She rattled the ice cube in her glass, desperate for a distraction before she did something to embarrass them both. “I don’t know. I’m going to get another. Want one?”
Wes lifted his still-full glass. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it for you.”
“But…” Wes was already walking away when Skye laughed.
“Let the guy buy your drinks! That shit’s expensive!”
Cara scowled. “Just because he makes more money than I do doesn’t mean he should always pay.”
Skye patted her on the shoulder. “You are adorable! But if he doesn’t mind let him.”
“He’s saving for a house. He shouldn’t be buying me sixteen-dollar cocktails. He’s only here to be my wingman—what?” Cara asked, when Jerrod and Skye gave her a funny look.
“You know he’s loaded, right?”
“Wes? No, he’s not. Why in the world would you think that? His company is just getting started.”
Her friends laughed again, but sobered when they saw she was serious.
“Do you really not know?” Jerrod was definitely leaning to his left now, his husband catching his elbow.
Skye peered at her as if she weren’t sure if Cara was making a joke. “The fancy encryption device that he sold? Before he came to Atlanta?”
Cara shook her head, the gin she had downed so quickly making her a little fuzzy. Her gaze bounced between her friends, apprehension tickling under her skin.
What weren’t they saying?
“Oh, baby,” Jerrod said. “You don’t know anything.”
That got Cara’s hackles up. “What don’t I know?” She glared, but it didn’t have the desired effect.
Instead, Jerrod laughed. “You know about how he got out of jail, right?”
Cara’s jaw dropped and for a minute she forgot to breathe.
Skye elbowed Jerrod hard. “Shut up.”
Todd kissed his husband on the side of his head, and Jerrod frowned. “You two are the ones who told me! That he was arrested, and then suddenly he was living in DC and not in jail. Don’t act like it was just me! You two were obsessed with finding out what happened! Melody told you he worked for the government—”
Skye poked him again, her drink sloshing. “Damn it! I borrowed this top from wardrobe.”
Cara’s eyes went to where Wes leaned on the bar waiting for her drink.
Jail? Government?
Doubt consumed her, and her heart rate picked up its pace. What did Cara really know about him?
He must have felt her eyes on him because Wes looked back and flashed her a smile. Cara tried to make her lips move, but they wouldn’t obey.
“Don’t worry about it,” Todd said, taking the drink from Jerrod’s hand. “It was a really long time ago.”
“Why—”
Skye gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You should ask him. It’s not our story to tell. But it’s nothing bad, I promise.”
Nothing bad? He was in jail!
Skye’s phone pinged, and she groaned. “Sorry, babe, but he just cancelled.”
