Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

I tried to ignore the zip of jealousy that raced over my body. “You don’t need to help her. I’ve got it. I’ll help her paint the inside of the house.”

He simply nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

Standing, I forced myself to smile. “That’s what I want.”

Milo followed my lead and stood. “She isn’t yours anymore, Lucas, unless you’re making a claim on her.”

“A claim?” I asked with a laugh. “Wait one damn minute.” I glared at the man who had been my best friend since we were old enough to figure out girls made us a little crazy. “Milo, are you interested in Paige?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

I balled my fists at my side. “You’re fucking interested in my girl?”

Expecting him to back down, or tell me he was kidding, I crossed my arms over my chest. He didn’t do either of those things. “She isn’t yours anymore, Lucas. Unless…”

He let his voice trail off. I stared at him with a hard look. He either was trying to make a point, or he really was interested in Paige. Either way, it pissed me off.

“You don’t need to help her paint this weekend. I’ll help her. It’s half my house, after all. And don’t forget the goddamn bro code. You don’t go after your friend’s old girlfriend.”

He raised a brow and smirked. “Especially when he’s still very much interested in said old girlfriend.”

My jaw ached from how tight I was holding it. I walked out of his office, slamming his office door behind me. I hated that the asshole was a hundred percent right.

All I heard as I stormed away was his annoying-as-fuck laughter through his office door.

The moment I walked into the house, I came to a stop. Paige was walking down the steps, Oreo, her newfound friend, running ahead of her.

I shut the door and stared at her. She looked me right in the eyes and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I said, the anger from earlier with Milo still evident in my voice.

“You sound mad. Everything okay?”

“No. I need to find that fucking chest and get this bullshit over with.”

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes take in every inch of her. Her brown hair was pulled up into a neat bun on top of her head. A few strands of hair encased her beautiful face in soft brown curls. Her makeup was light but gave just a hint that she was wearing some. Her lips were painted with a pale pink, and I ached to kiss them. My eyes lingered a little too long on those lips. The memory of my mouth on hers last night hit me hard. Why in the hell was she pretending last night didn’t happen? The more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got.

I looked away. Maybe she hadn’t wanted it to happen. Lord knows I did. I couldn’t get to the shower fast enough and jerk off, images of Paige riding on top of me fueling my release.

“What bullshit?” she asked.

With a long, drawn-out sigh, I motioned between us. “This.”

One eyebrow arched perfectly as she repeated the word in the form of a question. “This?”

“Yes, Paige. This. You and me, living under one roof.”

“That’s your fault, Lucas. You’re the one who moved in here. I’m perfectly fine if you’d like to move back to Austin.”

I felt my jaw twitch as I clenched in frustration. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and kiss the living shit out of her. That would shut her up.

“You’re wearing that?” I heard myself bark out. It had come out harsher than I had intended.

Paige looked down at her light blue dress. It hugged her body in all the right ways. Her toned legs were capped off with black high heels. For a night out in Austin, it would have been perfect, but for a night out in Johnson City, it was probably more than the boys here could handle. She’d be having guys stare at her all night, and that idea bothered the hell out of me. There was no way she could wear that dress.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” she asked.

“This is Johnson City, Paige. Not Austin.”

Her eyes filled with hurt. I hated myself for even saying anything. I needed to soften my words and tell her she looked beautiful, because she did, but if she went out in that dress, every man in the damn bar would be staring at her.

“Right,” she said, turning and walking back up the steps.

“Paige, wait.”

“No, you’re right, Lucas. I should change, heaven forbid I look out of place.” She gave me a forced smile over her shoulder and started back up.

“Goddamnit, will you wait a second, Paige.”

Not paying any attention to me, she kept walking.