I didn’t have it in me to deny it. I wanted Heidi. The month apart after that kiss and all the realizations about Miranda had solidified it. I’d thought I’d come back and we’d pick up where we left off. I hadn’t thought she’d already be seeing someone else. “Who is she with?”
Both guys shrugged. Neither of them knew, which meant I was going to need to find out.
“So…you and Heidi?” Patrick asked in surprise. “Didn’t you date her best friend?”
“Isn’t her best friend dating my brother?” I demanded.
Why did Emery always have to be a sticking point? We hadn’t dated in more than ten years. Plus, it wasn’t as if she or Jensen had talked to me before they started dating.
“Point,” Patrick agreed.
“Seriously, I don’t get you two,” Austin said. “How can you let her go on a date with someone else? Is this because of you and Miranda?”
“No,” I ground out.
“Well, are you going to go stop her? Because I figured that, if you two were fucking, you wouldn’t let her date someone else.”
“Whoa! Nice, man!” Patrick said, holding his hand up for me to give him a high five. “Moving on from that bitch as fast as possible I see.”
“We’re not fucking,” I corrected them.
“Well, except for that one time,” Austin said with raised eyebrows.
“That is not what happened, dude,” I told him in frustration.
I’d been so bogged down in dealing with Miranda that I hadn’t even told Austin that Heidi and I hadn’t been together. And he still clearly thought that we had.
“Suuurrre,” Austin said, dragging out the word.
“Well, this will be fun,” Patrick said.
He had a shit-eating grin on his face, and I was sure that only meant trouble.
“Hey, Mindi.”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Can you send a drink to that table?” he asked, pointing out Heidi.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You’re sending a drink to another girl?” Mindi pouted, sticking out her bottom lip.
“It’s from Landon,” he told her.
“Do not do that,” I groaned. “That would look really bad.”
“Ah, have some fun!” Patrick said. “She looks miserable on her date anyway. She’ll appreciate it.”
“Sure, honey. What should I send?” she asked.
Patrick looked to me.
I shook my head. “No fucking way.”
“A nice red wine will do,” Patrick said when I refused to answer.
Austin was laughing next to him. “Lighten up, Landon. Heidi is going to appreciate it. Look at how over this date she is.”
I’d been trying not to look, to tell the truth. Seeing her on a date with someone else made me want to be violent. But I did what Austin had said. Heidi did look uncomfortable. She was leaning away from the guy and had her arms crossed over her chest while he was talking. The beautiful smile that I knew and loved was gone from her face. But she seemed to be trying for a half-assed quirk of her mouth. He was clearly buying it. I didn’t want to feel satisfaction from the fact that she wasn’t enjoying her date, but a small part of me did.
I watched as the waiter returned to her table with the glass of wine that Patrick had ordered for her. And I meant to look away when she received it in shock, obviously insisting that she hadn’t ordered it. Then, the waiter pointed over to the bar, and Heidi’s eyes fell on me.
Her frown deepened, and she looked like she was about to get out of her seat and throw the glass of wine in my face. So, I smiled brightly and waved.
Her date turned around and looked at us over his shoulder. I wasn’t sure what I read in his expression. Mostly surprise. Then, he was talking to Heidi. She pushed the glass of wine away from her untouched.
Fuck.
“You’re such a dick,” I said to Patrick
“We’re helping you. Aren’t we, Austin?” Patrick asked, nudging him.
“Meddling is a fun pastime.”
“I’ll remind you of that the next time I meddle in your business.”
Heidi and her date, it seemed, had come to the end of their meal. I could see the check on their table. They stood and were walking toward the exit. Was she really going to leave without drinking that full glass of wine?
“Hey, Heidi!” Patrick said, waving at her and her date as they passed us.
Heidi stopped in her tracks and sighed. She seemed to be bracing herself for impact.
“Hey, Patrick,” she said as she faced us. “Austin. Landon.”
“Heidi,” Austin said with a knowing look.
I nodded my head at her, but she wouldn’t even look in my direction.
“Hey, y’all. I’m Nick,” her date said when it was clear that she wasn’t about to make an introduction.
“Hey, Nick,” Patrick said.
We each shook hands with the guy. I lingered longer than the others and squeezed a little too tight. I couldn’t help myself. I instantly disliked this guy. It wouldn’t have mattered if he were the nicest person on the planet.
“Austin and Landon,” Nick said with a thoughtful expression. “Wright brothers?”
Austin nodded his head. “Yep.”
“So, you all work for Wright Construction, too?” Nick asked.
Heidi jumped in right away. “Yep. Landon is my boss.” She wielded the word like a weapon.
“Oh,” Nick said, his shoulders relaxing.
It was as if that word, boss, carried weight and told him I wasn’t a threat.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“You aren’t going to drink your wine?” Patrick prompted.
I nearly groaned aloud. Why had I ever let Austin tell Patrick about what he thought had happened that night with Heidi?
Heidi gritted her teeth. “We were already finished, and I’m not feeling that well. So, I was going to forgo it. But…thanks.”
Her eyes briefly met mine, and they said anything but thank you. The fire in them said, What the hell are you doing?, and, Fuck off.
“Well, you know what would make you feel better?” Patrick said.
“A Xanax, ice cream, and some sleep?” she muttered under her breath.
I had to fight from smiling at her words.
“Pool,” Patrick said.
Nick furrowed his brow. “How would a swimming pool improve her well-being?”
I nearly face-planted into the bar at those words. So, this wasn’t a guy she had been dating a while. This wasn’t real competition. He didn’t even know that she played pool, which showed how very temporary the entire situation was. Not to mention, the faking-sick bit.
Maybe I shouldn’t walk away from this. Maybe Patrick had a point. I could play into this and step up my game. I could get rid of good ole Nick in one night. Then, Heidi and I could finally have that talk. I’d be back on track.
“Shooting pool,” I corrected him. “If you knew Heidi as well as I do, you’d know it was one of her favorite things to do.”
Heidi nearly choked on those words. “That’s not exactly accurate. I would say one of my favorite things to do is kicking your ass in pool.”
I laughed. “We’ll see if you can do that.”
“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve done that.”
“Wait, I thought you said that this was your boss,” Nick said in confusion.
“I…well…he is,” Heidi said, backpedaling.
“Landon and Heidi have been friends for years, dude,” Patrick said. “He’s been her boss for a week. She can give him a pass for the night and play pool. You know where Flips is?”
Nick stammered, “I…yeah, I do.”