Ethan (Alluring Indulgence #5)(40)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Apparently that attracted V’s attention because she shifted suddenly and eased closer to him. “Who is he with?”

Zane opened his eyes and glanced over at her, not lifting his head from the cushion. “You don’t even want to know.”

V’s smile was so radiant, Zane thought he’d be blinded for a moment.

“Beau?”

Zane jerked to a sitting position and turned to face her. “Why would you think that? Why would Beau want to be with my brother? He’s not –”

“Zane Walker,” V said, cutting him off. “You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the tension between them. It’s been going on for… for a long time.”

Zane relaxed a little.

He dropped his head, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared down at his hands. Yes, he had noticed the tension between them. Yes, he had thought that something might be going on between the two of them. And yes, he had pretended not to notice.

“Does it bother you that Beau is gay?”

Zane felt like she’d slapped him upside the head. “Why in the fuck would that matter to me?”

“Because he’s your best friend.”

“It doesn’t matter to me what someone’s sexual preference is, V. I’ve…”

He paused, realization dawning. God, he was so fucking dense sometimes. Here he had been wondering why Beau wouldn’t continue with their threesomes ever since that night. And it had taken him all of this time to finally realize that Beau wasn’t with them because he was gay? Not because he was confused. Or because of what happened. Well, maybe a little because of what happened.

Looking over at V, he found her smiling sadly back at him. “Why hasn’t he just come out and told me?”

Zane felt the rift that continued to develop between him and Beau. Originally, he thought that they were growing apart because of V. Then he figured it had to do with the fact that Zane had fucked him. It wasn’t something he thought about often, but he knew the events of that night had changed Beau. Or maybe Beau hadn’t changed at all, and Zane was just noticing for the first time.

He frowned. Some friend he’d been.

V moved closer, resting her hand on his arm. “I think Beau was confused, and probably hung up on you for a long time. So much so that he denied himself any kind of happiness and refused to believe that he wanted anything different than you did.”

“But he slept with women.”

“When he was with you,” she told him.

“How can he just give that up? How is it he hasn’t realized this before now?”

“He’s questioned himself, Zane. Beau has enjoyed sex with women. But only when you were there. See the connection?”

V sounded as though she knew firsthand what Beau was feeling, which raised another question. “How do you know all of this?” Zane felt like a total shit. His best friend finally figures out who he is, and Zane had spent the last year pretending that nothing had changed when everything had changed.

“Because I asked him. After the night you were with him, I think something clicked for Beau. You gave him something he’d been curious about, probably helped him confirm what he had suspected all along. But you are his friend, not his lover. He accepted that.”

“And now he’s going to be with my brother?”

“What if he is? Would that be such a horrible thing? Ethan’s a good guy.”

“So you say,” Zane argued.

Truthfully, he knew Ethan wasn’t a bad guy. Unsociable, yes. A player, probably. But he had a good heart beneath all that attitude. “What am I supposed to say to him?” Zane didn’t bother to clarify which him he was referring to.

“You’re going to support him. Both of them. It’s not your place to decide what is right or wrong. If they manage to find happiness with each other, then we’re going to be right there beside them, loving them the same as we do now.”

Zane stared at his hands for a few minutes, his mind tossing around the information he’d just learned. Finally, when he found his voice, he said, “Well, hopefully E can forgive me for sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

V squeezed his arm and chuckled. “Honey, he’s forgiven you millions of other times. I’m sure this one won’t be any different.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ethan tried to control his temper, but it wasn’t looking good for him. All of the anger and stress that had dissipated with Beau’s kiss had returned tenfold, working its way back into Ethan’s bones, making him hurt all over again.

He was so pissed at Zane for making accusations he had no business making that now he could hardly see past the red haze. It was a damn good thing that his nosy-ass brother had decided to leave when he did. When his brothers made an effort to interfere in his life, – which they did often for whatever reason – Ethan felt as though he’d been stretched in multiple directions, like a rubber band. This time was no different, only he was seconds away from snapping.