All For You (Rocktown Ink #5) by Sherilee Gray (world of reading .txt) 📕

terrible. I’m just going to grab another drink, you want one?”

He shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

She strutted off. Oh, thanks for asking, my drink’s fine, Deb.

Things suddenly turned awkward. Walk away. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be so close with your sibling. You’re lucky,” I said instead, desperate to fill the silence.

He studied me. “Yeah, I am. You’re not close with your brother? Was it just you and your gran growing up?”

“As close as you can be to someone you hardly see. Ross…my brother, was supposed to visit this weekend, but something obviously came up. Again. And yeah, just me and Gran for a lot of years.” I took a sip of my drink and looked out to the floor, back at my friends, all laughing, having a good time. Stupidly, I was still holding out hope that Ross would come stay with me. Maybe next weekend?

“Trixie?”

“Yeah?” And I knew what was coming next, the same question that always came next.

“What happened to your parents?”

I turned back to him, my belly in knots at the gentle way he’d asked. There was warmth and concern in his eyes. “I never met my dad, and my mom used to leave us with Gran while she searched for a replacement. She found a lot of them, but none stuck around. Eventually she never came back for us. She died when I was sixteen. Underlying heart condition.” Why did I find myself telling him this stuff? I mean, I never tried to hide my past or who I was, but I didn’t usually blurt it out either.

“Shit, kitten, I’m sorry.”

I sucked in a breath and quickly glanced around. “Jesus, Mase, you have to stop calling me that. If someone heard you…if Quinn heard you, she’d want to know why.” And I was feeling too damn vulnerable right then. I wanted him too much.

His gaze searched mine for long tension-filled minutes. “I don’t do it to piss you off, Trixie.”

He didn’t elaborate, he didn’t need to, it was there in his eyes. He couldn’t stop thinking about what we’d done that night either, or about that kiss by the lake. I didn’t answer, because we both knew we couldn’t go there, we couldn’t say what we were both thinking, what we both wanted.

There was no point.

But it was thick between us, visceral.

Deb walked back, taking her spot at Mase’s side. “So, what did I miss?” she said.

“Nothing important,” I said and smiled at them both. “Right, I’m off to dance. Have a good night,” I strode away, ignoring the tingles across my skin. I didn’t have to turn around to know Mase was watching me.

Eves grabbed my hand when I hit the dance floor, and I let her lead me to the opposite side.

The sooner I could move my trailer, the better.

Mase

“We need to find you a woman,” Riff said. “Might improve your mood.”

I turned to the younger man. “All good, thanks.”

It was late, the crowd had thinned to just close friends and the topic of conversation had turned to me.

“You and Deb looked cozy,” Dane said under his breath with an exaggerated wink.

“Nothing better than a good woman by your side,” Riff added, glancing at Lila sitting with her girls at a table beside them. “Or on the back of your bike.”

I had not missed Deb’s interest, or the furtive glances my sister sent our way. She was trying to set me up. Christ. Deb was nice, but I wasn’t interested. At all. “Not in a hurry to repeat the same mistakes,” I said, sounding like the moody bastard they were accusing me of being. “Relationships…marriage, they’re hard work.”

“Not from where I’m standing,” Dane said, grinning. “It’s been pretty fucking amazing so far.”

“You guys are young, it’s new, things change. I promise you, it gets a fuck of a lot harder.”

Bull shook his head. “Brother, stop with that shit. It’s nothing to do with age.” His hard gaze locked with mine. “Your marriage didn’t work because you weren’t right for each other, end of, don’t bring that negative bullshit here.”

“Fuck you, Logan,” I bit out.

“It’s been over a year, Mason, you gotta move the fuck on.”

“They’re using each other’s proper names now, does this mean shit’s about to go down?” Riff said from the cheap seats.

They had to know that once all the newlywed, loved-up crap ended, the hard work really began. “Already moved on. But thanks for the advice. Live in fucking fairy land if that’s what makes it easier.”

I looked around—the smiles, the laughter had stopped.

I’d done that. Everyone had been having a good time, and I’d fucked that up as well.

I shoved my fingers through my hair. “Shit…sorry. I’ll ah…I’m gonna head home.” I glanced at Trixie, who was looking down at her drink, studiously, and not at me. Yep, I was the killjoy here.

Cassy quickly started talking again, and the music got louder.

Quinn moved to Bull, and he wrapped an arm around her. She looked close to tears, and Bull looked ready to tear my head off. I didn’t blame him. She was worried about me as it was, and I’d just made it worse when that was the last thing she needed.

I strode over and pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. “Sorry, brat. I gotta work on locking down my inner bitter asshole. Not quite there yet.”

She leaned back, looking up at me. “Or better yet, stop locking your feelings away. That’s what got you to the point you’re at now, Mase, and you know it.”

I gave her another quick hug and handed her back to Bull. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Then I walked out, trying my best to control the anger inside me, at myself, at the fact that Quinn was right. I had locked my feelings away. First, I’d drowned them in whisky, then I’d shoved them down as deep as I could, the feelings of failure, of helplessness, of disappointment and loss.

I had to find