Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(116)

“Don’t mind him,” Connor said, going for the Scotch. “He’s being a horrible pessimist. I thought that was my job. Twenty years’ worth of being the dude who can’t see a silver lining and I end up as the Suzy Sunshine of our duo.”

Dax flipped his best friend off. “Screw you, Sparks. I can handle my own love life.”

Zack slipped his tuxedo jacket off. “It sounds like you can’t. Dax, you’ve been crazy about that girl since Joy introduced you to her. You can’t let her go.”

“I don’t know that I have a choice.” He’d thought about this the whole way from Louisiana to D.C. “Do I even have the right to bring her into our collective nightmare? You’re not bringing Liz in. I heard you had a date tonight.”

Zack’s jaw tightened. “Yes. I’ll have another in a few days. I have an entire ‘romantic’ calendar planned. All anyone will be able to talk about is the playboy president, and they’ll forget the rumors that I was ever in love with my press secretary. Holland is a trained agent. Liz has no idea how to handle this. She would get hurt. She would do what she always does, throw herself into solving the problem. And she would end up dead. Holland knows what she’s doing. So do Everly and Lara. We’re keeping the truth from Liz and Augustine.”

Roman started to pace. “I don’t even like to think about what would happen with Gus. She plots behind all our backs. She would try to take over.”

Dax didn’t miss the way Zack bit back a smile.

“We all know Gus would immediately inform Liz and then unionize the women against us,” Zack said with a shake of his head. “We’ll keep this quiet. As far as Liz and Gus know, Roman and I are going to London for meetings and they don’t need to attend. Connor, if you wouldn’t mind being pressed into security duty, I would appreciate you looking out for Roman.”

“I don’t need anyone to look out for me,” Roman complained. “I’m perfectly good at protecting myself.”

Gabe laughed. “Yeah, buddy. You don’t even know which way to point the gun. Let’s be democratic. All for Connor being in charge of security say aye. Aye.”

They’d instituted democratic voting over crazy shit at Creighton, often when they ganged up on one another—especially when it was in the best interests of the ganged-up-on party.

Roman rolled his eyes as the rest of the group issued their ayes. “You know I miss the shit out of Mad because at least I could count on him to dissent.”

Mad often dissented just for kicks. Dax missed him, too. “We’ve got your back, one way or another. I spent too much time today with a man who didn’t understand the meaning of friendship.”

Peter Morgan was alive and talking. So was Chad, though it appeared he didn’t know as much as Beau Kirk had. He’d simply done what his superior demanded.

One thing was certain. They had a whole name—Boris Kuilikov. And a bit of direction about who he was and what might be his game.

Zack walked up and put a hand on his arm. “I do understand. You have no idea what it means to have you four around me. I know Mad would be here if he could. The five of you . . . well, you made my life bearable then. You do the same now. My brothers. So understand when I tell you, don’t let that woman go.”

Gabe joined them. “You’ve been in love with her forever. You made a mistake. Don’t make another one.”

“But we get invited to this wedding, damn it,” Roman insisted.

Connor stepped in. “She loves you, too. There’s no doubt in my mind. But you fucked up when you pulled that shit in Vegas. Have you apologized?”

Did Connor think he was a moron? “Of course. I said it was a mistake.”

“It was more than a mistake,” Connor said. “Look, I get this shit from my wife, but Lara is actually very good at figuring emotional stuff out. You’ve been circling this woman for what? Ten years?”

“Just about,” he allowed.

“And she’s been circling you. You took something from her. While she was sacrificing for you, you married someone who didn’t matter to you,” Connor pointed out. “Holland will always be a second wife. That’s meaningful for women. A lot of them believe that the first wife is the true love. You need to make her believe she’s not second.”

“How do I do that?” She’d never been second for him.

Connor sighed. “No idea, man. But I do know you can’t do it if you’re on separate continents. Fix this or go back to New Orleans and you don’t leave until she agrees that you’re an idiot and she was always the one for you.”

“Women like to think they’re the one.” Gabe tipped his glass up and took a swallow of Scotch. “In my case, it was true.”

“Me, too,” Connor agreed.

“First wives aren’t always the only woman you ever love,” Zack murmured.

“Yeah, well sometimes a man wants to believe he’s the only one, too.” Roman held out his glass.

Did Holland think that marriage didn’t matter to him because he’d done it stupidly once? Had he made her believe it didn’t have to be forever because he’d once treated the institution with so little respect?

He’d apologized, but had he explained why he wanted to marry her? Or had he left it as an abstract concept—an idea that simply made sense because she was female and he enjoyed having sex with her? Because they were so familiar?