She looked like a woman who needed a good, strong man in her life.
“Friend zone or not, we’re not in any kind of zone. I fucking hate you right now.”
“No, you don’t, otherwise, you’d have actually hit me with that wrench.”
“Why are you here?” Beau asked. “Don’t you have someplace to be? A business to run?”
“Unlike you, I want to resolve our problem with Connie.”
“She’s not going to pick between us, asshole. Face it, neither of us are going to get her in our bed.”
“Exactly, which is why I think we should look at this as the two of us chasing her together.”
This made Beau pause. “Pardon?”
“You heard me. Come on, we’ve been best friends for years. This wouldn’t be the first woman we’ve shared.”
“You’re talking about a hot one-night stand. Connie’s not going to be a one-time thing for me. I like her, Scott. I mean, really like her.”
“Are you thinking settling down, kids, a wife, that kind of thing?”
“Yeah.”
Scott nodded. “And my offer still stands.”
“I’m not going to play with her or her emotions. She deserves better than that.”
“I completely agree, which is why I say we pursue her together. I want her, Beau. This isn’t about sex for me. I like her. I want her in my bed, in my life. I’m not going to fight you for her. We’ve got good taste in women, and I think if we put our minds together, we can both have Connie for life.”
Beau wiped his hand on the cloth. “I think you’re crazy.”
“Come on, she’s a good woman. She’s not going to trade one of us off against the other. We’re in this together or not at all. What’s it going to be?” he asked.
“You know I fucking hate you right now?” Beau asked. “None of what you’re saying makes sense.”
“It does. It makes perfect sense. We both get the girl, and we get to stay best friends. She doesn’t feel bad nor does the town give her a hard time. As far as I can tell, it’s a damn good plan. Besides, we both know how hot it is to have a woman between us. I bet together we can rock Connie’s world.”
“This is if she goes for the two of us,” Beau said. “Last night, she couldn’t get rid of us fast enough.”
“Last night we were nothing but drama and trouble to her. By the time we’re finished, she’s going to know she wants to be in the middle of a trouble sandwich.”
Chapter Two
Connie headed into town to enjoy the fair the following week. She’d closed up the bar, which she always did this time of year. The idea for the fair was for all the tourists to get a taste of what people had to offer. With her closing her bar, they were more inclined to go to the fair than hang out at the bar. She also got a short time off where she could eat and have a good time and a little fun herself.
Ever since she’d kicked Scott and Beau out, she’d been having a lot of regrets. They were good guys, nice. Neither of them had turned up and as much as she hated to admit it, she missed them.
She wasn’t going to be that woman though, the one to come between friends.
Tucking brown hair behind her ear, she knew she should have put her hair in a ponytail or something. The long strands were only going to annoy her. The white ankle-length skirt she wore with a flower pattern and white crop top stood out against her ink, which could be seen underneath all the white.
Folding her arms, she walked from stall to stall. She wasn’t hungry yet and would wait until later for some food.
She stopped toward the open field where the town cheerleaders were doing their routine. They would randomly do that throughout the day, giving tourists the chance to watch them. They loved the attention. After one certain flip from six of them, she clapped her hands. Watching the full routine was far too stressful for her as she always worried one of them would end up with a broken neck or something.
After an hour of walking around, she came to a stop, only to see Beau and Scott up ahead.
Pressing her lips together, she didn’t want to avoid them exactly, but it seemed wrong to her to seek them out. Seeing no other way to handle it, she forced a smile to her lips and approached them. “Hey,” she said. Her nerves were back in place.
“Hello, beautiful,” Beau said.
Both men were dressed in jeans and tight shirts, showing off their impressive, rock-hard bodies.
Scott didn’t say anything. His gaze was on her and she didn’t know what to say.
“I better go.” This was pointless and embarrassing. How did she expect them to want to talk to her when she’d shot them both down?