Delicate Promises (Southern Bride 2)

Heather’s eyes grew wide. “Has it been an hour since he told me he was going to find a place to piss? Wow, I’m impressed that Doug has some stamina. I didn’t see that coming.”

Annie covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.

“Some psychic you are,” I mumbled as we followed Annie across the field.

“Tell me that BMW is yours,” Heather said.

Annie walked backwards, a proud smile on her face. “That BMW is mine.”

“Too bad I like men. We’d be so good together.”

Laughing, Annie hit the button and the black BMW came to life.

“Kynslee! Kynslee!”

Heather glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Looks like Miles noticed you leaving.”

I stopped walking. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet y’all at the car.”

Annie and Heather both nodded, then kept walking.

“Where are you going?” Miles asked, coming to a stop in front of me.

“Home.”

“Why?” he asked, a befuddled laugh falling from those perfect lips.

“You’re drunk, and I really am not in the mood to watch women fall all over you, Miles.”

“Fall all over me?”

I sighed. “I get you’ve been gone and wanted to hang with your friends. That’s fine. But I’m tired of sitting there watching it all go down. You’ve pretty much left me to fend for myself tonight. I’m not interested in this scene anymore. If you are, then have at it.”

“It’s just a fucking party, Kyns. So some girl touched me. I didn’t touch her back.”

I stared at his drunk ass. “And what if that had been me, Miles? A random guy coming up and running his finger down my chest, over my cheek. Would you have sat there and watched while I simply looked away? No, you would have jumped over the fire and punched him. It works both ways, Miles.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t react differently. I’m not the least bit interested in her, so why are you jealous?”

There was no sense in arguing, especially with him drinking. I needed to just let it go and trust that he wasn’t going to do something he would regret. With a nod, I smiled. “Right. Whatever. Have fun tonight.”

I went to walk away when he grabbed me by the arm and spun me to face him. “Don’t go, Kynslee.”

I jerked my arm out from his. “I’m not staying. Goodnight, Miles.”

As I walked away I felt his eyes watching me. One quick look over my shoulder proved I was right.

Miles

“DUDE, DON’T EVEN try to figure them out,” Trey said, taking a long pull from his beer. The blonde who had been all over him moved on to someone else when she found out Trey wasn’t going to have anything to do with her. Of course, this was after he realized Annie had left. Stupid idiot.

“I’m pretty sure I can figure Annie out,” I said, giving Trey a hard stare. “You invited her here, probably with the pretense y’all would be together and then you started messing around with another girl who caught your eye.”

Trey at least looked disappointed in himself.

“We’re fuck buddies, and yes, when I come to town I usually hook up with her. I sort of forgot she was here.”

Willy, another friend from high school and now the high school football coach, said, “How in the hell do you forget you’ve got a hot date here? Hell, if I had known you weren’t going to be with her, I would have tried my luck.”

Trey stood, and I quickly jumped between them.

“Settle down, boys. Settle down.” I slapped Trey on the chest. “You messed up, so have you tried calling or texting her?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s at your girlfriend’s house hanging out with her new friends.”

“With the way she stormed out of here, you think she’s still going to fill that role of girlfriend?” Willy asked.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I sighed. “I’m not used to dating, and honestly, I was trying to get that redhead to leave me alone. What was I supposed to do, push her away from me? Tell her to fuck off?”

The four guys all sitting around the fire looked at each other and then me. They all said yes at the same exact time.

I laughed. “Bastards.”

This had been my crew at one time. Trey, Willy, Ben, and Gus. The five of us had each other’s backs. Except for tonight, apparently.

“That’s exactly what you should have done,” Ben said. He was the only one out of the group who was married with kids. “Listen, I haven’t been single in a long time. Y’all moved on after high school, but I stayed here, worked my daddy’s ranch, and married my high school sweetheart. I may not be single and playing the field, but I know women.” He turned to look at Trey. “You think Annie is content with your occasional hook-ups? I promise you she’s not. Her leaving tonight is a clear indication she wasn’t down watching you feel up another woman.”