need anyone losing any limbs.”
Ryden nodded slowly, eyes wide. “You know, sometimes I wonder whether I’d have been safer in jail.”
The elevator doors to the basement slid open in time for them to see Ace soar by, landing with a groan somewhere to their left. Joker chuckled and patted Ryden’s shoulder as he slipped past.
“Welcome to the family, pal.”
Two
This was the life.
No drama. No bitching. No scandal. No gossip. Okay, maybe a little gossip. He hadn’t completely retreated from society. With a cheerful thanks, Fitz took his second frozen margarita from Laz and pulled his legs up onto the couch, sitting cross-legged to face his best friend.
“Do you hear that?” Fitz asked with a hum.
“Hear what?” Laz cocked his head and listened.
“Exactly. No divas shrieking in my ear, no claw marks on my back, no dirty looks because I dared to eat carbs, and best of all, no pervs going ‘oops, my hand slipped’ after grabbing my ass.”
During his career, Fitz had been groped more times than fruit in the produce aisle at the supermarket. When he wasn’t fighting off unwelcome advances, he was wading through the lies from men who thought they could charm their way into his pants. Not anymore. He was done with it. All of it. It took him a little longer than he’d planned, but after two years, he’d opened Hair Comes Trouble and was living the peaceful, quiet life he’d been dreaming of for years.
Something black and rectangular dropped onto his lap. “What’s this?”
“An invitation.”
Fitz opened the envelope, and the moment he saw the first three words, he shook his head. “Nope.” He slipped the ornately decorated card back into its envelope and held it out to Laz, who refused to take it.
“Come on. It’ll be fun. When’s the last time you had a little fun?”
“Last night.” Fitz dropped the invite onto Laz’s lap.
“A bottle of wine and your hand doesn’t count.”
“First of all, I don’t need a man to have fun. Second, don’t be judgy. Not everyone has a sexy G.I. Joe at his beck and call.”
“Ooh, hiss.”
Fitz sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m happy for you, you know that. Red is a great guy.” And it was the truth. His best friend deserved to be happy, and even when the abusive, cheating asshole that had been Laz’s ex had tricked Laz into pushing Fitz out of his life, Fitz had wished nothing but the best for Laz. He’d mourned the loss and had used mutual acquaintances to get news about Laz and how he was doing. When he’d heard Laz left the bastard, Fitz had been both overjoyed and relieved. Then Laz met Red, and finally he’d found someone worthy of his heart.
“You can have a great guy too,” Laz said, his brilliant blue eyes filled with love for Fitz. “As a matter of fact, there’s a great guy who asks about you every time I see him.”
Fitz’s pulse sped up, and he cursed himself. When was he going to stop feeling like a damned blushing virgin every time Laz mentioned Jack? And yet he couldn’t help himself. “He’s still asking about me?”
“Never stopped.”
Laz had taken it upon himself to keep Fitz up-to-date on all things Jack. “You know, there’s no one in the picture right now.”
“I’m not surprised. Remember Diego?”
Laz cringed. “Hey, if you’re dumb enough to try and push a man’s best friend out of his life, then you have no one to blame but yourself when you get a loafer full of steaming Belgian Malinois shit.”
Fitz almost spit out his drink. He quickly swallowed before coughing into his hand. “You couldn’t wait until I wasn’t drinking to say that?”
“Talk about good aim,” Laz said with a grin. “Diego was so pissed.”
“Not as pissed as Lang. Remember the can of sardines Lucky hid in his Tesla under the driver’s seat? It was ninety-eight degrees that day and it sat there for the entire eight hours Lang was at work.” Just the memory of it had Fitz laughing so hard he was in tears. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
Fitz had briefly met Lang last summer at Colton’s house when Fitz stopped by to drop some clothes off for Laz, who was doing a shoot the next day. Jack, his new boyfriend, and the rest of the guys were getting together for a barbecue, and although Fitz had been invited, he’d been in the middle of getting his salon ready for opening day. By this point the argument between