Thankfully, Brantley had fought the urge to swing by the liquor store to get something else to erase the discomfort. No way would he get completely lost in a bottle. Not for anyone and certainly not for a guy he’d had a fling with for a couple of months. It was time he pushed it all aside, focused on the task at hand. He didn’t need Reese in his life to make him happy.
If he said it enough, perhaps it would be true.
A knock on his sliding glass door had his head jerking up. JJ’s face was distorted against the glass. Clearly her way of trying to cheer him up.
“It’s open,” he called out.
“Didn’t realize you were back,” she said, joining him at the kitchen island, her smile instantly fading.
“Haven’t been here long.”
“You doin’ all right?”
“Peachy,” he said, though even he knew he didn’t sound it.
“What happened with you two?”
Brantley lifted his eyes to hers. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to talk about anything else. Doesn’t matter what. Just not Reese.”
“Okay.”
They were silent for a few minutes. While JJ stared at him, Brantley threw together a turkey sandwich, piling it high with meat and cheese before he realized it was rude not to offer one to her. She accepted gratefully, so he went to work making her one.
“How’re things with Dante?” he asked, attempting to make conversation.
“Good.” She sounded genuinely sincere. “He’s busy this week, but he promised we’d catch up next weekend.”
Brantley paused what he was doing, staring at his best friend. “You really don’t know, do you?”
JJ frowned. “Know what?”
“About Saturday night?”
“What about it? I hung out with my friends down in Austin.”
“Where was Dante during all this?”
Her expression didn’t change, confusion angling her brows downward. “I didn’t ask him. He does his thing, I do mine. He said he was gonna hang with the guys. Why?”
The guys. Right.
“He came to Moonshiners,” he blurted, passing over her sandwich before grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator.
Her eyes narrowed and Brantley could tell she was curious where this was going.
“You and him clear the air?” she asked, although it was obviously not the question she wanted to ask.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re clear,” he grumbled.
Because he didn’t know how to tell her Dante was stepping out on her, Brantley took a bite of his sandwich, chewed.
“What’s goin’ on, B?”
He shook his head, took another bite, ensuring there wasn’t any room in his mouth for words to slip out.
JJ’s eyes narrowed on his face.
This truly fucking sucked. Brantley did not want to be the one to tell her that her boyfriend was still a cheating asshole. Maybe the guy hadn’t hit her all those years ago the way Brantley had thought he had. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t treated her like shit. And here he was, repeating history.
“Brantley Walker, you better tell me what the hell’s goin’ on. Right now.”
He huffed, setting the rest of his sandwich on his plate and grabbing his water bottle.
“He wasn’t alone when he came to Moonshiners,” he finally said after washing down his food with water.
JJ had her sandwich halfway to her mouth but she paused. “What?”
“He wasn’t alone. And he wasn’t with the guys.”
“Who was he with?”
Brantley shrugged, not wanting to tell her the bastard was banging his assistant.
“Are you serious right now?” JJ’s eyes blazed with anger. “You’re seriously gonna do this?”
Frowning, Brantley set the bottle down, stared at JJ. “Do what?”
“I get that you and Reese are havin’ a hard time, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got to instill your insecurities in me.”
“That’s not what I’m doin’,” he argued, his own ire rising. “You think I wanna tell you that Dante was at Moonshiners with some fuckin’ chick? That he took one step inside, realized who was there, and walked right back out with that redhead on his arm?”
Her eyes widened and he saw the hurt.
Son of a bitch.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
He motioned between them. “This is why. Your immediate response is to think I’m tryin’ to sabatoge you, JJ. I don’t like Dante. I’ve never liked the asshole. Not since you started datin’ him, anyway. But I’ve stayed outta your business.”
“Who was she?” JJ inquired, her voice softer.
“Said she was his assistant. I confronted him in the parking lot, but she was in the car.” Brantley exhaled. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry, JJ.”
She shot to her feet, turned around as though she wasn’t sure what she was doing.
“Please don’t leave,” he urged. “Stay for a while. We’ll have a beer.”
“I don’t want a beer,” she countered, her green eyes lifting to his face.
Yeah, Brantley saw the hurt and anger. Problem was, he suspected some of it was aimed at him. No, he hadn’t told her what happened sooner, but he thought for sure someone would have.
