Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Lily’s brother,” Dominic said as he shook hands with Max.
God.
It was like watching a blond viper try to shake hands with a plush Golden Retriever. Max’s innocence had never seemed more stark. The way he smiled wide at Dom, and the way he treated him with so much Southern hospitality it almost made me forget how mouthy Max was with me.
“Welcome to Bestens, Dom,” Max said.
I suppressed a smile hearing Max already calling him by the shortened version of his name. Dominic had told me once that he hated it when anybody other than his closest friends called him Dom, which was… stupid and pompous.
But Dom was pompous, I guess.
I was, too, on the inside. Even if Bestens had been causing me to realign myself a little on the outside.
“Thank you,” Dominic said. “What happened to your neck?”
A faint blush appeared on Max’s face as he felt the spot where I’d left my mark. “Just a little bruise,” Max said.
I clenched my jaw, fire burning inside me.
I wanted to suck on his skin there again.
I wished the mark was even darker. I liked that he was so clearly mine, and even though he was all bashful and trying to hide it, Dom knew better.
“Sorry to interrupt your breakfast,” Dominic offered.
“Go ahead, sit down,” Max said. “More the merrier. Draven and I just ordered, but I’m sure we can grab another menu for you. Do you like cinnamon rolls? They make insane ones here.”
“I’m off carbs,” Dom told him.
“Heard,” Max said. “They have plenty of good meat, too. Don’t worry.”
“I don’t need any food,” Dominic said, his gaze turning toward me. “I just wanted to see what my friend is getting up to here in the good ol’ south.”
I could smell bullshit from a mile away. I didn’t know why he was actually here, or why he’d given me absolutely zero warning about this impromptu trip, but I knew he wasn’t going to tell me shit about it in front of someone like Max.
“Life’s pretty normal,” I said. “Got my house. Fixing it up.”
“And he’s following me around like a bloodhound because he thinks I have a stalk—”
“Just some silly stuff,” I interjected, cutting Max off before he could say more about it. Heat bloomed through my chest.
Dominic was trustworthy and usually very subtle, but I didn’t need him knowing about my… little pet project, here in Tennessee.
Protecting Max is for me, and me only, to worry about.
“Is something going on?” Dom asked.
“No. Draven thinks so, though,” Max said, and I badly wanted to reach across the table and clasp my hand over his mouth.
I opted to give Dominic the very, very short version. “He posts videos online and gets creepy comments. Welcome to the Internet. It isn’t uncommon. I’m more interested in why Dominic was so eager to come to Tennessee.”
“Online videos, huh?” Dom asked.
Fuck.
I am going to bloody your goddamn nose by the end of this breakfast, Dominic.
He was toying with Max now, but Max didn’t know it.
Don’t tell him. Do not tell him the name of your page—
“The Cocktail Bro, at your service,” Max blabbed proudly. “I like making cocktails. Or mixology, as everyone calls it. I just enjoy putting weird ingredients in drinks and finding out which ones really pop.”
When Dominic and I were in high school together, we always used to sit at the back of the classroom, silently giving each other looks every time a classmate would say something we found funny.
Looking back on it now, we were… well, we were like the Mean Girls of our Montana prep school, except we were guys who were obsessed with wrestling, shooting ranges, and custom steel knives. We never bullied anyone, but we acted like we were above it all, cooler and more mature than our classmates.
Stupid. Juvenile. There was nothing “better” about us, and there wasn’t now, either.
But while I’d shed most of that gossip-fueled part of my identity, Dominic had held onto some of it. He’d gone into finance, which was ripe with opportunities to make himself feel superior to others. He treated me the same, but watching him with Max…
I almost felt that protective, possessive urge coming out in me.
Protective of him, even around Dom.
I really was getting too involved in Max’s sphere.
“The Cocktail Bro,” Dom said now. “I’ll have to remember that one. I like cocktails.”
“Happy to make you some signature drinks if you come by the Hard Spot tonight.”
As we got our plates of food, I watched as Dom slipped out his phone, tapping out a text. I felt my phone buzz shortly after, and I looked at the message he’d sent.
Dominic
So this is your new plaything while you’re on your little Tennessee holiday?
Draven
No. Don’t text me right now.
He’s adorable. Nicer than your type usually is, though. No judgment.
It was more bullshit, because I saw Dom’s smirking, very full-of-judgment face as I slipped my phone away.