Page 19 of Don't Bet On It
“You want to spy on people?”
I shrugged. “Why not? People watching is my favorite form of entertainment.”
“As long as I get my ice cream, I’m up for everything.”
I beamed at her. “Now, we’re talking.”
6
SIX
Iwas tired. My shift was three hours longer than normal, thanks to one of the other dealers falling ill. I didn’t blame anybody for using their sick days. Unfortunately, we were down several dealers at present, and everybody had to pitch in, whether they were exhausted or not. All I wanted was to go home and sleep. A quick drink to decompress was up first.
I went into Hoops, one of the more low-key sports bars on the Stone Casino property. I wanted a beer, maybe to check the scores, and to chill out. Being observant for so long had taken it out of me.
My plan was to sit at the bar and zone out. I could tune out a crowd like nobody’s business. That didn’t happen, though, because the first people I saw when I walked into the bar were Zach and Rex. They were at a reserved booth, seemingly deep in conversation, and they didn’t immediately look in my direction, which was a relief.
Then, as if he sensed me staring at them, Rex lifted his chin and made eye contact. He didn’t immediately smile, but he did say something to Zach, who snapped his eyes to me. Theymurmured something I couldn’t make out, and it gave me an uncomfortable feeling. What were they up to?
Zach and Rex had been upperclassmen when I was a freshman. They were both athletes, as was I, but they took their jock personas to heart in a way that didn’t interest me. Sure, I liked playing sports. I loved watching games. I would watch almost anything except golf. I never understood the appeal of hitting a ball with a stick. I didn’t live and breathe any sport, however. Not like Rex did football or Zach did basketball. They were both intense athletes.
I wasn’t close with either of them. That was what I was getting at. They’d graduated at the end of my sophomore year, and that was the last I saw of them other than at events where a family presence was necessary. Zach’s sisters were older, so he was rarely around the school following graduation, unless accompanying Rex, who’d always made sure to show up for his sister, Olivia. Rex was, above all else, a very good brother. He didn’t hide his love for his sister behind embarrassment. He put it on display.
When I’d heard about Zach and Olivia getting married—this was before I joined the staff at the Stone—I’d been surprised. I hadn’t known Olivia well when we were in school together, although I always considered her friendly. In truth, I’d considered Zach something of a jerk, which meant Olivia was too good for him, in my mind. Turned out I was wrong. They were a good match and not because she was a secret jerk or anything. Zach was a good guy. It seemed like his father had pushed him to be standoffish. I had experience with fatherly pressure, so I felt for him. I was also impressed at the way he’d stood up to his father. Sure, Ryder was a special kind of obnoxious. That didn’t change the fact that Zach had taken a leap when he went against his father’s wishes. He ended up with everything he’dever wanted in the process, which gave me hope that the same would be true for me, however different the situations were.
“Ronan,” Rex called out, crooking his fingers. “Join us.”
My heart plummeted to my stomach. I’d seen them out together before, drinking in various bars or just hanging out. They’d never once invited me to join them. This felt like a bad omen. I wasn’t a coward, however, so I let loose a sigh and nodded.
So, this was about to happen.
I plastered a smile on my face that didn’t feel natural and sidled over to the side of the table. “Hey, guys.” I hoped I sounded friendly and not nervous.
“Sit.” Rex patted the spot next to him and edged over. It wasn’t a request or even an invitation. It was an order.
I sat because it was expected. I should’ve gone straight home, I internally chastised myself. Why had I come here? It was a mistake. This was about to turn into a thing.
“So, how’s it going?” Rex asked when I was seated next to him.
I shrugged. “It’s going. How’s it going with you? How’s the baby?”
Rex relaxed, if only marginally. He loved little more than talking about his daughter. “She’s perfect, just like her mother. There has never been a more perfect mother-daughter duo.”
Zach scalded his best friend with a glare. “Do you have to be so schmaltzy? You’re grossing me out.”
“Because I think my daughter is perfect?”
“Because whenever you make that face, I picture you making it with my sister and I die a little inside.”
“You broke the sister rule before I did,” Rex replied ruthlessly. “I never would’ve allowed myself to look at your sister if you hadn’t looked at mine first. If you think about it, this is really on you.”
“Whatever.” Zach clearly wasn’t in the mood to have this argument. Perhaps he was weary of what looked like a regular argument. His eyes moved to me. “So… I heard you had a hand in tying my father up.”
Was that what this was about? Relief flooded me. Of course he wanted to talk about the incident with Ryder. “There were investors on the grounds. Close, actually. Ruby was giving them a tour.” I wasn’t sorry about what I’d done. If Zach was upset, however, I would have to deal with the consequences.
“Oh, I don’t care about that.” Zach waved off my concern. “I’m sure he had whatever you did to him coming.”
“We wouldn’t care if you forgot he was in there and he died of starvation,” Rex said grimly.
