Page 19 of L.O.V.E

I leaned a shoulder against the locker, arms folded. “Don’t fuck around with Natalie, for Ellis’s sake. She’s Lacey’s best friend. You make Lacey unhappy, Ellis is unhappy, and then he’ll make you and I fucking miserable. And that dude deserves some happy, yeah?” I clapped Martin’s shoulder hard to make my point, but also to release some unbidden frustration.

Martin was one of my best friends. A brother. He was also an unapologetic player. Killed me to admit I didn’t want him anywhere near my girl. Shit. Notmygirl.Thatgirl.

Mygirl was currently at lunch with the wedding planner.

Thatgirl, Natalie, was none of my business, so why was she rattling around in my head? Why the urge to protect her?

“Sure. Makes sense.” Martin scratched his chin. Dipped his head. Nodded. “I know the perfect place. She’ll love it.”

I didn’t want her to love it. I wanted her to hate everything about the date. Even Martin. Because that pretty boy was a charmer, and women fell head over heels for him on the daily.

If Natalie fell for my best friend, I would see her all the time. We’d be forced to hang out. I would have to pretend she had zero effect on my engaged ass.

Victoria was everything I’d always wanted in a partner. Faithful. Giving. Smart. Did I mention faithful?

Fidelity was top of the list.Thoushaltnotcommitadultery. That commandment had been drilled into my conscience for as long as I could remember. My father. His father. My uncles. God fearing men, all of them.

Yet there I stood, angry at my best friend for dating a woman I had no right to give two shits about. I should’ve been happy for him.

His cell buzzed again. Giving me his back, he rifled through his bag, mumbled, “Fuck.” Then over his shoulder, he said, “I gotta skip lunch today. Something came up at work.”

“Sure. Sure. We’ll catch up later.”

He turned, threw me his signature smile, confident and cocky, but also one of his tells. He was hiding something. I hoped to hell he wasn’t back to gambling.

“You sure this is a good idea?” Victoria asked, looking down at herself, then adjusting her black skirt.

“Why not?”

With a huff, she said, “I was really awful to her.”

I helped her out of her coat, then turned her to face me. “How awful?”

Victoria looked to my left, then my chest, then my mouth. “I don’t want to tell you.”

I caught her chin before she could turn away. “Vic. How bad was it?”

“Bad, baby. I’m not proud of who I was back then. I was jealous and lonely and bored. She was beautiful, inside and out, and she had friends. Everybody loved Natalie. And well, you know what I went through with my uncle. Messed me up. My therapist said I fixated on Natalie.”

That was the first I’d ever heard of a therapist. “Did you ever try to apologize?”

“No.” She stood toe to toe, looking up at me with a pout.

“You feel like that’s something you can do now?” I shrugged off my own coat, then handed both to the woman behind the counter.

“Maybe.”

I dropped a kiss to her pert nose. “Martin’s going to be around forever. If he’s with Natalie, that means we’ll be seeing Natalie. The two of you will have to work things out.”

Anger flashed in her blue eyes before she composed herself, so quick I almost missed the expression. Then she fell against me, gripping my arms. “I’ll try. But I don’t think she’ll ever be able to forgive me. I wouldn’t forgive me.”

“Let her see the amazing woman you are now. The woman I fell in love with.”

“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.

“There they are.” Martin’s voice came over my shoulder.

Every muscle in my body tightened. I wrapped an arm around Victoria before turning to greet our friends.

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