Best Friends Don't Kiss

“Uh…” I pause, faltering a bit, but then quickly respond with, “Nope. Nothing yet.”

His eyes search mine, and I have a feeling, with his contact on the board and the way he’s staring at me with unsaid words, Milo knows the truth. He knows I got the call.

But still, I haven’t told anyone. I haven’t told Ava. And there’s no fucking way I’m going to say it out loud right now.

“Did you decide on the galleries?” Harrison pipes up with an unrelated question to Theo, and I’m thankful for the domino effect—grabbing Milo’s attention from looking at me curiously, along with everyone else’s.

I breathe a discreet sigh of relief.

Theo smiles. “Actually, I signed the contract over a week ago. Officially a fifty-percent owner.”

“What’s a tasteless, uncultured bastard like you doing investing in fluffing art galleries?” Thatch teases, and Theo just smirks.

“Well, for one, my wife Lena loves art,” he responds, and his voice warms at the word Lena. “And two, art is always a good investment, my man.”

“You invested in art galleries?” I question, and Theo nods.

“One in LA and one here in New York.”

“Really?” My mind starts to swirl with all sorts of ideas.

“You interested in buying some art, Luke?” Theo asks, his eyes curious.

“Not buying per se, but I might know of an artist who, once you see their paintings, you’ll want them in your galleries.”

“Is this a known artist?”

I shake my head. “No, but they should be.”

“Well, fluffing hell, now I want to know who this artist is, too,” Thatch chimes in, but I just shrug.

“Sorry, man, but they are wanting to remain anonymous for right now.”

“Hmmm…” Theo pauses and taps his chin with a smile. “Now I’m curious. How about you give me a call Monday, and I’ll get you connected with the director of the galleries.”

I can’t hide my smile. “Will do.”

“Uh, T-bag?” a female voice chimes from the doorway, and everyone at the table looks up to see Thatch’s wife Cassie standing there, a hand on her hip. “Were you guys throwing a rager earlier or what?”

“No rager, honey,” Thatch replies. “We were just watching Cap get his ass handed to him by Luke.”

Cassie grins at that. “Well, I’ve been instructed by Georgia to come in here and make you guys shut the hell up or else she can’t concentrate on the sweet potatoes.”

“My Georgie doing okay in there?” Kline asks.

“It’s Friendsgiving, Big Dick,” she replies with a shrug. “She’s running around my kitchen like a lunatic. But she’ll be fine once we’re sitting down to eat. Also, I might’ve given her a teensy-tiny bit of liquor and told her it’s lemonade.”

Kline quirks a brow. “How tiny?”

“Like half a glass?” She waves him off. “No big thing.”

“Great,” Kline mutters on a half laugh, half sigh and runs a hand through his hair. “Dinner should be interesting, I guess.”

Thatch smirks. “Drunk Georgie is the best.”

“Uh-huh…but do you know who’s also the best?” Cassie points her smile in my direction. “Luke’s girlfriend, Ava.”

In an instant, everyone at the table looks at me.

“I’m sorry…what?” Cap questions. “Did I hear you right, Cass? Did you just say Luke’s girlfriend Ava is here?”

“Pretty sure she said girlfriend,” Trent agrees, his mouth forming into a grin. “Not friend, but girlfriend.”

“As in, they’re dating?” Thatch questions, putting on a real fucking show. “But I thought you said Ava was just your friend?”

Well, son of a bitch. I probably should’ve remembered that whole conversation in LA at Prime before I agreed to take Ava’s and my fake relationship show on the road, huh?

“Luke?” Cap persists. “Mind sharing with the class?”

A laugh jumps from my lungs. I can’t help it. With the way Cassie is grinning at me like a loon and Thatch is pretending he doesn’t know what’s going down, it’s too fucking amusing.

“Yes, Ava is here,” I eventually respond. “And, well, she is, in fact—”

“His girlfriend.” An all-too-familiar voice fills my ears, and I look up to see Ava standing beside Cassie in the doorway.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I feel like a real-life book club is happening before my very eyes,” Cap replies with a smirk, wasting no time standing up to shake Ava’s hands. “I’m Caplin Hawkins,” he says. “And can I say it’s a real pleasure to finally meet Luke’s girlfriend? He’s already told us so much about you.”

“Honestly, he never shuts up about you,” Trent agrees, and before I know it, every single guy at the table has taken it upon himself to introduce himself to my Ava.

Your Ava?

I mean Ava. Not my Ava. Just…Ava.

Uh-huh…keep telling yourself that…

“How’s it going out there, Ace?” I ask, and Ava giggles.

“Well, Cassie here is teaching me the fine art of sneaking alcohol into people’s drinks and how to avoid ruining dinner.”

“And how exactly are you managing that, Crazy?” Thatch asks, his eyes grinning at his wife.