Tasha is standing there and putting a file on my desk. When she turns toward me, her eyes widen at whatever she sees on my face.
Unable to maintain it any longer, I drop the neutral mask I perfected years ago somewhere along the way. I can only hope it wasn’t while still in my father’s presence.
But I don’t really have it in me to care at the moment, either.
“Are you okay?” Tasha’s voice is filled with concern, and her eyebrows pull together as if she can sus out what has gone so damn wrong in the span of half an hour since she last saw me.
“I’ll go out with you tonight,” the words come out raspy and thick.
I wish I could take them back the moment they pass my lips, but Tasha lights up and starts to clap her hands.
Considering that everything in my life is going to change in six months, I might as well take tonight and enjoy the freedom I have while I have it.
If it pisses off my father—or even better Eric—then all the better.
I’m going out tonight and I’m going to have fun. And, hopefully, I won’t invite any trouble along the way.
CHAPTER 3
FIVE MONTHS AGO
BRIDGER
My head is pounding in time with the music, and not in a good way. I’m too fucking old for this shit. And there are far too many people at Aces tonight.
It’s not like I was expecting it to be low-key and quiet, not a place like Aces, but damn. It’s too much and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stick around. The only saving grace is that we’ve had the VIP lounge to ourselves.
As I look around, I can’t help but admire the club. It is beautiful. It has a speakeasy vibe, but with a Victorian bend. It’s quite lush.
If I were into that sort of thing.
And had an affinity for clubs.
Carson is sitting next to me and staring into her drink with a wary look on her face. I lean closer to make sure she can hear me over the music, “I don’t think your drink is going to bite you.”
She jumps a little and presses her hand over her heart as her wide eyes snap toward me. “You scared the fuck out of me,” she hisses.
I snort a laugh and shake my head. When she glares at me, I hold my hands up in surrender. “We’ve been sitting next to each other for like half an hour, Carson,” I point out.
”We have?” Her surprise is genuine, and I wonder, not for the first time, what’s going on with her. “I mean,” she shakes her head and tries to deflect, “I know that, but we’ve been enjoying the silence and then you had to go and break it.”
“Enjoying the silence,” my tone drips with sarcasm as I motion toward the packed club. “In here? Silence?”
“I meant between us, Bridger,” she makes it sound like I’m the one being ridiculous.
“What’s been going on with you?” I tilt my head to the side and study her.
“Nothing,” she defends herself immediately and I don’t buy it for a moment. When she sees I’m not going to budge, she lets out a sigh. “I’m just nervous about going home for my brother’s wedding.” She shakes her head and looks out toward the dance floor but she’s not really seeing it. “I can’t believe he’s getting married,” she admits, her words ringing with honesty. “And not just getting married, but he’s marrying his high school sweetheart, his childhood love, the proverbial one that got away.”
“It took him this long to put a ring on her finger?” There’s something in her tone that makes the question spill from my lips even though I rarely like to pull information out of people.
It’s not like I’m not interested; it’s just that I’ve found that when people share things about their lives with you, they expect the same in return. Especially when it comes to someone’s past. It’s not a subject I like to talk about and see no reason to dive back into the pit which were my formative years.
“It wasn’t like that,” Carson insists. She rolls her eyes and finishes off her drink before she explains, “They broke up after Eden went off to college while Fletcher stayed in Wintervale to, eventually, take over the ranch. Distance is hard,” she muses with a shrug of her shoulders. “It devastated Fletcher and, from what my brothers have told me, Eden didn’t fare much better. When she came back to Wintervale a few months ago with her son, Fletcher saw his opportunity and took it. Not just with Eden either, he’s claimed her son as his own. I’ve talked to him on the phone; he seems like a sweet kid.” A soft smile lifts her lips before she admits, “My brother’s actions don’t surprise me because no matter how many times he tried to move on, he couldn’t.”
I’m not sure if that’s sweet or incredibly horrific. He couldn’t move on from the woman after years of being apart and then when she showed back up, with a kid, he just swooped in?
“Sounds like a standup guy,” I murmur.
