“Did you two break up?”
“I did not break up with him. He gave me the classic ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ speech. He’s doing so much international travel with the law firm, and he just can’t devote enough time to the relationship, so it wouldn’t be fair to me to lead me on when he knows he can’t commit. He went on with more excuses but it was all blah blah blah after that.” She waved her hand back and forth.
Alyssa’s gaze narrowed. “What a prick. Why is it so damn hard to find a man of value, one who will respect a woman and give her honesty?”
“I have no idea.” Harmony pulled one of the empty glasses forward and poured from the pitcher that sat in the middle of the table, already filled with tea and ice and loaded with so much sugar she’d likely be awake all night. At this point, she didn’t care. She’d work it off in a gym session tomorrow. “All I know is I’m glad to be rid of him. It was bad enough his bathroom counter had more products on it than mine did.”
Alyssa laughed. “There you go. What does a man need on his counter besides a toothbrush, soap, deodorant, and a razor?”
“According to Levon, there was stuff for his beard, trimming devices, facial scrub, moisturizer—separate ones for his face and his body. An entire manicure set for his nails, for use when he wasn’t off getting mani-pedis, of course.”
“Of course,” Alyssa said, then giggled.
“Oh, and the scents. Let’s not forget his entire rack of colognes.”
Alyssa nodded. “The man did reek, honey.”
“I think he owned more perfume than I do.”
“Never a good sign. See? You dodged a bullet.”
“I did.”
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 Barrett also lived in Tampa, 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. Not 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 bet not many.
She turned her chair toward him, determined to find out. “Actually, I have a ridiculous question for you, Barrett.”