“So you’re lunching with my girl,” Gray says to Jaden.

“Naw,” Jaden answers easily before slinging an arm over my shoulders to give me a friendly squeeze. “I’m lunching with my girl, Fiona.”

Great. Lovely. Perfect.

If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Speared through the heart by Gray’s glare.

I force a laugh and give Jaden a light shove. “Then you can pick up the check.”

He sets his attention back on Gray and Dex, both of whom I’m ignoring in favor of patatas bravas.

“I got a poker game going tonight,” Jaden tells Gray. “Dean, Jamal, and Monroe will be there. Even pretty boy James is in. You coming?”

Gray doesn’t even blink. “No way. I’m staying at home and sleeping if I can.”

“That’s right. I forgot you’re on baby duty. How’s the little man?”

I drift away from the conversation and glance at Dex. He’s focused on Jaden and Gray, his profile to me. The slant of his nose and the jut of his chin are like the stamp of a Roman coin. I could totally see him as a centurion, slashing his way through armies.

I really have to stop crushing on him. I know myself. I’m not good at flings. One-night hookups I can walk away from without a problem. But if I start to like the guy, I need more. I’m not going to get more with Dex.

His deep voice breaks me out of my fog.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll go,” he says to Jaden.

I’m guessing he’s in for poker.

“Cool.” Jaden makes as if to rise. “It starts up in an hour. Why don’t you come with me now?”

“Sure.”

So Dex is leaving. Never once having said a word to me. He stands, his chair legs scraping over the floorboards. And a sense of loss plummets to my stomach.

I want to apologize. I want to yell at him for ignoring me.

I say nothing. Dex and Jaden exchange goodbyes with Ivy and Gray.

I get a kiss on the cheek from Jaden.

“Good to meet you, Fiona.” His dark eyes twinkle. “If you want to hang, give me a call. Gray’s got my number.”

I give him a tight smile. But my attention is on Dex. “That’s sweet, but I’m spending my time with Ivy and Gray and Dex.”

At the mention of his name, Dex finally looks my way. “Night, Fi.”

That’s all.

I manage a nod, determined not to let this bother me anymore. We weren’t meant to be anyway. But then, as he walks past my chair, the tips of his fingers run along the back of my neck.

A shiver goes through me, a smile tugging at my lips. And then he’s gone.

Fiona

The moment Dex is out of the restaurant, Gray turns on me. “What the hell was that, Fi?”

“Oh, would you relax,” I snap. “It was just a joke.”

“I guess I missed the punch line.” Gray scowls at me before stealing my water and taking a drink—while glaring over the rim of the glass.

“A pap took a picture of Jaden kissing my cheek,” Ivy explains. “Fi and Jaden were just giving him something else to gossip about.”

“I guess.” Gray shrugs but then gives me another hard look. “Still, Fi, that was not cool. Dex likes you and—” He flinches, rearing back as an olive bounces off his forehead. “Did you just ping me with that?”

“Did you miss the part where I threw it at your big head?” I ask sweetly before frowning. “Do not lecture me like I’m an idiot, Gray. I had no idea you guys were coming here.” I give Ivy a pointed look, because she could have warned me. “And I feel shitty enough as it is.”

“Well…” Gray starts.

I cut him off. “That said, Dex and I aren’t…” I wave a hand. “I don’t know what the hell we are. We went on one date. I’m leaving in a week.”

He pouts, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “Then maybe you should stay away from him.”

Hurt caves in on my chest. “Wow. Thanks. It means so much to me that you feel the need to rush me off Dex’s front porch.”

Gray’s tight mouth eases a little. “I didn’t mean it like that. Okay, maybe a little. Shit.”

“No, no.” I hold up a hand. “I get it. And maybe you’re right. But that’s my call, not yours.”

Tense silence falls over the table.

Ivy sets a hand on Gray’s arm. “We have one hour before the sitter needs us to return. Let’s not waste it arguing, Cupcake.”

He looks at her for a long moment, then nods. His blue eyes are wide and serious as they seek me out. “Sorry, Fi. I shouldn’t have gone off on you.”

“Sorry about the olive. That shit can stain,” I say, grudgingly. “Next time I’ll throw a nut.”

I get a napkin to the face in return. And we both laugh. But my insides are heavy, restless. As annoyed as I am with Gray, I know he’s right. And doesn’t that just suck the big one?

Chapter Seven

Fiona

Dex doesn’t come home. Not when Ivy and Gray head up to bed. Not after I’ve read in bed for a few hours. It’s nearly two in the morning when I give up the ghost and turn off my e-reader.

In the silence of my cozy guest room, tucked under the eaves, I stare at the window, now blocked by heavy pink silk curtains. I decorated this room. My first project. I’d gone for white walls, a gold-leaf Rococo dresser, a white Louis XVI-style bed trimmed in lime green satin, and a set of vibrant Warhol Queen Elizabeth prints hanging on one wall. I call it shabby Brit chic. It’s in honor of my mom, who’s British and uses this room when she visits.