Undenied - Unspoken #3 - Maya Banks Page 0,37
click sounded in his ear.
He closed the phone and let it slide down his chest before he shoved it back into his jeans pocket. He avoided the stares of the others and resumed eating.
He heard Gracie curse softly under her breath but he refused to look up. The steak that had tasted so damn good just moments before now tasted like a giant turd.
They ate in silence. No one seemed willing to break it with conversation. When they’d finished, Gracie stood and began clearing the plates. When Wes stood and offered to help, Ellie stuck a hand out. “We’ll get it. You guys enjoy the evening and a beer.”
He sank into his chair and leaned back, staring up at the sky. He heard the girls go in and shut the door. Then he mentally counted to three. Sure enough, about the time he said three, Luke cleared his throat.
Wes righted his head and looked over at Luke. “Gracie ratted me out, didn’t she.”
Luke’s body jerked with muffled laughter. “Yeah, she did. I held out on her until she caved.”
“Bastard,” Wes muttered.
“It doesn’t take a fucking genius to see you’re miserable,” Jake pointed out. “The question is what are you going to do about it?”
Wes sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Luke arched an eyebrow. “Judging by the brush-off you just gave her, I’d say it’s not too complicated now. She’d have to be awfully thick not to get it after that conversation.”
Wes closed his eyes. “It’s twisted, I know.”
“Try me,” Jake said dryly. “I know a thing or two about twisted. Twisted described every aspect of my feelings for Ellie until the time we got together. Hell, the woman still manages to tie me in knots.”
“That’s me,” Wes said morosely. “Tied up in one big fucking knot. I don’t know my head from my ass anymore.”
“So why the brush-off?” Luke asked.
“It sounds stupid. I don’t want my life to change. I want to be with her but I only want it on my terms. And she doesn’t seem to have any interest in me beyond a good fuck.”
Luke and Jake exchanged amused glances.
“Cut that shit out,” Wes growled. “Last thing I need is you two smug bastards gloating.”
“Well, to address your first issue, I hate to tell you this but any time you get involved with a woman, your life is going to change. Suck it up and deal with it like a big boy,” Jake said with no trace of sympathy in his voice.
“Yeah, but you and Luke didn’t have to change your lives. You married women who fit into the life you already had. We all still get together. We still share good times.”
Luke burst out laughing and Jake choked on his beer.
“Jesus are you deluded,” Luke said around his wheezes. “Not change? Okay, I think I know where you’re headed with this. From what I’ve been able to learn from Gracie, this chick you’re involved with lives in Houston. You want the girl. You like the girl. But you don’t want to give up any part of your life here. You want to keep your friends close, carry on like always, only have the woman you want.”
Wes nodded. “Basically.”
Jake shook his head. “First of all, get the notion that our lives didn’t change when we got married right out of that tiny brain of yours. Marriage is all about change. It’s about compromise. It’s about wanting to make the woman you love happy. Hell, I gave up my damn colored, blinking Christmas lights because Ellie wanted the plain ass, boring white ones. I’d do anything to make that woman smile. My first priority is her happiness. Don’t think I don’t love you guys, enjoy the time we spend together, but you and the others? Not my priority. Ellie is. Always will be. She comes first.”
Luke nodded in agreement. He met Wes’s gaze. “I understand where you’re coming from, buddy. I do. But you’re going about it all wrong. What’s the worst that happens? You move to Houston and only see us
every other weekend? We’re not going anywhere. We’d visit your ass, you’d come visit ours.” He shrugged. “Besides that, Gracie would have a kitten if she didn’t see you on a regular basis. Believe me when I say, the girls are way more attached to our get-togethers than we are. They’d work around the obstacles. I’m willing to bet they’d have us getting together regardless of where you ended up.”
Wes grinned. “I love those women.”
“Not nearly as much as we do,”