Before the Sunset (Cottonwood Cove, #4)(43)

She raised a brow.

“My friend? Who?”

“The beautiful woman that was hugging you and completely into you. I’m guessing you were hoping to sneak off with her tonight?”

I tried to think back to who she could be referring to.

“Lacey Waters?”

“Long, dark hair. Hourglass figure. And dressed to kill. You two were taking selfies or something because she was holding the phone up to get you both on the screen.” She pushed to her feet and started pacing in front of me, her hands in fists. “The one you’re clearly attracted to, but you’re stuck with me, so you didn’t act on it.”

A loud laugh escaped my lips. “Lacey is dating a friend of mine, Edward. And those selfies were her FaceTiming Edward so we could both say hi. She does my hair on set. She’s a good friend, nothing more. As far as she knows, we’re both in serious relationships. She was actually really excited to meet you before Jessica came in, raining hell down on the party.”

I was fairly certain that Reese Murphy had just shown me her cards.

She was fucking jealous.

“Oh,” she whispered, her mouth making a perfect O as she looked at me.

“You weren’t jealous, were you, Lover?” I said. My voice was all tease, but I knew she was.

I just didn’t know exactly how to proceed.

“Please. Why would I be jealous? This isn’t real.” She threw her hands in the air and flailed her arms around, making all sorts of noises, letting me know how outrageous I was.

“All right. Just checking. You going to be okay sharing the bed with me tonight?” I asked as my tongue swiped out to wet my lips, and her heated gaze landed there.

Yeah. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her.

She just didn’t want to admit it.

“I’ve slept with you more times than I can count, Chewy. It’ll be fine. I’m going to go brush my teeth and put on my pajamas.” Her cheeks were flushed, and she turned on her heels and walked unusually fast to the bathroom, and I heard the bathroom door close behind her.

I pulled out my phone. Relationships clearly weren’t my strong suit, and I didn’t want to fuck this up. Which I most likely would. I sent a text to the brothers-only group chat.

Do not add Brinks and Georgie to this group text. This is a Reynolds brothers’ conversation. I’ve got a situation.





Cage



I’m waiting with bated breath. <eye roll emoji>





Hugh



Here for you, brother. Go.





I think I have feelings for Reese. Like real fucking feelings. Not the friendship kind.





Cage



You don’t fucking say? I’m shocked. <blowing smoke emoji>





Don’t be a dick. I’ve never felt like this. Tell me what to do.





Hugh



I get it. It’s going to be okay. I think we all saw this coming.





Cage



Hell, yeah, we did. You aren’t that good of an actor. <winky face emoji> I’m kidding. But I’ve known for a while.





Good for you. You knew before me. It doesn’t matter when you knew. What the fuck do I do? This is Reese. She’s still in love with that fuckface ex of hers. But I’m fairly certain that she got jealous tonight when she saw a woman talking to me.





Hugh



That’s a good sign. She has a history with Carl. I don’t think there’s anything deeper there, to be honest. Show her what she’s missing.





She knows me better than anyone. There isn’t much I haven’t shown.





Cage



He’s talking about friends with benefits, dipfuck. Stop with the platonic shit. Forget what Brinks and Georgie said. Reese was talking about finding a dude to hook up with when we were there that night after she had dinner with Carl. Or have you forgotten that?





Of course, I didn’t forget about that. That was the night things got… complicated. I hadn’t shared what happened with anyone.

Hugh



Agreed. Stop holding back. She’s single. You’re single. Work your magic, dude. This is your wheelhouse. Throw a Hail Mary, and get the fuck out of the friendship zone.





I barked out a laugh. Clearly, I’d never been shy when it came to bragging about my skills in the bedroom when I was talking to my brothers.

This is Reese. I can’t risk fucking it up.





Cage



I thought you said you had real feelings for her. This isn’t just someone you want to casually fuck, correct?





She’ll never believe it. She doesn’t think I’m capable. She’ll think I’m just horny because it’s been a while since I’ve gotten laid. A real long while, if you know what I’m saying.





Hugh



Would you go hook up with someone else right now if you could get away with it without anyone finding out? If you could sneak someone up to your hotel room right now. Would you do it?