Page 5 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“You wish. What the hell was that, man? I’ve never seen a woman turn tail and run on you that quickly. When did you meet her, and why didn’t you tell us about her?”

“I have no idea what that was,” I said. I didn’t know how to tell them how I knew Zoey or where we had met. I certainly didn’t know why she had run from me the minute we made eye contact.

“Definitely one for the books then,” Logan said.

“Why was she here?” Grace asked Logan.

“I have no idea. Amber just told me that she was going to come by tonight and wanted us all to meet someone. She didn’t say anything more.”

“Do you think she was trying to set her up with Brody?” Grace asked.

“That crashed and burned before it even got to the starting line,” Logan said with a laugh.

“We don’t know I was the one who scared her off. It might have been your ugly mug, or maybe Eric smiled at her. You didn’t do that did you?” But I had a feeling that wasn’t the case. I had seen the recognition on her face before she had run away from me.

“Eric has a lovely smile,” Grace said, defending Eric.

We all looked at him, and he smiled at us. Logan and I laughed while Grace shook her head. “Okay, he has better smiles than that one.”

“Ones only you see,” Eric said and winked at her.

“Too much information,” Logan said, but he smiled as he said it.

“Are you going to go after her?” Grace asked.

“Me or Logan?” I asked.

“Good point,” Logan said and stood up. “Maybe I should check on them. I always had a way with women and could smooth things over, certainly better than Frankenstein here,” Logan pointed at me.

“I’m standing by that it might not have been me that scared her away.”

“Hey guys,” Amber called from the doorway.

We all turned to look at her, and my eyes immediately fell on Zoey. My breath caught in my throat, and I felt like I had been hit in the gut. I had wondered if the attraction I felt had been in my mind, that I was just remembering how I had felt about her. But all it took was looking at her again to know it wasn’t like that at all.

I immediately saw us together, going on dates, taking a vacation together, hanging out at the bar with my friends, spending time with our families, and babysitting my nieces. I could picture it as clear as day. I saw myself proposing to her and her saying yes, us buying a house, and the kids we would have.

There had been women I had dated, even loved in my lifetime, but I had never thought about any of that with any of them. I had crushed on Zoey when we were younger, but I had never had the thoughts and feelings that I was having about her now. I wasn’t sure what had changed. It was just there. I wondered if this was how Eric felt when he was with Grace or when Logan first looked at Amber. If so, I didn’t know how they could breathe when they were around them, much less talk to them.

I stood dumbfounded as they approached. When none of us guys moved, Grace came out from behind the bar and extended her hand to Zoey.

“Hi, I’m Grace. Are you a friend of Amber’s?” she asked.

“Not yet. I’m hoping to be,” Zoey said.

“This is Zoey,” Amber said and looked at Logan first, then me, then Eric. Her eyes held ours a little longer than was necessary, and the look she gave us told us to be nice to the woman.

“Hey, Zoey. Nice to meet you. I’m Logan,” Logan said, and then he pointed at Eric and said, “This is Eric,” and then at me and said, “And this handsome devil is Brody.”

“Hi, he, hello—” I stammered.

“Can I get you a drink?” Eric asked and walked behind the bar.

I looked over at Logan, who exchanged a confused look with me. Eric wasn’t one who liked to be behind the bar; he was happier and better served by being in the back office.

“A beer, whatever you have on tap would be great,” Zoey said and moved towards the bar.

Amber stayed at her side, and as they came to the bar, she stood between Zoey and the rest of us. I wasn’t sure if it was to give Zoey some space or if she wanted to keep us away from her. It didn’t matter; I couldn’t stop staring at Zoey. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Eric poured her a beer and did the same for the rest of us.

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