Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(41)

Brax pulled away, and we all walked up the driveway toward the house. “I didn’t think it needed to be mentioned. Might I remind you and the ever-overbearing Travis that Lila is an adult. She can sell her car if she wants to. And I understand that Travis is an asshole, and there’s nothing we can do about it. But this attitude from you, Hugh…” Brax said with a smirk, as we made our way inside to the kitchen, and he leaned over the large island. “I’m not understanding why you’re feeling so… protective?”

Hugh narrowed his gaze, and when he leaned on the counter across from Brax, I couldn’t help but notice the veins in his forearms bulging. And why did I find that so ridiculously sexy? Was this just some sort of out-of-control, hormonal crush now? Even his forearms turned me on.

“Listen, fucker. She’s family, and you know it. And you should have told me because I would have loaned her the money. So, get her damn car off the lot, and we’ll forget you made that mistake.”

I rolled my eyes. “Uhhhh, hello? I’m standing right here, and this is not your decision. It’s mine.”

“Yeah, I totally agree,” Brax said, reaching for the plate of cookies I’d picked up at the bakery yesterday, taking one off the top and biting it in half.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, you ass kisser.” Hugh railed at his friend before turning to me. “Listen, I’ve got the money, and I’m offering it to you. Stop being a stubborn ass about it,” he growled when his gaze locked with mine.

I shook my head. “You’re no different than Travis. I don’t need your money. You’ve done enough for me. I don’t care about the car, and I’m selling it.”

He hissed out a breath and ran a hand down his face. “I did go with you today, so I think I’m slightly different than Travis, yeah?”

He was pissed. But this was not his decision to make.

“Listen. I need to go get ready to go out. Sloane’s picking me up in an hour.”

“Ohhhh, where are we going tonight?” Brax purred, and Hugh just stared at me like I’d slapped him in the face by not giving him his way.

I’m sorry that I don’t casually ask someone for eight thousand dollars. Maybe that wasn’t a lot of money to Hugh Reynolds, but it was a lot of money to me.

And Travis would never let me live it down if I borrowed the money from his best friend, and our father didn’t succeed.

Because Hugh was Travis’s best friend, not mine, right?

I mean, the reason he wouldn’t act on his feelings for me, which I knew he had, was all because of his loyalty to Travis. How stupid was that?

Hugh wasn’t the only one who was pissed now.

“I’m going to that biker bar on Front Street with the girls and their guys, and Kline is also coming with us.” I forced a fake smile and looked directly at Hugh. I’d intentionally not mentioned that Kline and Danielle had something going on now because I enjoyed seeing him get all worked up.

It was childish, but when it came to Hugh Reynolds, I had no shame, apparently.

“Ahhh… we’ve been there a few times. I can’t believe Travis isn’t having a fucking meltdown that you’re going there. That’s not a tame place, but I personally love it. There’s always a good fight and hot biker chicks,” Brax said.

“Are you done?” Hugh grumped.

“I guess I must be.” Brax smirked as he reached for another cookie, and Hugh slapped it right out of his hand. It took everything in me not to laugh.

“So, are you going to run to my brother and tattle on me?” I glanced at the large man scowling at me from across the kitchen island.

“No. You’re right, Snow. You’re a grownup. You can make your own decisions.” He raised a brow, his mood completely shifting.

“Well, thank you. I appreciate that.” I turned to make my way to my bedroom door.

“But now that you’ve got me thinking about it, Brax. I think we should grab the girls from last night and head over to that biker bar ourselves tonight. I’m in the mood for some hot biker chicks,” Hugh said, his voice completely void of any emotion and loud enough to make sure I heard him. He was definitely doing this to irritate me. The thought of seeing him with a woman made my blood boil.

“Welcome back, buddy. I’ve missed you.” Brax barked out a laugh, and I groaned as I whipped my door open and slammed it behind me.

I would not let him ruin my night just because I didn’t give him his way.

If he wanted to flaunt another woman in my face, I wasn’t above doing the same damn thing to him. After all, he was the one who insisted we couldn’t cross the line again. That was his decision, not mine.

I glanced at my closet and pulled out my silk white tank top and then dug through my drawers to find my black cutoffs that I hadn’t worn in forever because they were ridiculously short and usually garnered me more attention than I wanted.

But tonight, I wanted to make sure a certain set of green eyes were on me.

I spent the next hour curling my hair and putting on makeup. I went for a smoky eye, some bronzer, and then dabbed on my favorite pink lipstick.

This was more makeup than I normally wore, so I grabbed my notebook and added a new one to the list.

Embrace your inner sex appeal and flirt your ass off.

Hugh and Brax were already gone when Sloane got to the house.