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Prologue
Lainey
Trying not to shiverin the cool night air, I step towards my boyfriend, wanting a buffer from the wind. We’re not actually touching, but I can feel the tension emanating from him. After a second, he quits glaring at the main road and focuses on me.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
Lucas wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You know why.” I reach up and touch his face softly. “You’re protective of Amber, and you’ve never been all that complimentary about any of her boyfriends.”
“Because she always picks the arseholes that are never good enough for her.”
My smile nearly slips, but I manage to hold it. Just. “But she’s known Ben for ages, and she seems happy with him. Shouldn’t we give him the benefit of the doubt?”
“I’ve known him for a while, too, Lainey. He’s not right for her.”
My heart beats faster as I take in the look on his face. “Would any man be right for her, Lucas?”
He stares down at me. “You know they would be. Amber is my best friend, and she has been for more than a decade. Is it wrong that I want her to be as happy with someone as I am with you?”
“Of course not.”
I’m just not sure the overprotectiveness he feels is right, either.
Lucas has told me his love for Amber is platonic. He’s told me he can’t be in love with his best friend when he’s in love with me. Am I stupid for wanting to believe him? For letting myself fall further and further in love with him every day? I hope not, because the idea of walking away from him splits my ribcage in two and makes it impossible to breathe.
Lucas’s thumb scrolls across my cheekbone, and the ache in my chest dissipates enough that I can breathe a small sigh of contentment.
“You’re not regretting your decision to come bowling, are you?” Lucas asks, nodding to the bowling alley behind us.
I’ve never enjoyed bowling all that much, but Lucas and Amber wanted to come here, so I didn’t put up a fight.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun, right?”
“I think so.” Lucas stands up straighter, his eyes back on the main road that leads into the carpark. “That’s them now.”
I turn my head towards the entry point in time to see the motorbike roaring in. Those things scare the crap out of me, and I’m glad it’s Amber on the back of the bike and not me. Lucas’s friend looks like she’s loving every minute of the ride as her boyfriend parks the bike and she slides off, taking her helmet off and beaming at us.
I smile back, relieved she looks so happy, the knot in my gut loosening. Amber starts towards us before stopping to wait for Ben.
With the helmet covering his face, I can’t see what Amber’s new boyfriend looks like, but I can tell he’s well built. Like, extremely well built. I envision him in the Army or Navy until he takes off his helmet and wedges it under his arm.
Immediately, my romance writer’s brain whirs into action as I take in the complete package. Long, messy dark hair, black leather jacket, boots, jeans, and tats peeking above the collar of his jacket. Standing next to his bike, he looks just like a cover model for a book called ‘Falling for the Bad Boy’. Not only does he look the part, but his romance with Amber fits the brother’s-best-friend trope.
His expression is serious yet soft as he looks at Amber, and when she grins up at him, he puts his arm around her, guiding her towards us.
Lucas squeezes my hand and I squeeze his in return.
“Hi, guys,” Amber says, hugging me before moving to hug Lucas, kissing his cheek.
“This is Ben,” she says to me, snuggling into her new man’s side and patting his chest.
I meet Ben’s dark eyes, noting he’s attractive with a strong jaw, a bit of a beard around full lips. His handshake is strong, too, but not too strong—he’s not trying to crush me.
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
“Same,” he says before shaking Lucas’s hand.
