I laugh as we enter the living room, finding Dylan and Thomas already waiting, along with a poker table and three beers set out on coasters.
“I saved you a seat, Coombs,” Thomas jokes, gesturing toward the empty seat with a beer. “And we nominated you as the dealer.”
I smile wide as I sink down into my chair. Poker I can do, even if I suck. “Sounds good to me. What are we playing for?”
Mischief alights in Luke’s expression and I regret my question even before he responds.
“Secrets.” He points to me, bouncing his eyebrow while I flip him off.
There may be no real reason for me to keep my friendship with Hayley to myself, but if I know Luke, he’ll never believe that it’s not more than friends.
And because he won’t accept me simply saying no to the secrets idea, I opt for a better one. “Okay, I’ve got a secret. I heard that when Luke was a rookie, he—”
Luke reaches across the table and covers my mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with horror. “Fuck. Okay, man. No secrets.”
“You don’t even know what it was.”
“It doesn’t matter. I did a lot of stupid shit as a rookie and I’m not willing to risk it.”
I actually had nothing in mind, but I took a chance and it paid off.
“My guess is I already know.” Thomas’s eyes crease as he laughs.
“Same.” Dylan nods beside him. “But even if I didn’t, you’ve done so many things in your life, Luke, I don’t think anything would surprise me.”
“Thanks,friends.” He rolls his eyes.
“So we’re playing for cash then?” I ask, biting back a grin.
“Works for me.”
“I’m in.”
“Let’s go.”
Luke takes a large gulp of his beer as I shuffle the deck, and I’m about to deal the cards when Thomas casually cuts in.
“I got Lainey a puppy.”
“Wow.”
Luke spits out his drink while Dylan and I crack up laughing. “You what?” Luke asks, astonishment in his gaze.
“Man, that was satisfying.” Thomas sinks back in his chair, his amused smirk lighting up his features. “Lainey told me to find theperfectmoment to mention it to you and that was it.”
“What have I missed?” I ask, curious about Luke’s reaction.
“Lainey’s been dognapping Shadow”—his black Labrador—“because she wants a dog of her own. Her finally getting one is a big deal.”
“Dognapping?”
“Yeah, she takes Shadow for walks when I’m out and I’m forever coming home to find her missing.”
“So she’s helping you when you’re busy?”
“What? No.” His brows furrow as he shoots me a glare, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was silently calling me a traitor.“She’s dognapping,” he continues. “Do you always find the good in everything?”
“Not everything.” My mind drifts back to Sunday night and a pit forms in my stomach. Hayley said she’s fine, but when our rookie, my unofficial mentee, Landon, saw me talking to her later that night, he asked if she was okay and filled me in on what had happened. There is no way to spin that situation. The asshole followed her into a goddamn bathroom, and he deserves whatever he gets. I wish I’d been the one to give it to him.
