"What are you really saying?" I asked.
He shrugged and looked out of the pool. "I want you to have fun, and I want you to be nice to this girl—but you can't run the risk of actually falling for her."
"There's no risk." I looked at my friend, my brow furrowed.
"We both know there's no future there," Eric said calmly. "That's all I'm saying."
I grunted in exasperation. "First, you yell at me for being a dick to her. Then you lecture me because you think I'm being too nice. Which is it?"
"It's neither. But I saw the look on your face today." He pursed his lips. "I know that Jessica wasn't the right person for you. And I would like my best friend to be happy at some point."
"Then let me figure out what that means for myself."
"I'm just looking out for you, buddy. I know you—and I don't want to see you get hurt again," he said.
"Chase Layne's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
He groaned. "For the love of God, stop talking about yourself in the third person."
"Eric?" I asked, changing gears. "You think that maybe you want to buy that loft in the Leather District?"
Eric looked surprised. "I don't think I need a place up here. I can always crash with you."
"That's actually something I wanted to talk to you about…"
* * *
Eric moved out a few days later. Jackson Pryce was able to convince the sellers of the loft that a short-term rental was in their best interests given the current market conditions. I was pretty sure he was doing me a favor, but as I was buying an eight-point-five-million-dollar home from him, he sort of owed me.
Eric slapped me on the back as he was leaving. "I'm staying up here for the next couple of months," he said. "I can work remotely for my other clients, and you are my top priority right now. Anytime you want to go out, or need a photo opportunity or press conference, just call me."
He leaned in closer. "Are you kicking me out so you can play house with Avery?"
I patted him on the back. "You know you're welcome back anytime, brother. Just no shots."
"A Kick in the Crotch seemed like it served its purpose. It certainly worked out all right for you," Eric said, training his eyes on me. "And you still didn't answer my question."
I smiled at him tightly. "No, I did not."
Avery came out and hugged Eric. "Bye," she said, looking sorry to see him go. "Are you sure you're going to be okay without us? What're you going to do without anyone to bully into binge-drinking?"
"I'll think of something." Eric smiled at both us. "I feel like I'm a parent about to go on vacation and leave my teenagers at home."
I shook my head and noticed that Avery was blushing. My dick hardened at the thought of being alone in the house with her. Down boy. Jesus, that thing was going to get me in trouble.
But that wouldn't be the worst thing…would it?
Chapter Thirteen
AVERY
It may have been mean, but when Chase asked me to go swimming the next day, I chose the sexiest bikini I had. It was black with strings and that was pretty much all there was to it. I looked at myself in the mirror, approving of how I looked even though I didn't approve of my motivations.
He'd asked Eric to leave for a reason. Seeing as I couldn't stop thinking about the other night, I was curious to find out what it was.
I threw on a cover-up and headed out back. It was a gorgeous day, warm without the typical New England humidity. Chase was already in the water, his massive shoulders bobbing in the aqua pool. I took a deep breath as I checked out his muscles. Good Lord, this man was turning me into one of Pavlov's dogs. I was looking at his naked chest and salivating.
No good could come of this.