Zach Sorenson sat on the porch outside his best friend’s home, pretending to enjoy a cold one while laughter echoed behind him.
The deeper rumble of Finn’s chuckle meshed with his fiancée’s lighter voice. Maybe Zach should switch to something stronger. Whiskey, or gin, or hell—maybe even tequila. Although that last one could be dangerous.
He leaned back on the porch swing, legs stretched in front of him as he crossed one boot-clad foot over the other and stared over the landscape toward the Rocky Mountains.
It wasn’t that he begrudged anyone their good luck.
Begrudge? No. Be slightly jealous? Hell, he would admit to that one.
His name sounded. The door swung open beside him, and he twisted toward one of his new favourite people.
“Sorry it’s taken so long,” Karen Coleman offered. “Lisa and I will stop tormenting you. We’re finally ready.”
He rose to his feet as the rest of the party slipped out the door and headed to their waiting trucks. “Not a problem,” Zach insisted. “Trust me. I know better than to tell a woman to hurry up.”
He dodged to avoid being poked by Lisa. “You know it wasn’t only us,” she insisted. “Josiah takes forever to get ready.”
Laughter rumbled again as the girls slipped into their seats.
Finn turned to Zach after settling Karen in place. “Glad you’re coming to Rough Cut tonight. Sure you won’t join us for the weekend?”
Oh, hell no. Best friends or not, the last thing Zach wanted was to spend the next forty-eight hours as a fifth wheel. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve already made plans.”
Finn’s brow arched skyward. “Really?”
On his other side, Josiah stepped forward as well, curiosity written on the veterinarian’s face. “First time I’ve heard this news. You keeping secrets?”
“Minding my own business,” Zach drawled. He offered a wink to soften the words as he turned on his heel and headed toward the shed he’d commandeered to house Delilah, his 1955 powder-blue Corvette convertible “Catch you all at the pub.”
He left the top up for the short drive from the still-in-development Red Boot ranch into the small town of Heart Falls. The trip was barely long enough for an attitude adjustment. He was pleased that his oldest best friend and his newest best friend had both found women who appreciated them and filled their lives with everything good.
The hint of green-eyed jealousy in Zach’s gut got a quick, short blast of reality to knock its scaly claws out from under it. Someday he’d have that kind of relationship. Sure, life came with no guarantees, but he’d had enough good examples in his world to counterbalance the shitty situations.
When the time was right, he’d find someone. Someone who would be what he needed.
A soft snicker escaped. Thank God his friends couldn’t stroll through his brain right then, or he’d be teased mercilessly for the hearts-and-flowers turn his thoughts had taken.
Zach parked at the very edge of the lot and made his way into the pub, a blast of country music echoing over the wooden boardwalk as he pulled the heavy oak door open.
Inside, the strategically set lights were just bright enough to make everybody look good, and the rapid beat of boots against the dance floor set his fingers tapping.
And although they’d all arrived at the same time, his friends were thankfully focusing on enjoying themselves and not attempting to pull him into the mix. Lisa and Josiah hit the dance floor not even three seconds before Finn pulled Karen into his arms and twirled her against his body.
Zach lifted a finger at the bartender and ordered a beer.
The place was full of cheerful people, flirtatious glances, and a heck of a lot of sexual tension on the rise. He spotted a couple of the women he’d dated a few times over the past months, dipped his chin and offered a wink without any further promises.
Nice enough ladies, but there hadn’t been the spark he was looking for. Which, again, probably made him a bit of a diva, as Finn had teased at one point.
He liked a good time as much as any guy. He’d enjoyed some wild one-night stands and a few longer relationships over the years that had been very physically satisfying, but now he wanted something different.
Hell if he knew how to define it, but at some point, he figured with his good luck, whatever he was looking for would jump up and smack him in the face hard enough he couldn’t miss it.