“Damn,” Jared murmured as they watched her ass sway as she sauntered away. She looked over her shoulder at them, and the twinkle in her eyes had him imagining her dancing for him naked at home behind closed, locked, barred doors.
He looked over at True and Noble, who had been talking to Jared, and caught them staring as well. As if they felt his eyes boring into the sides of their heads, they turned to him, and Noble grinned unapologetically before turning his attention back to Presley Ann and her friends. Kendry bristled until True knocked Noble in the chest with his elbow and said, “Knock it off. They’re all taken.”
Kendry said, “Not all of them. But the one you’re eye-fucking is taken.”
Noble shrugged and grinned. “Things change.”
Kendry was preparing for the second brawl of the evening as True held up his hands to stop the ensuing confrontation. “Stop it, Noble. You’re just trying to start shit. Besides, you were such an asshole to her the last time she saw you, Presley Ann can’t stand your belligerent ass. Rather than pissing her men off you should be convincing her you aren’t a dickhead.”
Noble grinned and said, “Maybe it’s better if she believes that.”
True turned his stare on his brother. “Liar. That’s not what you were telling me the other night.” He scoffed and then turned to Kendry and Jared. “I apologize. But you also need to understand something.”
“What?” Jared asked, moving to block Noble’s view so he couldn’t stare at Presley Ann anymore.
Noble was the one who answered, his eyes dead serious. “Your woman is the flesh and blood incarnation of the fantasies we sing about to thousands of fans. You love her, and you’re lucky to have her in your arms, but in our own way we love her, too.”
Jared leaned toward them and said, “You just be sure to keep that head fuck to yourself. She’s hurting enough over this as it is.”
True shook his head and said, “No one wants to hurt her, Jared.”
Noble continued as if they hadn’t said anything. “I’ve always believed that the real woman could never measure up to the muse that fueled True’s songwriting, and that meeting her would ruin performing those songs for us. The only reason I gave in when True talked about driving through Divine was because I didn’t believe we’d cross paths with her. After meeting her in person, and talking with True afterward, I realized she wasn’t ‘less’…she’s ‘more.’ So you’ll forgive me if I can’t take my eyes off of her. It’s lucky for you that she’s already in love with you. If that wasn’t the case, you two would have some serious fucking competition.”
As Noble finally ran out of steam, True rubbed his forehead and said, “We’re not here to make any trouble. Matter of fact, that’s the last thing I want, because of Whit. But Noble does have a point and I think it’s better if we didn’t front about it.”
That was the crux of Kendry’s fear and always had been. Presley Ann and True had parted with unfinished business and now they were inextricably tied together because of Whit. There was no messy break up to look back on, just unresolved feelings and the knowledge that the connection was a permanent one.
True looked at him and said, “Right now I wish I was a bastard so I could play on your fears and try to win her over. But Presley Ann told me how much she loves you both. If she’s hurting over this, like you say, Jared, then the pain she feels is over hurting me because she’s a good person. But she clearly loves the two of you, so let’s stop with the chest beating. Being at each other’s throats will only upset her.”
Kendry nodded as she and the other ladies returned and he caught the way her brows furrowed a little as she looked between the four of them. When the next song started, the band’s rendition of “Leave the Night On” by Sam Hunt, Kendry wasted no time asking her to dance with him.
“What were the four of you arguing about?”
“Not arguing, just establishing some boundaries.”
Presley Ann smirked and shook her head. “It looked like arguing to me.”
He couldn’t deny it. He’d been ready to bust Noble’s smirky mouth. “You’ve got to admit, this is an unusual situation. We were just coming to a better understanding of each other’s positions.”
“Noble looked like he had plenty to say. Jerk. He looks exactly like True but he’s nothing like him.”
Kendry chuckled and shook his head. He was tempted to be a bastard, too, and agree with her, but instead, he said, “Actually, I think he’d surprise you to hear him talk about you.”