James

“Motherfucker.” I kicked an empty box and watched it fly across the room, narrowly missing hitting someone in the back.

“What the hell happened?” Dane asked, his brow furrowed.

“Todd Lestare happened.”

“What does that even mean?”

I rubbed at my eyes with the palms of my hands, willing the image of Todd and Julia to erase itself, but it was no use. Too pissed off to explain this to my best friend, I simply filled him in. “She’s apparently going to dinner with him,” I practically growled.

His expression soured. “How did that happen?”

“I guess he asked her first. I don’t know.”

“So, you what, walked away? And left Todd LeDouche alone with her?” he asked between bouts of laughter. “I never knew you were such a quitter.”

I was already angry enough; I didn’t need Dane adding to it with the name-calling and his inane laughter. “Quitter? Maybe it’s not meant to be. Maybe God stepped in to stop me from getting my heart crushed for a second time by the same woman. You ever think of that?”

“No,” he answered sternly. “You ever think that maybe God sent Todd LeDouche to step in to see how hard you’d fight to get the girl?”

“No,” I responded just as sternly as he had. “He asked her out. She said yes.” My teeth were unknowingly grinding together, and I only stopped once Dane gave me a little slap on the shoulder, forcing me to catch my breath and slow my heart rate.

“I can see you’re totally fine with it. No way in hell she’s interested in Lestare,” Dane said, but I was only half-listening. “We’ll follow them. Eat where they eat. Go where they go. We’ll make that date uncomfortable as hell. We’ll be the unwanted third and fourth wheels.”

Surprisingly, I actually considered his stupid plan for all of five seconds before bowing out. “No. I’m going to cut my losses and lick my wounds from the comfort of my own home. I’m exhausted anyway.”

He knew better than to argue, but that usually never stopped him.

“Really? Home instead of ruining their night? You sure?”

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

“All right. I’ll give you until we leave this place to change your mind”—he tossed me a sympathetic look—“but I get it if you don’t.”

I wasn’t going to change my mind. I felt like a big enough idiot already tonight, and I had no interest in humiliating myself more.

Stepping into the night air, I noticed how unseasonably warm it still was outside. There was very little wind, but damn it if it wasn’t the perfect night for a date. Blowing out a long breath, I unlocked my car door and sat inside. I needed to paint, and I couldn’t get home quick enough to start.