Page 30 of Any Cowboy of Mine
“I’m sorry,” Jackie said, her smile matching Steve’s. “We just kept talking, and honestly, we forgot about the wedding altogether. Was it nice?”
Was it nice?Even more unlike Jackie was the fact that she’d miss a party for any reason—topping that list was missing out on fun for a guy. What the hell was going on?
Steve’s arm was naturally and protectively wrapped around Jackie’s waist, not unlike Brad’s brother-in-law’s had been around his wife earlier. Jackie’s hands rubbed his hand absently, and Sophie felt a twang of jealousy in her chest. They looked adorable together if she was being honest. But still, Sophie wasn’t ready to let them off the hook just yet.
Brad seemed to agree with Sophie, interjecting, “You mean you forgot aboutus?” He was looking at Steve, but like Jackie, Steve’s smile never waned. They looked not only like they were owning their decision, but also that they’d never thought their choice to skip the ceremony could be considered a questionable one.
“We didn’t mean to, believe me. It looks like you two fared okay, though, right?”
“Sure, after a pretty heated discussion with Julia on the dance floor,” Brad retorted. That was such a small part of their night, but Brad was right in pointing out how much he could have used his friend.
“I’m sorry, man, but this couldn’t be helped.” Steve looked down at Jackie and kissed her forehead, a move so intimate it made Sophie uncomfortable to watch.
“How drunk are you?” Brad asked, no hint of humor in his voice.
Maybe that was it. It wasn’t so much like Jackie looked like she’d been on vacation, but more so that she’d drank like she was. It would explain everything.
“Not at all, actually,” Steve said with a small chuckle, as Jackie leaned back into his chest. He ran his hands through her hair, and Sophie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Not that he’d made such an intimate gesture, but that Jackie had allowed it. Inpublic.
“What do you mean? You’ve been in this bar for more than three hours now,” she said. Her voice sounded as accusatory as Brad’s despite the fact that she wanted to be happy for her friend. She’d never seen Jackie this comfortable with someone.
“We actually haven’t had a drink since you guys left. I guess we just sorta forgot about all that.”
Sophie shared a “what the hell is this” look with Brad.
“I know how this looks, believe me,” Steve said.
“Do you?” Brad asked. Sophie recalled the story he’d shared earlier at the wedding. Was he capable of picking a fight with his best friend? He’d clocked Chris at a bar and had to pay a couple thousand dollars in damages. Who’s to say Steve’s abandonment of him at Julia’s wedding wouldn’t trigger him again? Sophie really didn’t know all that much about Brad, did she?
“Ask the bartender,” Jackie added. At the mention of him, Sam arrived and asked if he could get the four of them anything.
“Two more for us,” Brad told him, pointing to Sophie. “And how much have they had since we left? I don’t want to pay a huge bar tab on their account.”
“Only a beer each, a few hours ago,” he said. “They’re the easiest customers I’ve had all night. The cheapest, too,” he added with a hint of sarcasm before heading back to his post to make their shots.
“Told ya,” Jackie said. Steve laughed and kissed her forehead again.
What was going on? Her serial-dating best friend and a guy described as being her male counterpart were acting like they’d been dating for months, years even. Not one of her behaviors matched up with Sophie’s knowledge of her best friend, knowledge she used to consider all-encompassing.
“So, do you two mind explaining what the helldidhappen?” Brad asked.
His arms were crossed over his chest, and his scowl was deeper than ever. Sophie was secretly pleased to note that he was as sexy—maybe even sexier—with a serious expression on his adorably young-looking face. She was also intrigued by how much more perturbed he was than her. She understood why, though. Things could have been a lot worse for Brad if he hadn’t summoned the strength to walk away from Julia. Who was to say what would have happened if Chris had decided to approach Brad? He would have needed Steve’s muscle if nothing else.
“You want to take this, or should I?” Steve asked Jackie, the question punctuated with a soft kiss on the lips.
“Go for it, hun,” she replied.Hun?Now this was enteringThe Twilight Zonekind of eerie.
“Well, long story short, we hit it off.” Steve’s eyebrows were raised in amusement.
Brad let out a sigh that bordered on a grunt of disapproval.
“No shit, Steve. But what happened that you completely forgot about me in my time of need? You’re gonna need to give me more than that.”
“You were fine. Thanks for that, by the way, Sophie.” He reached out to shake her hand but at the last minute kissed the top of it instead. “Now we’ve officially met.”
Sophie grinned up at him. He was a charmer, that was for sure. He wasn’t too bad on the eyes, either. In fact, with his dark skin, ridiculous muscles, and bright-white teeth that gleamed each time he smiled, he reminded her of Dwayne Johnson, the actor and one of Sophie’s star crushes.
“Nice to meet you,” Sophie said. She meant it, too.
