AJ Walsh was the closest thing Reed had to a brother. The two of them had grown up together in South Boston, attended the same schools, played on the same sports teams. Reed would take a bullet for his buddy, and he knew that if their roles had been reversed, AJ wouldn’t hesitate to stick up for him.

Squaring his shoulders, he marched up to the couple’s table and donned his best death glare. “Hey, Darcy,” he said loudly.

Her head swiveled, eyes widening when she recognized him. “Reed!” Her voice came out shrill, and there was no mistaking the guilty note ringing there.

He shifted his gaze to her companion, a lanky man with pale blond hair and a smug grin. “Can we help you?” the guy demanded.

Reed experienced a case of instant dislike. Scowling deeply, he jabbed a finger in the air and snapped, “Get out of here.”

The guy’s jaw dropped. “No way, man. The lady and I were in the middle of—”

“Nothing,” Reed finished. “You were in the middle of nothing. So get lost.”

Darcy’s companion turned to her with visible wariness. “Is this your boyfriend or something?”

“Or something,” Reed answered for her.

Several more seconds ticked by, until the blond guy finally hopped off his stool and glowered at Darcy. “You should have f**king told me you had a boyfriend instead of wasting my goddamn time.”

As he stormed off, Reed usurped the empty seat, rested his elbows on the table, and looked at AJ’s girlfriend with cold eyes. “What. The. Fuck. Is. This?” He could barely get the question out he was so pissed.

Christ. How was he supposed to tell his best friend about this? AJ would be devastated when he learned what his girlfriend was up to.

“We were just talking,” Darcy retorted, sounding as mad as Reed felt.

“Bullshit,” he shot back. “Whatever this was, it was leading toward a hookup, and we both know it.”

“So what if it was?” Her blue eyes blazed. “Yeah, maybe it’s kinda soon, but what I do and who I see is none of your damn business! If I want to have a rebound fling with some guy I met at a club, then I’m damn well allowed to!”

Rebound?

Reed furrowed his brows, wondering if he’d misheard her. No way had she and AJ broken up. From the moment AJ had introduced her to his friends, Reed had known that Darcy was perfect for the guy, which only made this messed-up attraction he felt for her a million times more wrong. Her easygoing, bubbly personality suited AJ’s equally laidback demeanor, while her adventurous nature balanced AJ’s tendency to constantly play it safe.

The fact that she was sexy as hell was only icing on the cake.

AJ’s cake. Reed clung to the reminder, as he’d done often ever since AJ and Darcy had started dating. It didn’t matter that each time he saw her he wanted to bury his face in her graceful neck and breathe her in. Or that his fingers tingled with the urge to stroke her thick, strawberry-blond waves. Or that his c**k damn near burst out of his pants at the thought of sinking into her hot, tight—

AJ’s girl, yelled the reprimanding voice in his head.

Right. Didn’t matter how hot the woman got him. She was off-limits.

But God, did she ever look gorgeous when she was pissed off.

“And you know what else?” Darcy went on, her fair cheeks flushed with anger. “You’re not exactly one to judge. You’re the biggest player on the planet! But I guess it’s okay for you to pick up strangers at nightclubs, right, Reed? But when I, an unattached adult woman, does it, suddenly it’s sooooo wrong and—”

“You and AJ broke up?” he interrupted.

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Did you guys break up?” he repeated through clenched teeth.

Looking bewildered, she offered a nod. “Yeah. Last night. He didn’t tell you?”

Reed had trouble thinking clearly, what with the massive doses of shock and confusion spiraling through his body. He realized he hadn’t spoken to AJ at all today. And his friend had the weekend off, which was why Reed had been tending bar at Sin before he’d headed over to the Krib. Normally, he handled the business end of things, working up in his office on the club’s top floor while Gage handled security and AJ managed the bartending staff.

AJ had planned to go away with Darcy this weekend, Reed suddenly remembered.

But Darcy was here.

Picking up dudes.

“Did you dump him?” he demanded.

Her expression grew sad. “No. It was mutual.”

That summoned a groan of disbelief. “Break-ups are never mutual.”

“This one was.” Her lips tightened. “Not that it’s any of your business, but AJ and I broke up with each other. We both knew it wasn’t working, and we both decided to end it.”

“Why wasn’t it working?”

She raked an exasperated hand through her wavy hair. “I’m not giving you any details, Reed. It’s between me and AJ, okay?”

Okay? There was nothing okay about any of this. In fact, he seriously needed to walk away, right frickin’ now, before the little burst of joy that Darcy’s admission had evoked in him turned into something else.

He wasn’t allowed to be happy about the breakup. No siree. He was supposed to be sad and upset on his best friend’s behalf, because no matter what Darcy said, their parting couldn’t have been mutual. The guy was crazy about her, for chrissake.

So are you.