cabo, but nobody needed that kind of trouble. Booker had suggested we drop by The Broken Hammer for beers to round out the night, and even though I’d been spent since dinner, I didn’t complain. How could I? I’d sit through just about anything to keep my best friend happy.
Still, The Broken Hammer was a terrible choice on a regular night, let alone for a bachelor party. It reminded me of college, when drinking still held excitement, and I could hang around with Booker and our buddies for hours, clinging to the hope that obnoxious relentlessness would get us a woman’s phone number. Now, I just wanted to have the one last beer and go home. I wasn’t sure if that made me mature, or just old. Since the other guys didn’t seem to mind doing a little more carousing, it probably just made me old.
The five of us crowded around a corner table, taking turns buying pitchers and talking way too loud. I nursed my beer, barely listening to their stories, my thoughts on one thing only—getting out of there. This late in the evening, the pain pulsing through my ribcage on every breath left me on edge, and the crowded bar only made it worse.
At least at Antojito’s and the distillery, I’d had a little personal space. We hadn’t been in The Broken Hammer an hour before a drunk guy stumbled into me on his way to the restroom. The pain had sent me reeling, made that much worse when the guy clapped me on the shoulder to apologize. But I stayed for Booker’s sake, even if I had to grit my teeth through a whole evening of listening to guys talk about their cars.
“I blew out a rod,” Shaun said. “I either have to do a complete rebuild or get another engine.” He seemed to consider. “Or get another car.”
“My BMW’s still going strong.” Isaiah’s smug smile hadn’t won him new friends tonight. “No complaints at five years.”
