I touch her wrist gently. “I don’t need to go out. I’ll stay with you.”

She shakes her head, still avoiding my eyes. “Liam wants you there. You should go with him. I’ll be with Saanvi most of the night anyway.”

I touch her one last time, not wanting to let go but knowing she’s right—Rich is right. I should go with Liam. Teagan and I can talk later. She’ll do her thing with the bride and I’ll have a couple of drinks with the groom and groomsmen. We can talk when we both get back to the room.

Two hours later, and I have to admit that I’m procrastinating. I’m nervous about the conversation I need to have with Teagan, and hanging out with the guys is the perfect excuse to avoid it.

Rich declined the invitation to join us, so at least I don’t have to deal with his shit, and hanging out with Liam is no hardship. Honestly, if this guy lived in Jackson Harbor, I could see us being good friends. He’d fit in great with my family, and so would Saanvi. But I know my decision to have a third beer is less about enjoying the company of Liam and his groomsmen and more about avoiding a conversation about Sabrina. Am I making a bigger deal of this than it is? Will Teagan hold it against me when I tell her I slept with her cousin?

You know how you aren’t sure you want to be with me for real because you’re afraid I’ll break your heart? Well, hey, I might have a head start on that.

I vacillate between telling myself that it doesn’t matter—Teagan and I weren’t together, pretend or otherwise, when I slept with Sabrina—and trying to figure out how I can keep the truth from Teagan altogether.

All in all, I’m enjoying the safe little bubble of Jackson Brews, until Sabrina walks in the door and I wish I were anywhere else.

I half expect her to march up to our table and start chewing me out, but I guess I should have given her more credit. She catches my eye from her spot at the bar and nods toward the door before heading back out the way she came in.

“Are you okay?” Liam asks, frowning at me. He turns around, scanning the room. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

I paste on a smile. “That last beer hit me pretty hard. I’ll be right back.” I head toward the bathroom, waiting until the last second before changing direction and heading to the door.

When the doors close behind me, Sabrina waves me over from her spot in the alley.

Cringing, I reluctantly follow. The last time I was in this alley with her . . . well, she wanted me to fuck her against the building, and I was barely sober enough to realize that was a terrible idea and I should take her home instead.