Alyssa lifted her glass. “Let’s toast to that.”
They clinked glasses. “To men we’re lucky to have not ended up with,” Harmony said.
“What are we toasting to?”
Harmony looked up to find Barrett Cassidy standing at the kitchen table. He was her brother Drake’s best friend and teammate, and since the guys both played for the Tampa Hawks football team and they were in football season, Thursday nights meant Drake would drag his friends over to the house for dinner.
One of the nicest things about living in Tampa, as a matter of fact. She’d often thought it had been fortuitous that her brother had been drafted by the hometown team. It had kept him close to home all these years, and of course, one couldn’t beat the awesome eye candy her brother brought home now and then.
Especially Barrett. Most especially Barrett.
“We’re toasting the end of Harmony’s relationship with a man who was absolutely not right for her,” Alyssa said.
Barrett arched a brow, then gave Harmony a sympathetic look. “Really. Sorry about that.”
Harmony shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about. Alyssa’s right. He wasn’t the man for me.”
“Then I guess I’m . . . happy for you?”
She laughed, and she could tell this was uncomfortable for him. “Come on. Sit down and have a glass of iced tea with us.”
“I’m not sure I want to wade into these waters. Breakups are not my territory.”
“Oh, come on, Barrett. Surely you’ve dumped a woman before,” Harmony said, pouring him a glass. “Or you’ve been dumped.”
He pulled out a chair and sat. She’d never realized before how utterly . . . big he was. He’d always kept his distance from her, preferring to hang with Drake, so this was the closest she’d ever been to him. Both he and Drake played defense for the Hawks. Barrett was absolutely pure muscle. Just watching the way his muscles flexed as he moved was like watching liquid art. She could stare at his arms for hours, but she tried not to ogle. Too much, anyway.
“I’ve been dumped before, sure,” Barrett said. “And maybe I’ve broken up with a woman or two.”
Alyssa leaned close to Harmony. “He’s downplaying being the one who dumped the woman.”
“I heard that, Alyssa.”
“I meant for you to hear me, Barrett. You’re just trying to be the good guy right now because we’re roasting the not-so-good guys.”
Barrett narrowed his gaze. “See, I told you I shouldn’t be sitting here. If you’re gonna want to bad-mouth my species—which you have a right to, since some asshole broke up with you, Harmony—then I should leave. Also, I’d suggest something stronger than iced tea. It helps.”
So maybe he had been dumped before. It sounded like he knew how to get through it.
“It’s okay, Barrett,” Harmony said. “Me getting dumped is definitely not your fault. I’m not as pissed off about it as I probably should be, all things considered. So you’re safe here.”
Besides, looking at Barrett could definitely make her forget all about Levon and his prissy bathroom counter. She wondered how many items Barrett had on his bathroom counter? She’d just bet not many.
She turned her chair toward him, determined to find out. “Actually, I have a ridiculous question for you, Barrett.”
He turned his gorgeous blue eyes on her and smiled. “Shoot.”
“How many items currently reside on your bathroom counter?”
Barrett cocked a brow. “Huh?”
Alyssa laughed. “Very good question.”
“I don’t get it,” Barrett said.
“We’re conducting a poll about men and their bathrooms,” Alyssa said. “Indulge us.”
Barrett finally shrugged. “Okay, fine. Uh . . . soap, of course. Toothpaste and toothbrush. Deodorant. Maybe a comb?”
Harmony smiled when Barrett struggled to come up with anything else. She knew he was an absolute male of the not-so-fussy-about-his-grooming variety.
He finally cast her a helpless look. “I don’t know. I’ve got nothin’ else. Did I fail?”
“Oh, no,” Harmony said. “You most definitely passed.”
“You should go out with Barrett,” Alyssa suggested. “He’s a nice guy, and he obviously doesn’t keep thirty-seven things on his bathroom counter.”
Barrett laughed. “Yeah, and Drake would kill us both. Well, he’d definitely kill me.”
The idea of it appealed, though. She’d had such a crush on Barrett when Drake had first introduced them all those years ago. And now? Hmmm. Yeah, definitely appealing.
“What my brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him—or you. What do you say, Barrett? Care to take me out?”
BARRETT WAS AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. HARMONY WAS his best friend’s little sister.