Page 6 of My Ex-Best Men (Ex Marks the Spot #4)

***Claire***

T he backseat of Will’s truck was full of things he’d picked up for the firehouse so the three of us rode in the front seat.

The bench seat would’ve been plenty roomy if the two men I was sandwiched between weren’t huge and if they weren’t both exes of mine.

I clutched my purse to my chest and once again wondered what I’d done to get so unlucky.

“You’ve always been organized, Claire, but I’m impressed you fit everything you needed into one small suitcase.

I remember that trip we all took to Georgia your junior year.

You and Soph both packed so much that we had to take two cars.

” Will glanced over at me and he let out a quiet laugh at the blush taking over my face.

I remembered that trip, too, but I didn’t remember the luggage situation.

I remembered the way Will had snuck me out of my room and into his private one.

Losing my virginity in Savannah, Georgia after doing a ghost tour had been oddly romantic and idyllic.

Will had managed to slide right past the awkward first-time stage and straight into giving me multiple orgasms.

I also remembered the sneaking around behind Soph’s back and guilt over secretly dating her big brother.

Looking down at my lap, I forced my mind back to the present.

“Oh, um… They lost my suitcase. I gave them the address to the hotel and they’re supposed to contact me as soon as they find it.

The only thing in that suitcase in the back is my dress for the wedding. ”

“Do you want me to have some clothing options available for you? I know a personal shopper in Miami who would-”

I cut Zane off and shook my head. “No, that’s too much. Thanks, though. Uncle Sal will probably have a few of my old things still. I’m just going to stop by his trailer tomorrow and grab a few things to make work until my suitcase arrives.”

“How is Uncle Sal?” Zane stretched his legs out and let his thigh rest against mine.

“You know Uncle Sal?” Will casually gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and rested his right arm behind my head on the seat. The scent of his deodorant and his body heat was basically an aphrodisiac.

“Yeah. Claire and I dated for over a year. I met everyone important to her.” Zane raised his eyebrows as he looked at Will. “I never met you, though.”

Will noticeably stiffened beside me. “Oh. You’re the ex who ran off to make it big. Huh. I thought you’d be bigger.”

I cringed between them. I was still desperate for a window to open so I could dive out of it. It wouldn’t have the same impact as diving out of a plane but if I was lucky I’d get run over by a semi-truck. Considering my luck, I figured I’d better rethink that whole plan.

Zane shot me a hurt look, as if I’d betrayed him by telling anyone about how he’d left me. “So you’ve heard about me. I’ve still never heard anything about you, Will. You’re the best friend’s older brother?”

I felt Will glance at me and I could feel the blame coming off of him, as well. I kept my eyes on my lap but I was freaking out inside. Did Will really think I was supposed to tell people about him? He was still my biggest secret.

“Claire and I go way back.” Will dropped his arm so it was around me. “I’ve known her since she showed up at my door in pigtails and a Hooters t-shirt.”

I groaned, thrown back down memory lane far enough that the tension was momentarily forgotten. “Oh god. That was so inappropriate for a ten-year-old to be wearing. Uncle Sal thought it was hilarious, though. I thought your mom was going to lose her mind.”

“She did. She accused Sal of trying to get you kidnapped and handed off to a pervert ring. Her words. That was the one and only time I’ve ever seen Sal look even remotely apologetic.

” Lightly squeezing my shoulder, Will glanced down at me and smiled.

“As a twelve-year-old, I didn’t understand why everyone was so up in arms about a shirt about owls. ”

Zane rested his hand on my thigh. “That wasn’t the same shirt you-”

I squeaked, the memory of surprising Zane on Halloween in a Hooters costume coming hot and fast. We’d gotten drunk and had sex in a Hooters bathroom that night. I’d come just as an angry manager banged on the bathroom door, demanding I get back to work. “Nope! Not the same shirt.”

A tense silence fell over the truck and I sat between the two of them feeling like my body was on fire. They were both touching me and I was so embarrassed that I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover.

It was a two-hour drive from Miami to Manatee Key.

One hundred and twenty minutes. That was a lot of time to sit there wishing for a sudden coma.

I was going to kill Sophia. She might not have known about my relationship with Will but she knew all about my relationship with Zane.

How could she have put me in the position I was sitting in? It was a cruel and unusual punishment.

“I owe Jake big time for asking me to be in the wedding.” Zane squeezed my thigh and looked past me, to Will. “I’m looking forward to this week.”

“I didn’t realize you were so close with Jake.” Will put the truck on cruise once we were on the open highway and then his thigh was pressing into mine, too.

I looked at Zane and nodded. “Will’s right. I knew you met him when we were together but I had no idea you two were groomsmen close.”

He just shrugged. “We’ve kept up with each other through the years.”

“That’s cryptic.” Will leaned forward and jabbed at the radio until old country music filled the air.

If I thought not speaking would ease the awkwardness, I was wrong.

It was the drive from hell. I almost felt like a fire hydrant that two dogs were fighting over.

It made no sense. It’d been years since I’d been with either of them, but they were both acting territorial in a way that somehow both made my skin crawl and my downstairs damp.