The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (46 page)

Stop staring
, I tell myself as I sip at my drink.

“
Logan! Stop flirting and meet my new friend. It
’
s her birthday,
”
says Daphne. For reasons I can
’
t explain just now, it makes me happy that she
’
s referred to me as her friend. Logan shifts so that she
’
s leaning her side against the bar as she looks at me.
“
Logan, this is Addie. Addie, this is my bestie, Logan.
”

“
It
’
s a pleasure,
”
she says. She speaks with her shoulders, shrugging them delicately as she tilts her head in acknowledgment. I can
’
t tell if she
’
s genuine or not and before I can figure it out, my sister joins in on our conversation.

“
Who are your new friends?
”

“
Whoa, there
’
s two of you?
”
Daphne gasps.

“
Technically, there
’
s one of each of us. But sure! I
’
m Avery.
”

“
This is Daphne, Roman
’
s sister, and Logan,
”
I say, completing the introductions.

“
It
’
s nice to meet you. Oh, and happy birthday,
”
Daphne replies.

I decide then and there that I like her and I accept her title as friend and claim her as mine, too.

“
So, all these cute guys are here to celebrate you?
”
Logan asks. I watch her eyes wander over my head and behind me, where I know at least four of our guy friends are standing.

“
Yup,
”
Avery answers innocently.

“
How about we buy you two a shot and join your party?
”
She doesn
’
t wait for a response from either of us before she turns to address Eric, who is the closest and most readily available. As she places her order, I decide then and there that I don
’
t think I like her.

I stare down Roman, hoping he
’
ll feel my gaze locked on him so I can steal his attention. It takes a minute, but he eventually sees me. I nod, ever so slightly, in Logan
’
s direction and try to convey with my face my question. He closes the distance between us and leans across the bar so he can speak softly into my ear.

“
Watch out for that one,
”
he warns.

I
’
m glad I came. Not that my attendance was ever in question, but I
’
m glad that I
’
m here to be another pair of eyes watching over Addie as she celebrates.
If I'm being honest, I'm glad to be another pair of eyes that simply gets to appreciate how fantastic she looks tonight.
The smartest decision I
’
ve made all day is to stay sober. That little black dress would be my undoing if I lost the tiny bit of self-control I
’
ve managed to hang onto for this long.

I can tell she
’
s having a great time, which fills me with relief. I was worried about how our current relationship status, coupled with my presence, would affect her
—
but she seems to be in a good place and I won
’
t question that. What I
do
question, or rather
who
, is this
Roman
guy. It
’
s obvious that he
’
s quite popular with the ladies
—
including mine.

Alright
—
I
guess, right now, I don't have the right to call her mine...
but either way, I
’
m not sure I like the way he looks at her. I
’
ve been trying my best to keep my distance tonight. I sat across from her at dinner instead of next to her, like I usually would. Even now, Robert, who sings on the praise team with Addison, and Gray stand between her and me. I want her to know that I
’
m here and that I always will be, but I don't want to push her or tempt myself by putting us in flirting proximity
—
then again, I
’
m also not sure how much more I can take watching her and Roman from my vantage point.

“
Hey, Sarah,
”
I steal her focus as I tap on her shoulder. She smiles up at me in response.
“
What
’
s with this Roman character?
”
She casts a look over her shoulder and sees what I see
—
Roman leaning over the bar so that he can whisper something in Addison
’
s ear. My fists clinch reflexively and I
’
m overwhelmed with an emotion I am not really sure how to deal with.
He
’
s too close for comfort
.

“
My, my,
”
Sarah purrs as she grins at me.
“
Is somebody
jealous
?
”

Claire gasps as she flicks her gaze up at me.
“
I
’
ve never seen Beckham
jealous
.
”

“
He
’
s never had a reason to be
”
.

I shake my head at both of them and release my fingers from the balls that were my fists. They have a point. Addie has never given me a reason to doubt her feelings toward me. I trust her; I
’
ve always trusted her. That
’
s not going to stop now.
“
I don
’
t know that I have a reason to be even now,
”
I tell them.
“
I just want to know his story.
”

“
Well, they
’
re just friends,
”
Sarah concedes with a sigh.

“
But Beckham,
”
Claire pipes in,
“
she
’
s a catch and you know it. You can
’
t stop other guys for falling for her and you most certainly can
’
t stop other guys from
pursuing
her unless you fight for her
yourself
.
”
I don
’
t like the truth behind her words. I fold my arms across my chest in frustration.
She
’
s right, but I
’
m in no position to fight for her right now.
“
I know what you
’
re thinking,
”
she continues, successfully interrupting my train of thought.
“
I
’
m
saying:
get your ass over there and passive-aggressively fight for your girl, or whatever.
Now
. Go! Oh and take some water. I think
blondie
over there just bought her another shot,
”
she instructs, handing me a full glass.

Content with my excuse to make my way over, I nod at the girls in my corner before I enter into flirting proximity.
“
Hey, birthday girl.
”
I rest my hand against the bare skin of her shoulder just long enough to catch her attention. The smile I
’
m rewarded with reminds me what I
’
m fighting for
—
not just here in this moment, but in general.
“
I thought you could use some water.
”

She sighs happily as she takes the glass from me and begins sucking from the straw, greedily.
“
Thank you,
”
she mumbles between sips.
“
I
’
m feeling
sooo
weird right now.
”

I chuckle as I slip my fingers into the front pockets of my jeans.
“
Good weird or bad weird?
”

“
Oh, good! Definitely good weird.
Warm and fuzzy
weird.
”

I laugh, shoving my hands further into my pockets. I want to kiss her. I want to pull her into my arms or hold her hand or touch her cheek
so badly
that if I don
’
t bury my hands, I
’
ll do one
—
if not all
—
of the above and confuse the hell out of her.
“
I
’
m glad you
’
re feeling warm and fuzzy. Do me a favor and drink all of that water before you drink anything else.
”

“
Yes,
sir
”
, she says playfully before downing more water.

She
’
s so freaking cute, I can hardly stand it.

“
Addie, aren
’
t you going to introduce us to Bow Tie?
”
asks blondie.

Addison looks at me, at blondie and her friend, then back behind the bar at Roman, before she decides. She wraps her hand around my elbow as she speaks.
“
This is Beckham.
”

I smile at her as I realize she just introduced me to Roman. When I manage to pull my eyes away from Addie, Roman nods at me before extending his hand. Somehow, as I accept his gesture, I get the feeling that he understands what Addie just did as well as I do.

“
Roman,
”
he says.
“
Nice to meet you.
”

“
Same.
”

“
I
’
m Logan,
”
says blondie, offering me her hand.

“
Interesting name,
”
I mutter as I give her fingers a squeeze.

“
For a girl, you mean,
”
she states with a smirk.

“
Yeah, I guess so.
”

“
Her parents thought she was a boy until she came out,
”
her friend explains.
“
But I think it
’
s a sweet name for a girl.
”

“
I agree,
”
I reply honestly. Logan seems to appreciate my approval, as does her friend.

“
I'm Daphne,
”
she introduces herself.

“
Your hand is sadly void of a drink,
”
comments Logan.
“
Are you legal?
”