“Game night?” Candace asked while bouncing on her toes. “We’re having game night?”
I nodded. “Yes. Do you want to stay? You can be my partner; that way we’ll have an even number of teams.”
“Hell yes, I want to stay!” Candace said as she placed some plates on the counter. “What are we playing?”
“Um, I think we have charades and Pictionary on the calendar.”
Candace fist pumped. “Yes! We’re going to kick some ass tonight, Bree!”
I stared at her. “Well, my folks tend to let the guests win.”
With a laugh that sounded like pure evil, Candace shook her head. “Yeah, no. That’s not how it’s going to work tonight.” She rubbed her hands together and smiled. “We’re taking Mrs. Cole down!”
I couldn’t hold my laugh in even if I had tried.
Luke
Kyle slapped me on the back. “Make yourself at home, Luke.”
I glanced around his place, taking it all in. It was for sure a bachelor pad, with white walls and brown leather furniture and very few other things in the living room. There was, of course, a large TV mounted, but the rest of the walls were empty. To the side of the leather sofa was a large brown leather recliner, and next to that was a crate for Cat, his K9 partner.
“Want a beer?” Hunter asked, holding up a bottle.
With a smile, I replied, “That’d be great, thanks.”
He grinned and handed it to me.
“Okay,” Kyle said as he walked back into the living room. “Aiden, Bishop, and Hudson will be here in a few.”
I took a drink from the beer and then said, “Thanks for inviting me.”
Hunter and Kyle both laughed before Kyle said, “Dude, I took one look at you and knew we needed to step in and get you the hell out of there.”
“I have to ask,” Hunter said with a slight smile. “Was she punishing you, or did you willingly walk into that mess?”
I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Willingly walked into it.”
Hunter smiled at me while Kyle shook his head. “Kyle said the two of you made up?” Hunter asked. “I wasn’t even aware she’d been dating anyone. I mean, I figured something happened when she asked me and Kyle to come to Boston and help her move back to Boggy Creek.”
Rubbing at the back of my neck, I let out a sigh. “Yeah, I didn’t really handle things all that well. Of course, I also didn’t know when she told me to get out of her office that she wasn’t actually telling me to leave her alone.”
“Women,” Kyle scoffed. “This is why I’m the only single one left. I’m the only one with any brains.”
“Adam,” Hunter stated.
Kyle rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t count.”
“Who’s Adam?” I asked.
“Friend of ours who was engaged, but she broke his heart. He moved to Boston to drown his sorrows away by working endless hours in the emergency room.”
Hunter added, “He’s a doctor.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I’ve got to know,” Kyle said as he sat down on the sofa and motioned for me to sit as well. “How did it go from Brighton asking me to pretend to be her boyfriend to the two of you talking about getting married?”
“Married?” Hunter asked in a surprised voice. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
Kyle shrugged. “Probably because I was still trying to get my liver back in place after Brighton punched me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh before I answered him. “We ate lunch at The Coffee Pot, talked, argued a little, then went and sat on a park bench and laid it all out on the line. I told her I gave up acting.”
Both men’s mouths dropped open.
“Dude, you did what?” Hunter asked.
With a nod, I said, “I’m giving it up. I love her too much to lose her, and if I stay in the business, that’s exactly what will happen.”
The corner of Kyle’s mouth twitched with a hidden smile. “Mad respect for you, Luke. That had to be hard.”
I studied the beer in my hand and let out a soft laugh before I looked back up at them. “Honestly, it was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I haven’t been happy for the last few years. Yes, I’ve been incredibly blessed with my career, but something was missing. I found it one night at my father’s Christmas party when a set of light-brown eyes looked up at me and said, ‘You look like Gene Kelly.’ I was lost to her.”
Hunter and Kyle both laughed.
“Yeah, Brighton is as obsessed with Gene Kelly as Kyle is with Jane Austen.”
That caused me to raise my brows. I glanced over to see Kyle nodding. “I’m man enough to admit I like Jane Austen.”
“Are you man enough to admit you’re also in my sister’s book club?” Hunter asked.
“Willa told you that?” Kyle sat up straight on the sofa. “I can’t believe she told you.”