Page 97 of Drop Three

Either way, I’ve got a date to entertain, and she deserves my full attention. Time to be the guy I know I am.

I shift to Poppy with a smile. “So, tell me all about the infamous Poppy Montgomery, who Callaway and Kodi seem to love so much.”

29

NAVY

What is she,Jennifer Aniston’s doppelgänger?

She’s next-level gorgeous and I could never deny it. Poppy’s level of beauty is a rarity, and of course, she’s here being set up with the man I can’t have.

I’m staring and I don’t care.

I watch out of my peripheral vision like a psychopath as Bodhi leads Poppy outside. They cuddle up next to each other, not too close, but enough to tell they’re here together, settling by the outdoor fireplace near the pool.

It’s strange. I’ve never seen Bodhi with a woman before.

Bodhi holds the same beer I have yet to see him take a sip of, while Poppy sips on her recently replenished margarita.

Despite what they may look like together, I know Bodhi, and he’s uncomfortable. Not enough to need saving, he’s a grown man, but enough that he most likely feels left to the wolves with a woman he hardly knows. The side of me that’s his friend works through fast and efficient ways to intervene and save him. However, Poppy doesn’t seem like the worst company to have.

I know nothing about Bodhi’s past relationships or hookups.

Frankly, I don’t care to.

But I know when Bodhi wants a woman—experience taught me that.

He’s not looking at Poppy as if he can’t get close enough, or like she’s the prettiest woman in the room.

I need to stop looking at them and focus on the sweet man I’m here with tonight.

Reaching for Briggs’ hand, I pull him from his Adirondack chair, secretly leading him toward the hammocks settled in a cove of palm trees to the side of the backyard. It’s tranquil out here. It’s peaceful. There are tiki torches lit in every suitable corner of the yard, bringing the darkness of the night to life.

Kodi didn’t miss a single detail in designing her coastal oasis.

“Where you taking me, sailor?” Briggs asks me with a huge grin on his face.

“Just over here for some privacy.” I can’t help but glance to where Bodhi and Poppy are seated, finding his eyes already on me.

He did this.He created the separation between us.

Back to the man who is here forme.

Briggs’ deep chuckle vibrates through our connection.

“Is this where you admit you’ve always loved me and decide to have your way with me?” Oh, he’s got jokes.

“Hilarious, but no. Swing with me.” I smile at him, and the smile he returns gives me hope—hope to find love again in someone who smiles at me like Crew Briggs is right now.

I know I’m not there with him yet; we hardly know each other. Yet, knowing the possibility is there makes the emptiness I’ve felt these past few months a little more bearable.

I lead Briggs to the two-person swing in the middle, and he takes the initiative to sit first, pulling me beside him and bringing my legs over his lap.

He’s sweet.

My head finds the soft netting behind me as I gaze at the stars above in an array of chaos.

Somehow, they feel similar to me. I view myself just like them.

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