Page 26 of Praised
“Frankie is too combative for me anyway. I think I’d much rather love to hate him.”
“That’ll make Owen sad,” Archie said, dropping down onto one side of the couch that flanked the small table in front of Dalton’s and my chairs.
“I think he’ll survive it.”
“You don’t have a single nice thing to say about him?” Dalton teased, knowing full well the kind of man I was behind closed doors.
The only good thing I had to say about Frankie, beyond how well he filled out a pair of jeans, was that it was his silly little dare that brought Rose into my bed, and that had to be worth something.
“He’s not the worst person I’ve ever met,” I said with a grin.
“I know.” Archie looked past me, his own mouth tipping into a smile. “Barclay takes that crown.”
“What have I done?”
Barclay came up from behind me with Rob in tow, and they took the remaining seats with the usual grunts and groans that came from middle-aged men and overpriced leather.
“Nothing,” Dalton said, raising his glass to the both of them.
“How’s Owen settling in?” Rob asked Archie before flagging down the waiter and getting drinks for the three of them.
I’d thankfully paced myself, with less than a quarter of my first round down by the time they had full glasses in their hands. I waited until they caught up, and then returned my attention to the amber-colored liquor.
“He’d like to get out more.”
“Are you keeping him tied up at home?” Barclay asked.
“You’re getting us confused with that one.” Archie flicked a finger in Rob’s direction. “But he’s adjusting. I think it’s a change for him, but he’s ready to find a job and a new normal.”
“You’re letting him work?” Dalton asked.
“I don’t think anyoneletsOwen do anything,” I murmured.
Archie gave me an agreeable, if not exhausted, nod. “He’s his own man, that’s for sure.”
“He’s yours.”
He hummed and took a substantial drink of his whiskey.
“Before the lot of you interrupted…” Dalton cleared his throat. “I was just telling Flynn how he looks like he’s in love.”
I cursed him under my breath, hating the way it felt when all of their attention turned toward me.
“Are you?” Archie asked.
“Am I what?”
“In love.”
“Absolutely not.”
Thankful that I’d nursed my drink as long as I had, I poured the rest of it down my throat in one swallow and raised the empty glass in the air to signal for another.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with the man from Rapture?” Archie asked.
“Owen’s friend?” Dalton clarified.
Archie’s grin turned positively feral as he leveled a look at me that had my throat going dry.
