Jason took us to Pete’s Pub, where Taylor used to work. She’d put in a good word for Nate, and we’d visited him throughout the past year, enough to know the regulars on a first-name basis. When we walked in, I was already starting to relax. I knew I wasn’t going in there as Mason Kade’s girlfriend. I was Sam to them.

Some of the staff and a few of the regulars waved to us, but I knew that when we took our booth in the corner, we’d be left alone. If we chose to be social, it was our decision. The bouncers would keep an extra eye out. They always did when Taylor was here, anyways.

The tequila, mixed with the Long Island iced tea, kept my body warm and floaty. The alcohol’s effect had waned a little at the previous place, but my last drink was slamming into my body again. I was gone. I was in the clouds now.

Dark hooker: airborne.

The world looked all nice and cozy from my point of view.

I smiled, knowing it was droopy and messy, but I didn’t care. I leaned into Heather’s shoulder. “I love you, you know that.”

The corner of her mouth curved down. “I went batshit at that guy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You have a man problem!” Courtney yelled from the other side of our booth. Her hand lifted and plopped on the table. A bowl of peanuts upended and rolled over, falling into her lap. She had no clue. “You’re hurting, and you’re drunk, and that’s never a good recipe.”

Heather grunted. “Works just fine for me.”

“No. I know.” She held her hand out in front of her, but paused. “I don’t know what I was saying.”

Taylor grabbed one of the peanuts on the table, opened it, and popped the shelled nut in her mouth. She said around it, “Man problems. Drinking.”

“Yes.” Courtney was off again. “You should talk about what happened. That might help all of us understand.” She gestured around the table. “It’d be good therapy too. We’ve all been there.” She burped and continued blinking, giving Heather an expectant look.

“The love of my life dumped me because his sister was arrested.”

Courtney screwed her face up; the blank look came back. “I’ve lost the ability to compute that. Your fiancé was arrested?”

Grace snorted. Her shoulders started shaking with soft laughter.

Taylor frowned at Courtney.

Heather didn’t react at all, merely drawling back, “His sister was arrested. And he’s not my fiancé.”

“Got it.” Courtney slapped her hand back down. “You were arrested and his sister took back the ring.”

Heather was reaching for a peanut, but paused. “No. What are you talking about—rings, and fiancés, and shit? No one’s engaged here.”

“Wait.” Courtney’s hand was back in the air. “Your sister was arrested and he dumped you because of that.” She frowned to herself, pulling her hand back to her lap. “Oh man. Is he in love with your sister?”

“Unless my brother’s had a sex change, and his sexual orientation switched too, then that’s not even possible.”

Courtney sucked in one of her cheeks, chewing on the inside of it. “I think I’m drunk.”

Taylor spit out her drink, or the little sip she’d taken. It landed on the table . . . at least I thought it did. I was looking for it as she said, “That’s the first logical thing you’ve said since we got here.”

I was mesmerized by the glass in Taylor’s hand, then saw we all had one in front of us. When had we gotten drinks here? I pointed at mine. “Who ordered these?”

“No.” Heather propped her elbows on the table, leaning forward. “My problem is that my ex is amazing at fucking—”

Grace hiccuped. “Is that actually a problem?”

Heather kept going. “He’s got a body like, like fucking Brad Pitt in Fight Club, and a face that could be a model’s. I mean, he’s gorgeous. He’s beyond gorgeous, and he’s a stand-up guy. The problem is that he’s too stand-up. He’s a bad boy and he can be a dick, so he’s not boring or anything, but he’s raising his sister, and she’s not making his life easy right now. She got arrested for some really bad shit, and he thinks he needs to devote more time to her.” She hiccupped too, jerking back in her seat. Then she went on, as if no hiccup had happened. “And that’s my problem. He broke up with me and the reason makes me want him even more.”

“It makes you love him more?”

Heather shook her head at Taylor. “No. My love meter is all the way over. It can’t go any further. But damn, I want to fuck him, like right now.” She let out a sigh.

“No, really”—I pointed at my drink—“who ordered these?”

