Page 22 of The Most Perfect Wrong

“How long is brunch today?” I ask Leo and Michael.

“Hell if I know.” Leo chuckles, shaking his head. “It’s different every week. Sometimes brunch is two hours, sometimes it’s six. You know how women are—they get to talking, and next thing you know, it’s dinnertime. All I careabout is that Viv comes home happy and tipsy after a few drinks. That’s when the fun starts, mate.” He slaps me on the back, as if I’ve got the same setup waiting for me at home. I don’t.

“God, when is Vivian going to get sick of your ass?” Michael snarks. “I swear you two have more sex than couples who just got together. It’s like you’re permanently stuck in the honeymoon phase.”

“Ah, I do remember the honeymoon phase,” I say, a little nostalgia creeping into my voice. “Those were the good ol’ days.”

“Right? Stella never wants to have sex anymore. I’m lucky if I get it once every ten days,” Michael says, shaking his head. “It sucks.”

“Hey, at least your forearm’s getting stronger for pickleball,” Adam quips, earning a round of laughter from all of us.

“Well, sheispregnant, mate,” Leo adds with a knowing look. “That’s pretty normal for a lot of women. Although, it wasn’t with Vivian. She was even hornier when she was pregnant.”

“Of course she was,” Michael scoffs. “Vivian apparently has the libido of a teenage boy. I don’t know how you managed to land someone like that.” He turns to the group. “Bet Ryan doesn’t even know Leo never wanted to be tied down, but somehow, the guy ends up with a girl whose sex drive matches his.”

Leo grins, folding his arms across his chest, looking smug as ever.

I glance at Adam as he chimes in. “Wish I had something interesting to add to this conversation, but I’ve got nothing. Did hook up with a really hot girl last week, though, so that was cool.” He turns to me. “Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Ryan, Leo’s probably slept with half the women in Chicago.”

Leo shoves Adam, laughing. “Oh, so now you fuckers are ganging up on me because I get laid more than the lot of you?”He grins. “Same old story. But seriously, Adam, tell us more about this girl. Was it a date or just a one-time shag?”

“Well, itwasa date. Didn’t plan on it being a one-time thing, but now she won’t return my texts. I hit her up three times, then just gave up,” Adam says, shrugging. “She was hot, though.”

“So you slept with her, and now she’s ghosting you?” Michael grimaces. “You worried she wasn’t satisfied?”

Adam scowls. “No! Trust me, she was satisfied.”

“She could’ve been faking it,” Michael shoots back.

“You’re such a dick, man. You’re just pissed you can’t get your own wife to sleep with you.”

Michael laughs. “You got me there, Adam. I’m jealous. Jealous of all you guys and your fantastic sex lives.”

“Hey, I don’t have a fantastic sex life. I don’t even have a sex life right now,” I say. “Don’t be jealous of me. I’d give my left nut for sex every ten days right now.” I laugh, but admitting it out loud stings more than I expected.

“That’s rough, mate,” Leo says, shooting me a sympathetic look. “Any prospects?”

I’m the newer guy in the group. I moved to Chicago about fifteen months ago and met Leo because he owns Elemental. He’s originally from London, and we hit it off right away. After our first meeting, he invited me to poker night and got me into pickleball with the guys.

Leo’s extremely wealthy. He’s built an empire—real estate, businesses, investments. But he’s also a psychologist and therapist,so when things got complicated in my life, he was there for me. Never pushed advice or judged—just listened. And when I did ask, he’d offer new ways to see things, new perspectives.

Since moving here, I’ve grown closest to Leo, though he’s got a lot of friends. Michael and Adam are great too, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know them. Outside of pickleball, we’ve onlyhung out a handful of times—poker nights or whenever Leo hosts something.

I’ve been spending more time with the guys lately, especially since things with Beth have been… complicated. I told them about Cooper when I got back from Newport, but I haven’t mentioned that she’s now working with me.

“Unfortunately, no prospects,” I admit. “But I’m not really out there dating or actively looking. Things with Beth are difficult right now, and I’m trying to be respectful of the situation.”

I hesitate, debating whether to bring up Cooper. “Do you guys remember that super hot chick I hooked up with in Newport Beach?”

“Yeah, I remember. Didn’t you say she was great in the sack?” Leo says, and the others nod, remembering.

“Yeah. Well… she’s the new project manager for Nexlytic.” I can’t help but laugh at their shocked faces. “Riddle me that, right?”

“Hold on,” Leo interrupts. “Nexlytic, as in the company that works with yours at Elemental?”

“Yup,” I say, folding my arms.

Adam jumps in, eyebrows raised. “Okay, but that’s great, right? You gonna hook up with her again?”

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