Iquickly glance at my phone and pocket it as we pull into the parking lot of Boots & Bourbon. I don’t have time to explain to him and my head is already fucking pounding.
Catalina and her friends haven’t shut up since the second I picked them up. Singing, shrieking, talking a mile a goddamn minute—filling the truck with so much chaotic energy it feels like the cab shrank by half. I swear, I don’t know how three women can be so loud.
I trail in behind them, shoving my hands deep into my pockets, watching Catalina practically skip her way up to the bar like she owns the damn place. Reed’s behind the counter, leaning against it with that dry, unimpressed expression he’s perfected over the years. His sharp greeneyes track her approach, a flicker of amusement sparking beneath the surface.
“Back already on your day off?” he drawls, wiping down a glass.
Catalina flashes him a grin, pure sunshine and mischief. “Missed me already, Reed?”
He snorts without missing a beat.
“Not even a little.”
She waves off the jab, turning to gesture at her friends. “These are my girls, Amelia and Layla.”
Reed’s gaze shifts, assessing both of them with the same careful calculation he gives everyone new.
A slow nod, polite but measured.
“Welcome to Boots & Bourbon, ladies.”
Before either of them can respond, the door slams open, cracking against the wall with a bang, and in struts Maverick.
Look at this fucking idiot.
The golden boy of the NFL, my middle brother, moves like he owns every room he walks into, all confidence and ease. And of course, the second he clocks us, his eyes zero in on Amelia.
Jesus Christ, here we go.
“Well, well,” Maverick drawls, sauntering up like he’s got all the time in the world. “What do we have here?”
Amelia barely spares him a glance. Just a sharp, cutting look as she crosses her arms over her chest. “A woman who is way out of your league, pretty boy.”
Maverick’s grin only widens, like he’s just been handed his favorite challenge on a silver platter. But it’s the tension in Amelia that catches me off guard.
The way she goes still.Defensive.
Maverick smirks, unfazed as always. “Damn, dollface. I just got here, and you’re already breaking my heart.”
Amelia lifts her glass to her lips, taking a slow sip without even bothering to look impressed. “You’ll fucking survive.”
Catalina loses it beside me, doubling over with laughter. It’s the first time I’ve seen her look this relaxed, and fuck if that sound isn’t something I could listen to forever.
Maverick clutches his chest dramatically. “You wound me, baby. Do I at least get your name before you crush my soul entirely?”
Amelia meets his eyes without flinching and hisses at him. Actually fucking hisses.
I blink, wondering if I’m still asleep and hallucinating this whole exchange.
Maverick grins wider, like a man who’s never been more entertained. “I like ‘em spicy,” he says, “keep hissing at me, baby.”
How am I related to this fucking goon?
Reed chuckles lightly from behind the bar, shaking his head as he wipes down the counter. His attention shifts fast when Layla steps up, offering him a bright, sweet smile.
“This place is sooo nice,” she says, her voice bubbling with genuine excitement. “I love the decor you got going on, so western chic.”
Reed raises a brow, glancing around like he’s never really thought about it before.
