“Oh my Jeezus,” Frankie gasped. “Riley, you need to take that filthy mouth to church!”
Luke and Carson broke into howling laughter as they clutched their sides and slapped their thighs. Connor snickered into Liza’s hair, and Liza shook her head in amusement.
Brennan pulled his face slightly back, wearing a million-dollar grin. He paused a moment as he drew his tongue along his lip. “Like I said, darlin’, you don’t have any idea what you’re asking for.”
With that, he pressed a single, sensual kiss to Frankie’s cheek—which honestly looked more like he was making love to her face than just kissing a friend as he’d done to Liza.
Frankie yelped and pushed him away. “Uncle! You’ve proved your point! Get out of my bubble!”
Brennan instantly shed his wolf-like posture and stepped away from her. “Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart. I’m flattered.”
“I’m not your sweetheart.” Frankie gave a full-body shudder. “And I think I’m so scarred right now that I’m gonna stick to same-sexménagefor the foreseeable future.”
“You are a sweetheart.” He picked up her hand and kissed it. “You’re both sweethearts.” Then he reached for Liza’s hand and kissed it. “You’re all fantastic, and I’m glad to know you, glad we got to celebrate tonight, but I’ve got more enticing things on the horizon for the rest of the evening, so I’m going to pass on the flaming dragons.”
Brennan clapped Connor’s shoulder again, then shook with Luke and Carson before he slipped into the crowd and made his way over to the woman at the table.
Frankie rubbed her palms aggressively over her shoulders and arms and cheek as if frantically wiping off all manner of filth. “Dear God. I need to cleanse myself. That was traumatic. I just wanted to see if he could get me in on that hot little number. I never said I wantedhisface betweenmy—”
“Don’t mess with the bull if you don’t want the horns, Frankie,” Connor cut in from behind Liza.
“Come on now, sis,” Carson said, draping his arm over Frankie’s shoulders. “Let’s get on out of here and head over to the Carousel. We’re missing out on the Saturday night pickins’.” He slapped Luke’s shoulder. “Come on, Corporal.”
“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Luke turned to Connor and Liza. “Y’all wanna come?”
“I don’t think I’m going to stay out much later,” Liza admitted, but the truth was she had no interest in another noisy bar that would further inhibit her from a little quiet conversation with Connor.
“I’ll pass,” Connor added. “I can’t stand the Carousel.”
“Suit yourselves,” Carson said, tugging Frankie and waving at Luke to follow.
Luke and Frankie hollered goodbyes over the noise of the crowd, and Liza waved before turning to the bar and resting her palms on it.
She bumped her shoulder against Connor’s. “What did he say to you?”
He cut a side glance at her and turned to face the bar. “Who?”
She gestured behind herself. “Brennan. Just a second ago.” She laughed lightly. “Before he traumatized Frankie.”
“Oh.” Connor rested his elbows on the bar and rubbed a smirk off his lips. “He said I don’t need to worry about him and you.”
She looked directly at Connor and arched an eyebrow. “Him and me?” She glanced back at Brennan, who was at the table, chatting with his lady friend, hand caressing her knee while his gaze was trained intently on her face. “What does that mean?”
“Itmeans…” He jerked his head sideways toward Brennan. “…he’s thegentleman rake, but he’d never go after you like he goes after every single other beautiful woman in a pair of tall heels.” He hitched a shoulder and waved his hand dismissively. “Riley’s shameless, but he’s solid and loyal. He’s one of the best people I know. And don’t get me wrong, he and I have given each other shit about you off and on since you’ve been here, but that’s just what we do. I’m not worried about him. I know y’all are good friends, and I know he’s a good friend to have.”
She nodded sagely. “We are good friends. He’s probably the best friend I have, honestly. He really knows how to show up for people. He likes to flirt, yes, but it’s not like that.” She paused and shook her head at the idea of trying to have somethinglike thatwith Brennan, it going south, and her losing their priceless friendship. “I have no interest in him like that, he doesn’t have any interest in me like that, that’s never going to change, so I really do hope you or anyone else don’t think that’s ever going to even remotely be a thing.”
Connor shook his head. “I don’t.”
Beyond all that, the fact that Brennan had quietly made such a clarification, and Connor had expressed his appreciation for it made it feel like things between Connor and Lizacouldbe something more at some point. So she definitely wasn’t thinking about Brennanlike that, but she was suddenly nervous because that kind of hope regarding she and Connor was dicey. The fact that they were having this conversation at all suddenly felt awkward with unspoken hope and expectations. To the point that Liza had an urge to move on from the topic.
They sipped the drinks in a brief silence until she felt the weight of his eyes on her.
She nudged Connor’s foot with hers. “What’s on your mind, soldier?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know.”
“Sure, you do.” She took a sip. “What’s up?”
