"I'm getting Laney drunk so she stops feeling bad about breaking off her engagement to Noah," Sydney exaggerates.
"Oh my god, you are being so dramatic." I slap her arm.
"Come on, it's time to let loose and celebrate."
"What exactly are we celebrating?"
She slaps the bar. "Summer and this delightful bar," she purrs, scanning the room. "Which is filled with hot men, in case the two of you haven't noticed."
"I'll be your wingman. It looks like Laney is about to have herhands full with a cowboy," Asha says, and I follow her gaze and find Trigg walking through the front doors with Fisher.
"One extra shot," the bartender slides Asha's third beside the two he brought seconds ago.
"Here's to getting back in the saddle and riding cowboys," Sydney cheers.
"Or two," Asha says with a wink, and we all toss our shots back.
"Remind me what the deal is between the two of you again?" Sydney leans in close so only I can hear.
We've discussed numerous topics over the past few days, and while Trigg has come up in conversation, it has been strictly in a platonic context. She knows the essentials, how Trigg and I first met, his initial interest in me, and his connection as London's brother. But unpacking all of that was complicated enough without revealing the deeper, more tangled layers.
"We're friends," I say with a casual shrug.
I haven't told her that Trigg and Asha are essentially using me as their unwitting double agent, each trying to extract information about the other through me. I have no plans of giving that information up anytime soon. While I've been pulled into Asha and Trigg's drama, it's not mine, and right now, I'm not even sure I plan on sharing the details I learn with them. During my conversation with London outside the coffee shop, he inadvertently confirmed what I'd been suspecting from the start when he said, "Marrying Asha would hurt Trigg." There's something between them.
"Uh-huh," she says knowingly. "If I thought you were a kinky bitch, I might buy that, but that's the extent of my lecturing for the night." She peers around me. "Asha, what's the next stop? Do any of these places have dancing?"
"Dancing?" Trigg questions, leaning onto the back of my stool.
"Yeah, cowboy, you know a spot?" Syd's amber eyes sparklewith mischief. I love this side of Sydney. The carefree girl who just wants to have fun.
"Actually, I do, but we'd have to skip a few stops to get there," Trigg answers smoothly.
"Yes!" Sydney stomps her feet happily. "I just need to grab a number, and we're out." She turns around, looking for her bartender.
"And whose number is that exactly?" Fisher queries, rubbing his chin and sizing up the men in the vicinity.
"The hot bartender," Asha supplies.
"Jeremiah Greenbrooke? Nope, you can't date the competition," Trigg tosses in as though he has any say in the matter.
"Wait, Greenbrooke… He's an owner?" She taps a manicured nail on the bar top as she thinks it over. "Nah, doesn't bother me, and he's not my competition." She waves him down, and Fisher rolls his eyes.
"How is he competition?" I throw over my shoulder to Trigg. "We're at a bourbon bar."
"Guess you'll find out soon enough," he says ominously before turning to Asha. "Fairfield," he greets sardonically.
Her eyes narrow, fuming with madness, but she doesn't say anything back. Instead, she says, "I'll be in the car."
"No Dallas tonight?" I question casually.
"Nope, he had to work," Trigg confirms.
"It's Saturday night," I remind him.
"I'm aware." Then, with his lips next to my ear, his breath breaking over my skin, sending a chill down my spine, he says, "Careful, Laney. Keep that up, and I might think you miss him."
I don't bother giving him a reaction. Trigg knows we have history, and the more he thinks I care, the better. He doesn't need to know how deeply it's true. He asked me to un-break his brother's heart when he cornered me into doing his bidding. I'm not sure I can do that. Regardless, pleasing him helps me gather more of the missing pieces, so I leave it.
