Page 37 of Best Friend's Dirty Ex

As I get the espresso maker out, I glance at the box of cookies on the counter, smiling to myself. I can’t help but remember how bad the cookies had been, and how she'd laughed at herself. I love that she was able to poke fun at her terrible cookies and that she hadn’t demonized me for telling her the truth.

I don't think I've ever met anyone who preferred to know the truth, even at the expense of their feelings.

I guess I could bake her some equally terrible cookies, although I'm not sure I can meet that bar. No, the gesture needs to be something big. Something I can't take back, something that proves to her that she is very important in my life. Just making bad cookies for her probably won't prove that point, but I'm absolutely putting that idea in my back pocket for a rainy day.

Frustrated and out of ideas, I push the espresso maker back and decide I need something stronger. I grab my keys and head for the door.

Ten minutes later I'm sitting at Club Red, my hands flexing around the steering wheel as I wonder if I'm making the right decision. Maybe I shouldn't be here, but I'm just here for a drink - I'm not interested in any other services.

When I finally get out of the car and head for the front door, the bouncer nods, stepping out of the way to let me in. I expect to feel some strange melancholy because I've spent so much less time here, but I don’t. Honestly, it feels as if my life has changed enough that this place isn't as integral as it once was to my existence.

Sure, it's still a good place to see my friends and a great place to get a drink, but that’s about the extent of my feelings for Club Red anymore.

On my way through to the back bar, I bump into Hunter. “Have you heard from Everly?” He seems oddly animated, and I shake my head.

His expression falls. “I think I've got it bad for her.”

I study him, noticing that he doesn't even seem to be looking at the activities going on around us, nor is he in any state of undress. That tells me he hasn’t been engaging in any kind of extracurricular activities here, and that leads me to believe he's telling me the truth about Everly. Of course, she'd be the woman that contained that hound dog.

Giving him a nod, I continue to head back toward the bar. All around me, people in various stages of undress and deep in pleasure fail to move me and I continue walking. Any other night the sights, sounds and smells of Club Red would get me amped up for another kind of activity, but tonight I'm not feeling aroused.

The only woman I want is Everly, and that is a strange thing to feel and admit.

As if in answer to my thoughts, I step into the bar and see her sitting side by side with Thea. Their heads are together and they're talking in low voices, then Thea throws her head back and laughs. Both women seem to catch sight of me at the same time as I slip toward the bar and ask Rico for a drink. He passes me a shot, waits for me to take it, and refills my glass with a nod.

Before I can finish the second one, Everly approaches with a shy smile on her face and Thea still sitting in place, watching us.

“Hey, can we talk?”

I nod my head and Rico gestures toward one of the private rooms with a jerk of his head.

Everly and I make our way to the private room and push inside the door. I follow her in, trying my hardest not to stare at her sexy ass. I want her more than anything, but I'm not here to make her uncomfortable. I’ll control myself.

She turns to face me, her soft brown eyes sparkling. “I just want you to know that I forgive you for the bet and hurting me. I don’t think you did it with any intention to cause me any pain or upset.”

Her teeth worry her lower lip, and I want to stop her before she tears through the skin there. “I really do like you, Troy.”

As she says the words, my heart begins to beat faster, but I know she’s about to say but and follow up with something I won’t like as much.

“But I'm not sure I'll ever be able to trust you again.”

With those words, my heart breaks in my chest and I nod, unsure if I can speak.

Maybe with time, she'll find it in her heart to trust me again, but I guess maybe I shouldn't hold my breath.

Chapter Nineteen

Everly

I’d be lying if I tried to say that this specific project completion didn't leave me with a hole in my heart.

I've never been so sad to complete a job. Usually, the thought of moving on to the next big project has me excited, but this time... I’m mostly sad. I'm also excited because I'm curious what he'll think now that the finishing touches are finally in place.

I put a hand on Troy 's shoulder to steady myself in the chair as I tie a blindfold around his eyes. I don't want to think about the fact that our time together is coming to an end. All I want to think about is how I'm about to surprise him with his brand-new office.

Because the thought that now we're going to part ways and potentially never see each other again, or only cross paths once in a while at the club or when I'm hanging out with my friends who happen to be married to his friends, leaves me aching inside.

Maybe my feelings for him are stronger than I thought. Not that that matters.

---