Page 11 of L.O.V.E

I couldn’t bridle my smile. I loved Ellis like a brother, and he obviously adored the shit out of Lacey. The two of them had been joined at the hip since their first date.

I’d never met a couple more suited.

And speak of the devil—the hot, curvy firecracker came bouncing around the corner, smile bright, dressed in workout gear and a waterproof jacket, her dark hair covered in a huge hood. “Oh, hi guys!”

Ellis scooped her up with one arm and lifted her for a kiss, her toes inches off the ground. Sweetest fucking couple.

Suddenly I was bitter, having woken alone in my king-size bedagain. I shook off the negative vibe and continued walking.

“Did Ellis ask you about this weekend?” Lacey said, taking two strides for every one of ours to keep up.

“What’s up this weekend?”

She laid a hand on my arm to slow me down. “We’re hoping to make a love connection. My best friend and Martin.”

I snorted, spewing coffee. “Double date?”

“We were thinking more of a triple date.”

I studied Lacey’s pleading gaze, then shifted my attention to Ellis’s puppy dog eyes.Jesus. Fuck.They were killing me.

“You sure you want to risk that, bud?” I asked, hating the bitter taste of those words. “Martin isn’t exactly the dating type.”

He tucked Lacey under his massive arm and argued, “He hasn’t found the right lady yet, that’s all.”

Oh, Martin had found plenty of ladies. Trouble was, he could never recognize the beauty standing right in front of him, always looking for the next best thing, always wanting more.

We reached the door, and I shoved the key into the lock, wiggled the damn thing, then gave the door a hard yank. When the rush of sweat and leather and musty old building hit my nostrils, all tension left my body. I was home.

“I’m gonna head up to the office.” I shrugged out of my jacket and gave it a shake, then gave Lacey a peck on the cheek. “You two enjoy your workout.”

Small fingers gripped my elbow. “So you’ll join us on Saturday? Please?”

“Of course.” I nodded at Ellis. “Text me the deets.”

“Yay!” Lacey squealed, then bounced away toward the locker rooms, yelling over her shoulder. “We’re gonna have so much fun. I promise!”

I raised a brow, and Ellis only chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t let Martin fuck with this one.”

Nobody controlled Martin. Since middle school, Ellis and I had become masters of damage control for our best friend. But that’s what best friends did. Had each other’s backs. Always. Even when your buddy had a knack for getting himself in trouble. Even when that kind of trouble could get your ass hauled to juvie, which by some miracle, we’d all managed to avoid. Stealing, drugs, gambling, fighting. Martin had played with fire and nearly burned us all more times than I cared to count.

“Whatever you say, man.” I turned and jogged up the stairs. Fun? Probably not. But at least I’d get a few hours with my best friends and my fiancée in the same room.

Natalie

Life had a funny way of throwing mean back at you. For example, the previous day, Holden sent me flowers, albeit after he stalked me to work, then sent me twenty-five text messages. He wasn’t taking the breakup very well and had exhausted my good graces, so I forced the bouquet of roses through the shredder at work, then had them hand couriered back to the gym where I knew he would be. Mean, right?

I’m not proud of my actions. However, a full moon hung in the sky, so I blame my bout of insanity on that fact.

Back to mean…

“Your dress is gorgeous.” Lacey finished tipping our Uber driver, then shoved her phone into her Tori Burch clutch. “Hugs your chest just right, shows the perfect amount of cleavage.”

“Thanks.” I held my coat open and twirled outside the swanky restaurant, then fell into Lacey’s embrace, holding her for a fat minute and mustering the courage to go inside.

My best friend smelled like cotton candy. Under her long jacket, she wore a simple black sweater dress that hugged her voluptuous curves. Red lipstick accentuated her full lips. Her cheeks boasted a pink blush no cosmetic could mimic. Love looked so beautiful on my Lacey.

“Ready?” she asked.

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