Though he tried to slip down the hallway while they were distracted, Avery let out a whoop. “Ryan’s home!”
Shit. He’d wanted to shower before he had this talk because he could still smell Bri on his skin and it was driving him nuts. But it wasn’t like he could tellthemthat. He glared at his brother. “You’re an asshole.”
Drew shut off the game and dropped onto the couch. “What’d I do?”
Avery snagged the beer out of his hand and took a long drink. “Don’t just lurk in the hallway. Get in here and tell us the dirty details. Were we right? You two hit it off like apples and oranges, didn’t you? When are you seeing Bri again?”
Drew rolled his eyes. “Kind of hard to get the story when he can’t get a word in edgewise.”
“Hush, you.”
Since they were about to devolve into bickering, Ryan should have made his escape. Problem was, he had to have this conversation sooner or later, so he might as well do it while they were partially distracted. “I’m not seeing her again.”
They stopped talking and turned to face him. Drew frowned. “Why not?”
Avery shoved her long black hair back into a ponytail like she was about to throw down. “What did you do?”
“How the hell do you know it washisfault?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Probably because Bri is one of the nicest people we know, and she would bend over backward to not step on anyone’s toes.”
Drew seemed to think about it. “You’re right.” He turned to Ryan. “Whatdidyou do?”
Him? He hadn’t done a goddamn thing except get whiplash from the woman’s sharp tongue. “Can we focus on the fact that this isyourfault? The only reason I was on that date to begin with was as a favor to you.”
And what a clusterfuck of a date it’d been. He still couldn’t decide if the way it ended was the ultimate “screw you” from Bri, or something that made that torturous dinner worthwhile. The woman was confusing as hell, from the way she tore him a new one at every opportunity, to the way she begged him to put his hands on her.
“But…you’re perfect for each other.” Avery handed Drew back his beer and frowned. “You’re like…disgustingly perfect for each other. She needs someone who’s going to be strong and steady and stand by her while expanding her horizons. You need someone who’s going to create a home you actually want to come back to.” She waved her hands like a magician. “See? Perfect.”
“You’re crazy.” He turned and stalked down the hallway, leaving them to their game.
The worst part was theyhadclicked once their clothes came off. He’d never felt like that when he’d been with women in the past, the primitive satisfaction of knowing he was the only one who made her body spark to life. That look in her eyes as she came was branded in his mind, completely at odds with how she’d been at dinner. It didn’t make any sense, because he was pretty sure he didn’t evenlikeBri.
One thing was certain—she thought this was over and done with between them. Well, he damn well didn’t. He wanted to know which was the real Bri—the snarling harpy from their date or the sweet, sexy thing from the porch—and the only way to do that was to see her again. They were going to talk this out, even if he had to lock her in a room to do it.
Chapter Four
By the time Avery’s birthday party rolled around two days later, Bri was desperate for anything to distract her from memories of her night with Ryan. She’d gone through two sets of batteries, thanks to her buzzy friend Avery got her for Christmas, and her libido was showing no signs of slowing down. Years of reading racy romance novels had given her more than her fair share of erotic inspiration, though the man she imagined now shared Ryan’s face and body.
The birthday party was exactly what she needed. It would be impossible to think about sex surrounded by her friends and Avery’s super-traditional family. If her best friend’s grandfather couldn’t put a damper on any situation, Bri didn’t know who could. Damage control alone would keep her busy for a few hours.
Or so she thought until she pulled up to Chilly’s Bar and Grill and her headlights caught Ryan’s beat-up old Suburban. She mentally kicked herself. Of course he would be here. He and Drew had grown up with Avery. And it’s not like he had the decency to spare her the humiliation of facing what they’d done.
She could do this. There would be plenty of other people around. There was no reason she even had to exchange words with him.
Satisfied she had the situation well under control, she grabbed the massive collection of balloons filling her tiny car and climbed out. Snow crunched under her boots, and she slipped. She grabbed the top of her car with her free hand, but there was no stopping her downward momentum. She slid right down the side and landed on the ground, clutching the balloons in a death grip. “Crap.”
Maybe no one had seen?
“You’re doing that thing again—the one where you personify the librarian cliché.”
She closed her eyes, wishing she could just melt into the surrounding snow. It would be her terrible luck that the one person she wanted to avoid was the one who saw her make a spectacle of herself. Embarrassment heated her as she struggled to her feet, smacking the bobbing balloons out of her face. And there Ryan was, leaning against the wall of Chilly’s with his arms crossed over his chest, looking particularly attractive with his dark jeans, boots, and thick green coat.
She shook off her skirt and glared. “I don’t thinkyoushould be throwing stones. An Army coat? Really?”
“Air Force.”
She knew that. Drew never stopped bragging about how his little brother had made it through one of the toughest boot camps any of the military branches had to offer, or how he was a genuine hero—the man who saved other heroes.