Courtney bobbed her head up and down. “That is a problem. Wow. I wish I could find a guy like that. All you bitches,” her finger waved at us again, “got all of them. I hate you guys sometimes.”

Grace melted into the wall. Her eyes were closing and drool fell from her mouth.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned all the way back in my seat. “I’m not drinking this until I know where they came from.”

Taylor grabbed my drink and took a sip, then put it back as she spoke to Heather. “You should call him. Right now.” She waved a hand at the glass, saying to me, “It’s fine. I’m not dead.”

Nope. I was waiting a full five minutes. She could die. People ended up roofied like this.

“I can’t call him. I’m drunk as fuck right now.”

“No.” Courtney’s hand was once again in the air. “This is the best time to call. You’ll be honest now. And he can say things to you that maybe he normally wouldn’t if you were sober. You know, the walls aren’t up now.”

I couldn’t handle it anymore. I smacked Courtney’s hand down. “Stop it. That’s making me paranoid.”

Taylor choked on her drink again.

I held my breath. I was right! We were drugged. Were the drugs already kicking in?!

She sputtered out, her head going back and forth, “Courtney’s not making you paranoid. The tequila is.”

“Tequila usually makes me want to get naked,” Grace announced to us.

We all paused. Our heads swiveled to her, and then she let out a deep yawn and rested back against the wall.

Heather gestured to her. “She’s out for the night.” She picked up her drink and motioned to me. “I don’t think we’re going to party like rock stars tonight.”

I shrugged. “As long as you’re okay, I don’t care.”

“Aww.” Courtney stuck out her bottom lip. “You guys are so sweet together. I remember when I first met you, Heather. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Yeah.” Taylor was nodding. “You and I didn’t hit it off either.”

Heather lifted up a shoulder. “That’s how I am. You either like me right away or you don’t. You get what you see with me.”

I scowled. For some reason, Courtney’s last statement pissed me off. I wasn’t sure why.

Taylor inclined her head to me. “What about you, Sam? How’d you react to Heather when you first met her?”

I tried to remember. A drunken fog was hindering my memories.

Heather chuckled, low and smooth. “She looked at me like I was her first drop of water she’d seen in the desert. I was the answer to your prayers. Admit it, Strattan. You had a lady boner for me when you stopped at Manny’s all those years ago.”

Had I? Then I laughed. I had been running to avoid my mom while Mason and Logan were out somewhere. I nodded. “You’re right. I think you saved me in some ways.”

“No, I didn’t.” Her shoulder nudged mine. “I gave you a job. That’s all.”

“You gave me friendship.” I had Mason. I had Logan. I had no female friends. “I needed that.”

A moment of silence hung over the table, and Heather turned to look at me. We’d talked about that time of my life, but I didn’t think I’d ever said it as bluntly as I just had. Tears came to Heather’s eyes and all the drunken anger, whatever was there, faded. She blinked back those tears. “Aww, Sam.” She hugged me to her, burying her head in my shoulder and neck. I felt the wetness against my skin. “I think it was mutual. I needed someone too.”

Taylor was blinking back her own tears. “You both scared me when I met you. I mean”—her hand reached for another peanut, and she gestured to me—“You’re Sam. Logan loves you, like, loves you, in the ‘he’d step in front of a bus for you’ way. And it’s not just him. Holy shit. The first time I saw Mason, when he looked at you and he didn’t think anyone was watching . . .” She closed her eyes and shivered. “It gave me all the tingles, all over. It’s the stuff that books are written for. It’s till - the - end - of - days kind of shit.”

“You and Logan have that.”

“Oh, I know.” A proud smile tugged at her lips. “But the first time I met you, you were big in my head. You were legendary stuff, until that summer when we started to really get to know each other. And you too.” She indicated Heather, lifting her glass for a drink. “I was jealous of you. I knew you and Logan had a special friendship, and I was threatened, just a bit. I’m not anymore, but yeah. And now I love both of you so much.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Good friends are great to have. That’s for damn sure.”

Courtney sniffled. Her entire face was covered in tears, and her eyeliner was smudged. Black streaks had formed under her eyes. “I can’t.” She waved at us. “I can’t even. This is the best night of my life.”

Grace let out a snore.