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The women exchanged curious looks, but neither pressed the issue. Slowly, as the couples made their way through another round of drinks, laughter joined into the conversation, and by the third beer, Kane was extolling the virtues of how pregnancy enhanced his wife’s cup size.
Robby stuck with iced tea.
Matt arrived just as they finished eating and surprised the table by ordering two dozen Jell-O shots, a move met with great enthusiasm by Brick and Kane, since their wives had volunteered to be designated drivers. Halfway through, the party moved to the pool tables, where Brick and Liv faced off against Kane and Amanda.
Robby and Matt opted for a dart game on the other side of the room.
“Are you sure it doesn’t bother you for us to drink around you?” Matt asked, pulling the darts from the board on the wall.
“I told you when you asked me last night, it doesn’t tempt me to see people drink. Sometimes, things just trigger me.” Robby took one of the darts from Matt’s hand and tossed it right into the bullseye. “Don’t worry. The more you drink, the worse you’ll play. Then, I’m practically guaranteed to win.”
“Robby? That you?” Chandler, the guy who did outreach for the Q-Center, approached him with a broad smile.
Robby grinned back as the man greeted him with an enthusiastic hug.
Chandler had sapphire blue eyes, all the more gorgeous when paired with his thick, black hair. The man could stop traffic, and he knew it. “Thanks again for all your help this weekend. I’ve been hoping you’d come back.”
Matt cleared his throat.
Crap. Robby didn’t mean to be rude. “I’m sorry. Matt, this is Chandler. Chandler, this is Matt. He’s, uh, a friend from work. Matt, Chandler’s—”
“It’s no problem.” Matt held up his hands and stepped back. “You guys catch up. I’m going to go order another round of shots.”
Robby fought back a smile. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Matt was jealous. Though he had no reason to be. Chandler might be hot, but he was happily married. To a woman.
“It looks like the green-eyed monster is making an appearance tonight.” Chandler took a swig of the beer in his hand. “You sure that guy’s just a friend?”
Robby snuck a peek at the bar where Matt was holding up a twenty-dollar bill. Maybe his finances were finally turning around.
“Robby?”
“Oh. Sorry. Yeah, he put me square in the friend zone. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise.”
Chandler chuckled. “Give it time. I have a feeling you won’t have to wait too long and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome will surprise you. In the meantime, I want to pick your brain about the trick you showed me with that Excel file.”
***
Matt
Matt stalked back to the table where they’d started the night, then sucked back five Jell-O shots in quick succession. Who the heck was Chandler anyway? Stupid name. Stupid muscles and tight jeans.
He wanted to wipe the smug smile off the man’s face. To plant a flag in the ground in front of Robby and proclaim him off limits to the rest of the world. To declare Robbyhis. Not Chandler’s or John’s.
Not even Brick’s or Kane’s.
Scowling, he swiped another filled, flimsy paper shot glass from the dwindling supply. The unfamiliar jealousy made him feel petty, but he couldn’t shake it off.
He swallowed more chilled gelatin without tasting it.
The scrape of the chair beside him drew his eye to Brick’s thick frame settling down at the table. He blinked slowly at his co-worker. “You’re too big to move so quietly.”
Brick snorted. “In my line of work—” He paused. “In myoldline of work, sometimes a little stealth could save me a whole lot of problems.”
He knew Brick used to be associated with a drug kingpin, but Matt had never been tempted to ask for details. Apparently, not until now. He needed a distraction in the worst way. “Whatwasyour old line of work anyway?” Elbow propped on the table, he rested his chin in his hands.
The Budweiser longneck in Brick’s hand paused an inch from his lips. “You really want to know?”
Lifting another Jell-O shot, he tapped it against Brick’s beer in a silent toast.
