Free The One For Me (Danver #8) by Sydney Landon Page A

of water. He was paying when someone clapped him on the back. He jerked around, still in a foul mood, to see Seth Jackson giving him a questioning look. Mark felt some of his tension drain as he greeted his friend. Seth ran the Oceanix Resort in Myrtle Beach and had been a friend for years.
    They had been talking for a few minutes, when hisfriend and coworker Jacob Hay strolled up to join them. Jacob was vice-president of operations for the DeSanto Group, as well as Mark’s right hand. He divided his time between their headquarters in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, with a liberal amount of travel in between.
    Mark broke into a grin, as Asher Jackson was next through the door and immediately walked over to punch him in the shoulder. “I didn’t know you were in town again,” he said after they shook hands. At one time, he and Ash had hung out a good bit. They ran in the same circles and had similar . . . interests. Hell, they’d even shared those interests a few times in the past. If Mark was considered a hit-it-and-quit-it, as Denny often called him, then he wasn’t sure what that made Ash. The other man had some strange hang-ups, and if women wanted to spend time with him, then they had to accept those aspects.
    “For a few weeks.” Ash nodded. “I try to get down and see Mia as often as possible,” he added slyly, while watching his brother Seth for his reaction. Mia was Seth’s girlfriend, and the guy was crazy about her. Mark saw her occasionally at Danvers, and she was a beauty.
    Instead of looking jealous, Seth just laughed. “My woman is perfectly happy and satisfied. She thinks of you as the brother she never had, Ash.”
    Giving a wolfish grin, Ash said, “I’m trying to encourage that. She gives her hugs more freely to family members.”
    Jacob grabbed a towel off a nearby table and wiped his face before asking, “So what’s up with all thisAngel stuff on Twitter? My assistant seems to think you’re doing some kind of Internet dating now. Who’s cryswebber?”
    Dead silence settled between them as Seth and Ash joined Jacob in staring at him.
Well, hell. Social death by hashtag—how original.
“Er—it’s nothing. Just joking around with a friend.” Mark began edging away, trying to break the focus of the group. Who knew that so many people followed his fucking Twitter feed?
    “Crys Webber,” Seth repeated slowly before snapping his finger. “That’s not Crystal Webber from Danvers, is it? Declan Stone’s sister-in-law?”
    “Not sure,” Mark said vaguely. “Are we going to work out today or stand around chatting?”
    Both Ash and Jacob were looking at him in surprise, while Seth looked uneasy. “Crystal’s a good friend of Mia’s. From what I gather, she’s rather—innocent, for lack of a better word.”
    Exasperated, Mark said, “She’s been married before, Seth. It’s not like she’s never been around a man.”
    “Doesn’t sound like your usual kind of woman,” Ash added.
    “Listen, there’s nothing going on,” Mark snapped, tired of defending himself. For God’s sake, did his friends think that he was Jack the Ripper or something? Every one of the men surrounding him worked hard and played harder. A common interest had made them friends. He wasn’t sure where all of the judgment was coming from, but he was tired of it. He stalked away but had only gone a few steps when Jacob tossed an arm over his shoulders.
    “PMS today or something? Sorry about tossing youunder the bus. I didn’t think it was a secret or anything.”
    “It’s not,” Mark replied, still annoyed. “As I’ve said, she’s just a friend.”
    “All right, brother, whatever you say. But if you end up marrying her, I’m going to lose money.” At his questioning look, Jack added, “All of the women in the office are betting that you’ve met ‘the one.’ We may have placed a few friendly wagers. So whatever you do—keep it casual.”
    Elbowing his friend in the side, he shook his head.