I’m not going to get in a pissing match over Tuck with a supermodel.
I nod. “We’ve had sex since the club, no bet involved.” I point at her lingerie. “I wore those exact panties, but in a thong. Where’s the restroom?”
I’m. So. Mature.
She stammers as I walk away, find the restroom, do my business, and then exit back to the den. Cece sits on a stool, laughing at Jasper as he pours more margarita into her glass. She sees me and pauses. “Honey? You all right?”
“Nope. Are you ready to go?” I grab my satchel.
“No way! I thought maybe you two would stay for dinner,” Jasper says. “I can’t cook, but we can order out.” He’s holding a box but sets it down. “It’s my last night in town. I’m off for Christmas.”
“I’m back!” Tuck’s voice calls from the foyer. He stalks into the den wearing jeans and a long-sleeved green cashmere sweater that clings to his arms.
His eyes widen when he sees me, his gaze lingering. “Francesca.”
To my frustration, my blood heats.
“Big T!” Jasper heads his way, his hands spread wide as he engulfs him in a hug. He lets him go and grabs the box. “Check it! Our bracelets came in! And we have company!”
“Cool,” he murmurs, then looks around the kitchen. “You guys tried out the machine. I missed it.” He looks back at me, his gaze quizzical.
“Hi,” I say. “Sorry to come uninvited. We hitched a ride up with Courtney.”
“They’re leaving,” Jasper says with a pout.
As if there’s no one else in the room, Tuck walks straight to me. “Stay awhile.”
A frantic feeling swirls in my veins.
As if he reads my mind, he steps forward and touches my bangs, a rueful look on his face. “I miss the widow’s peak.”
Some of the tension I brought into the room from my interaction with Courtney eases. “I miss your scruff,” I admit grudgingly.
“You came to see me.” There’s satisfaction in his tone as his hand wraps around my shoulder for a brief moment, then brushes down my arm.
Courtney chooses that moment to come back into the room. She sees Tuck and dashes to him and throws her arms around him.
He untangles her and sets her to the side. “Hey. We have guests.”
“They snuck up,” she replies, cutting her eyes at me.
I get right to the point. “Courtney says she’s having sex with you.”
A dead silence fills the room. I hear Jasper grunt from the kitchen. Carrying a pitcher of margarita, he slams it down on the counter and walks toward us.
Courtney gapes at me, eyes blinking. “I can’t believe you said that!”
“She says and does inappropriate things all the time,” Cece murmurs as she slides in next to me. “You should have seen her at Daniel Radcliffe’s party. She made out with his wife.”
“Shield up, Captain America,” I mutter under my breath.
“It’s not true,” Tuck says as his jaw twitches. “Courtney, why would you say that?”
She sputters. “I—I don’t know. I was worried—”
Jasper takes Courtney by the elbow and spins her to face him. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull, Courtney?”
“I didn’t mean it!”