The Closer You Come (The Original Heartbreakers, #1)(61)

He’d lost track of the number of times she’d stuffed bills in remote places, just as he’d expected. Kitchen drawers, under his bed, in his clothes. Every time he found one, he doubled it and stuffed it at the bottom of her purse or somewhere in her car.

The front door opened. West and Beck walked in, returning from a day at the office. They stopped when they spotted him.

West appeared unkempt, his hair sticking out in spikes, his shirt unbuttoned to the center of his chest and a rip in one of his sleeves. Beck was just as unkempt, but he had lipstick on his collar.

“What’s wrong?” they demanded in unison.

“I’m dying of hunger,” Jase replied, and it was true—just not the kind of hunger they might think. “What’s up with you guys? Something happen?”

A muscle jumped in Beck’s jaw. “You don’t want to know.”

“I went to a bar,” West said, defensive. “Big deal.”

“You also punched me while I was making out with your waitress,” Beck said.

“Only the second and third time. You kept drinking the shots she brought me.”

“None of which you needed.”

“And you did?”

“Boys,” Jase said. “Brook Lynn is cooking our dinner. Don’t scare her away.” Please. He needed her afterward.

“Dinner?” Beck brightened. “Brook Lynn Dillon,” he called, striding into the kitchen, all else forgotten. “You need to speed things up before Jase faints like a delicate Georgia peach.”

West remained with Jase. Shadows drifted through his already dark eyes as he eased onto the couch. The scent of alcohol was so strong it actually stung Jase’s nostrils.

“What’s really going on with you?” West asked quietly.

I’m in too deep with a woman I can’t keep. “Don’t want to talk about it.” West had his own problems.

“Fair enough. But you should know bottling it inside will do you no good.”

“Believe me, I do know.”

West laughed, and there was a bitter tinge to it. “Yeah. You know better than me.”

He couldn’t help tying everything back to the time Jase had served—that he had not. “You’ve got to let that go, my man.”

“Maybe in another six months.”

He’d sentenced himself to ten years? “What about time already served? What about time off for good behavior?” Jase bumped his friend’s shoulder. “I don’t blame you, you know.”

“You should. I could have knocked years off your sentence if I’d just come forward.”

Beck’s throaty laughter boomed from the kitchen and into the living room; Brook Lynn’s sweet, husky chuckle soon followed. A dark wave of jealousy crashed through Jase. The two were certainly enjoying each other’s company.

Were they interested in each other?

He stopped breathing. He wasn’t sure why he’d never thought of that before. Beck loved a fresh conquest more than anything. And what if Brook Lynn was interested in Beck and Jase, as Jessie Kay had been?

Jase thought back. He’d noticed Brook Lynn’s tendency to leave something new at the house every day. A pot holder hanging on a cabinet door. Curtain ties in the living room. A scented candle on the windowsill. He’d never rebuked her, had just assumed she’d hoped to make things more palatable for him, a little at a time. But what if she’d been making things more palatable for Beck? Perhaps gently nudging him into accepting change.

Wouldn’t matter, he decided, eased only slightly. Beck knew Jase had staked a claim. Even if he’d denied it all along, the guy had eyes and half a brain. His friend would never make a move.

“Jase?”

West was here. Right. Jase uncurled his fists and said, “If I’d had a scholarship, you would have done the same for me.”

“Yes, but you also wouldn’t have blown the scholarship.”

“What makes you think so? My stunning success in every area of my life? My Fortune 500 job? My fairy-tale relationship? My brilliant mental health?”

West snorted, some of the darkness at last shaking off him. “Dude, you totally suck. I’m not sure how I’ve remained friends with you so long.”

“You can’t get enough of my sparkling wit.”

“Yeah.” A warm smile from West. “That’s got to be it.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Brook Lynn called.

Jase practically leaped to his feet.

“Uh, a little too eager there, champ?” West asked.

“You have no idea.”

In the kitchen, Brook Lynn wouldn’t look at him. She smoothed a lock of hair from her brow, a rosy blush spreading over her cheeks. Beck didn’t seem to notice, or care, while Jase’s body practically went up in flames.

“Everyone take a place at the table,” she instructed.

Throughout the meal, she shifted in her seat and blushed. She’s thinking of what’s to come... Her reaction fed his, strengthening it. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could last without putting his hands on her.

Beck stuffed his face, still unconcerned, but West glanced between Jase and Brook Lynn countless times, finally arching a brow in question, all I wonder what you two will be doing later.

Jase flipped him off.