“Funny stuff.” I tapped the bar. “Eden and Grey here?” I asked the bartender.
“Yep. They’re out there.” He pointed to the sound side of the bar as he tossed a towel over his shoulder.
“Thanks, man.”
I strolled toward the sundeck.
“You made it.” Eden jumped from her seat and hugged me.
“I’m always up for a beer.” I smiled at her.
Grey was sitting at the table. “How’s it going?” he asked.
I sat across from him. “Good. How about you?”
“Good.”
Eden started to laugh. “Wow. You two really know how to have a conversation.”
“Darlin’ we’re both here. That should be good enough.” Grey squeezed her hand, and she smiled.
“It is.” She hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
I cleared my throat. “So tell me what’s going on at the Palm. Are you ready for me to move my stuff out? Do you have a buyer for that end unit? I hope you’re asking top dollar with that view. Best damn view on the beach.”
Eden shook her head. “No. We are not talking about work. No talk about the Palm. I don’t even want to hear about your latest conquest. This is drinks and dinner only.” She looked at both of us sternly.
I expected Grey to mutter something under his breath like he usually did, but he didn’t argue. Maybe he had learned when to accept defeat.
“All right. Tell me about the wedding. How’s it going?”
Grey looked at me. “You realize you have opened Pandora’s box?”
I laughed. “I just want to make the girl happy.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He tipped a cold bottle to his lips.
Eden handed a beer to me out of the bucket on the table. It was icy. “Can you believe the wedding is in three months? Three months.”
“No, seems quick,” I replied.
She spoke hurriedly as if she expected Grey to argue with me. She wasn’t completely off-base. We argued a lot. It was hard not to with our history.
“Ever since December it seems like all we’ve done is wedding planning. Marin has been amazing since she and Pick just did this a year ago, but still, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing.”
“I’m sure it will be great. I’m looking forward to seeing North Carolina again.”
“What about Taylor?” Eden slowed her words. “Are you excited to see her?”
“We always had a good time together. It will be good to see her.” Eden couldn’t help that they were best friends, but this line of questioning was transparent.
“And that’s it, Mason?”
“That’s it. I’ve moved on. I’m sure she has to.”
Eden crossed her arms. “Of course she’s moved on. Why wouldn’t she move on? But the question is who have you moved on with? Someone in Dallas?”
I took a sip.
Grey interrupted. “I’m going to go ask Mac something. I’ll be right back.” He pecked her on the cheek and walked inside the bar.
“So? Who is she?” Eden leaned forward, her eyes lighting.
“I didn’t say there was one girl.”
She slapped my arm. “You’re such a jerk. Hooking up with a bunch of different women doesn’t count as moving on.”
“It does for me.” I raised my eyebrows and smiled, knowing she was about to slap me again.
“I don’t get why you and Taylor broke up. Christmas was fun wasn’t it?”
I sat my empty bottle on the edge of the table and reached in the bucket for a second round. “Sweetheart, Taylor is a great girl, but it wasn’t going to last. She wants what you and Grey have, and it wasn’t fair to her to drag it out. I was trying to do the right thing.” I twisted the top off the beer and tossed it on the table. “I couldn’t lead her on.”
Eden huffed. “But the wedding is going to be awkward for you. She’s my maid of honor. And you’re standing up with Grey. Wait.” Her eyes filled with panic. “You’re still standing up with Grey aren’t you?”
I placed my hand on top of hers. “Yes. Yes. I wouldn’t back out of that. I promise I won’t make it awkward with Taylor. I’m a drama-free kind of guy, right?”
She finally smiled. “You are. If you could patch up things with Grey I guess I shouldn’t worry.”
“That’s right. If we could go from trying to rip each other’s throats out to drinking beer at Pete’s, you should have a little faith in me. I can handle Taylor. Any woman for that matter.”
I thought about where Grey and I had been a year ago. I had walked into the Palm Palace office ready to tear it from his hands and demolish it into a pit of rubble. I had sued him for complete ownership of the motel. It wasn’t the best family introduction, but it was the only one I knew.