Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Don’t, Law. I know you’re trying to be helpful, but it’s not. Let’s just go have a beer.”
“Whatever you say.” I got out of the truck.
Griff’s was, of course, busy because that’s how shit like that went. Remy had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his cap low on his head.
“Hey, Lawson. What’s up, man?” a guy sitting at one of the tables asked. Crazy as it sounded, at the moment I couldn’t even remember his name.
“Good, how about yourself?”
“It’s Friday, so…”
We both laughed as I continued to work my way around people and tables. Everyone had something to say. I got stopped by Taylor, a guy who owned a local construction company, and he began talking my ear off.
“Who’s this?” he asked, nodding to Remy.
Jesus, I wanted to say my boyfriend. Wanted to claim Remy as mine, but I couldn’t do that. Hell, he tensed up simply at Taylor’s question. “This is an old buddy, Murphy. Murphy, this is Taylor.” The old name we used in hotels rolled off my tongue easily. We hadn’t thought to discuss it ahead of time, so I wasn’t sure if I should introduce him as Remy or not.
“Hey, man. Nice to meet you.” Remy shook Taylor’s hand but didn’t look him in the eyes.
“We should head over.” I motioned toward the area of the bar that was basically our spot, and said goodbye to Taylor.
On reflex, I reached for Remy, but he tugged his hand back. A cocktail of annoyance and hurt sloshed around inside me. Fear suddenly clawed into me that we’d been fooling ourselves, that this would never really happen, but I tried to bite it back, to trust him.
“Hey. You came,” Knox said when I approached them.
“Yeah, this is my friend, Murphy.” I pointed at Remy, hoping they all got that we’d be calling him that tonight.
“Good to see you again, Murphy.” Knox shook his hand.
“You too,” Remy replied.
In a low voice, Knox leaned closer to Remy. “Murphy’s Law. Does that mean this knucklehead belongs to you?” He tilted his head toward me.
Remy looked at me and smiled. “I know I belong to him.” His voice was so damn quiet, no one besides me, him, and Knox could have heard, but in that moment, it was almost like everything was okay, like we were the same as every other couple there and didn’t have to hide.
“He’s mine too,” I said.
Chase, Kellan, and Josh said hello, breaking up the moment. Natalie, Kellan’s other friend, came up then, and I made introductions. When her eyes widened, I knew, fucking knew, she recognized him.
“Bathroom break!” Kellan grabbed her arm and tugged her away, and Remy started wringing his hands together.
Fuck, this was a bad idea, and the fact that it was, scared me more than I wanted to admit.
Griff came over and handed both Remy and me a beer, which I gulped down quicker than I probably should have. We were at the edge of the bar, no one paying us any attention, but I could see Remy’s eyes darting around the room, always on the lookout, and fuck…how hard did it have to be to live that way?
Kellan and Natalie returned. Remy stood with his back against the wall, at the edge of the bar, Knox’s stool beside him. I was caught between trying not to coddle him, as he’d said, and wanting to get him the hell out of there, but also…fuck, wanting him to laugh and have fun. And to laugh and have fun with him.
“Guys, want me to dance on the bar?” Kellan asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“No, please don’t,” Griffin told him.
“You’re no fun, big brother.”
“You say that like it’s news,” Josh teased, and Griffin flipped him off.
“Are you guys picking on poor Griffin Caine again?” Becca asked as she and Cynthia approached, because that was all we needed. No offense to them, as I liked them both, but Remy was already on edge.
“Hey, Bec.” Chase hugged her. She had wanted to rekindle an old romance with Chase before she realized he was in love with Kellan, but the two of them stayed friends.
“Lawson Grant, are you going to greet me properly?” Cynthia asked, her words dropping a heavy weight in my gut.
My gaze caught on Remy, who stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, watching us. I looked away from him and gave her a quick hug. “How you doing?”
“Not bad. You’ve been scarce lately.”
“You know how it goes. I have a lot of shit going on.” She was standing close, and I took a step back. “This is my friend, Murphy—Murph, this is Becca and Cynthia.”
I was surprised when Remy just stood there for a moment, not moving closer, but then he took a step, held his hand out, and shook each of theirs without a word. Then he turned toward the bar and asked Griffin for another beer.