Page 20 of Pirate

“That has nothing to do with Sophia,” Pirate argued.

Keys sank the eight-ball. He walked around the table, coming over to Pirate’s side by the wall. “What about Sophia? Has she been seeing anyone else?”

Pirate’s spine stiffened. It hadn’t been anything they’d talked about in specifics. They hadn’t brought up the fact that they were still legally married since the day they started the countdown for the waiting period. It wasn’t as if they were beingloyalto the marriage by not sleeping with anyone else. The fact that he knew he’d be going over to Sophia’s house later wasn’t the reason he hadn’t paid those other women any attention. He’d seen their flirting, but he’d just wanted to play pool.

The idea of Sophia sleeping with someone else grated on Pirate’s nerves. He didn’t like the idea, and not just because of the sour taste the idea left in his mouth. Pirate knew Sophia wasn’t comfortable around men. She’d told him herself. The fact that she trusted him was a big deal and not something he would ever take advantage of.

“I don’t know,” Pirate answered Keys evasively. He was not going to share Sophia’s secrets with the man. It was bad enough he knew about their drunken marriage.

“And what happens after the divorce? Are you two going to keep sleeping together?”

Pirate shrugged. Nothing had been discussed. It wasn’t a topic either of them were probably going to bring up either.

Keys shook his head at Pirate’s non-answer. “I think the two of you are playing with fire. I think one of three things is going to happen: one of you is going to develop feelings and get hurt in the end; both of you are going to develop feelings and end up together;orit’s going to blow up in your faces when you’re caught with your pants down andbothof you get hurt.”

Pirate didn’t like any of those scenarios. The middle one was the only one where neither of them got hurt, but it was also the least likely. He wasn’t sure he liked those odds. “Or we part ways and neither of us gets hurt.”

“Your brother and her best friend are getting married in a month. Do you honestly think that the two of you are going to just stop sleeping together and somehow remain amicable? What happens in the future when she brings a date around? Are you really going to be able to shake the guy’s hand and pretend he’s not sleeping with your ex-wife?”

Pirate’s teeth ground together. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more about that scenario: Sophia being his ‘ex’ anything or the fact that she brought another guy around.

He tried to push the uncomfortable feeling back. “It is what it is. We’re not dating and we’re not in love. The marriage was a drunken mistake that will be over with come May. Sleeping together will last for however long it does and then we walk away.”

Keys took Pirate’s pool cue and hung it and his up on the rack on the wall. “I wish I had your confidence to just sleep around like that. I wouldn’t be able to do it without having feelings for the girl I was with.”

As the two of them headed up towards the bar, Pirate couldn’t help but wish the same thing. He also had theuncontrollable urge to see Sophia—and it was still hours until he was going to be meeting her at her place.

Fuck.

Glasses clinked as Sophia,Jasmine, Zoe, and Amanda touched their martini glasses together. Zoe’s was tonic water with a green olive. She’d recently announced her pregnancy to a few close friends, but didn’t want it widely known yet. They were at a jazz club in Cottonville with Carlos and Jumper as quiet chaperones. Carlos swore he left his badge and gun at home, but Sophia had a feeling that that was metaphorical. Neither Carlos nor Jumper were making their presence known, which was nice, but Sophia still felt like it was a bit over the top for both. It wasn’t like they planned on getting wasted.

Sophia had no intention of drinkingthatmuch alcohol ever again. She did not want to wake up tomorrow morning with another marriage she had to hide from her bestie.

Jasmine was in a cute white dress with a sash over her shoulder proclaiming her as theBride To Be. Her tiara glittered in the soft lighting of the club. As usual, she wore flats because the woman was not trustworthy in heels.

Sophia had on a black turtleneck dress with a keyhole over her chest to reveal her meager cleavage, which was currently being lifted up by a padded push-up bra. Black leggings and ankle boots completed her look. She had a slightly smaller tiara on with herMaid of Honorsash.

Zoe wore dress pants with a cute blouse while Amanda had a frilly cocktail dress on. Both woreBridesmaidsashes.

Both Jasmine and Jumper had expressed that neither was interested in the traditional bachelor/bachelorette parties. Theywere going to be hosting a joint steak dinner five days before the wedding that would take the place of the tradition for just their wedding party and any of their plus-ones.

Tonight was Jazz’s way of thanking her bridesmaids for helping her through what was now dubbed The Wedding Dress Almost Disaster.

Following Jazz’s mom’s comments over video call, Jasmine had refused to wear the dress she’d chosen and loved up until that moment. She claimed the dress was now tainted. As much as Sophia did not regret tracking down Jasmine’s mom and giving her a piece of her mind, Sophia did feel bad that she hadn’t been there to help Jasmine.

Between Sophia’s mom, Jumper’s mom, who had driven up as soon as she’d heard what happened, Zoe, and Amanda, they’d convinced Jasmine to keep the dress and to not make any rash or emotional decisions. The dress truly was beautiful on Jasmine and no one wanted to see Jasmine settle on another dress she did not love just because of her mother’s spiteful comments.

After Sophia got back, she’d gone into Jasmine and Jumper’s bedroom where the garment bag hung with Jazz’s wedding dress. She unzipped the bag, pulled out the dress, and put it on the couple’s bed.

“What are you doing?” Jasmine asked her, exasperated. Her bestie looked tired. Her eyes also didn’t glow at the sight of her dress as they had the week before.

Sophia handed Jazz a pair of scissors.

“What’s this for?”

“Well, the way I see it, you either love this dress or you hate it. And if you hate it, then you won’t have any trouble destroying it.” Sophia waved a hand at the dress. “Have at it.”

Jasmine’s lower lip started to tremble. “I can’t. That dress was already above my original budget. We’re trying to save for our honeymoon. I can’t afford a new dress.”

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