Luke’s interest piques. “Who do you need us to hurt, Reed?”
“No one. It’s not about me.”
“Of course it’s not.” Luke huffs out an incredulous laugh. “It’s never about you. You’re always worried about others.”
My back stiffens as I sit up, staring him down. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I get defensive.
“It’s not. But at some point you need to take care of yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, yeah?” He folds his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair smugly. “How’s Bria?”
“Luke,” Thomas warns, while Dylan sits taller, ready to step in.
“We’re not talking about Bria.”
“Why not?”
“Because this hasnothingto do with her.”
“All I asked was how she is.”
“She’s fine. Now are we playing poker or not?” I toss Luke his cards, cursing when one of them lands face up. Grabbing another, I slam it down on the table in front of him.
“We’re playing.” He eyes me curiously. “I’m ready to kick your ass.”
“Try it.”
“Oooh,” Thomas cuts in. “Them's fighting words, but unlucky for you, I’m going to cream you both.”
We play for the next hour, with Dylan the one kicking all our asses, ending the game with a lot more cash than he started with.
“Thanks for the payday, guys. I need this now that I’ve retired. And on that note, I’m out of here.”
“What?” Luke jumps up, his gaze flashing to his watch. “It’s still early. You’re not giving us a chance to win it back?”
“Hell, no.” Dylan chuckles to himself when Luke jokingly rolls his eyes.
“I’m done too, boys.” Thomas gets up and pats both Luke and me on the head. “I’ve got a wife to get home to.”
“Right. It all makes sense now. I’m guessing they just got home from the girls' night.”
“You know it.”
With Thomas and Dylan leaving, I collect my sunglasses from the table and move to follow them, only stopping when Luke calls out. “Where do you think you’re going?” He flashes me an amused expression when I turn. “You don’t have a wife.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to stay.” I shrug and the guys laugh.
“One more drink?”
I eye him curiously, trying to read through his facade, wondering if I’m missing something. Does he want to talk? Or is he not ready to call it a night?
Noting my hesitation, he bounces his eyebrows and grins.
“Okay, fine.Onedrink.”
“Done. Catch ya later, pussies.” He waves to the guys, and Thomas rolls his eyes. Not that he notices, as he’s already turned my way. “Should we head out back?”
