Free The Anchor by B.N. Toler Page A

John’s jaw tic as he nods once and glances back at Edie.
    “Baby, I need a drink. Will you come with me to get one?” Edie asks as she squeezes his arm from behind him. John takes a deep breath, but turns back to Dierk. “You’re here because you’ve been friends with my fiancée for a long time. And I respect that friendship. Edie is special to me. And if you try anything on her . . . mess with her . . . you’ll have me to deal with.” The way John says it, it feels like there’s another meaning . . . or something more to it.
    And judging by the way Dierk snorts and gives John a smirk, Dierk knows it. Not sure what he thinks is so funny. I’m about ready to beat this guy’s ass, myself. But John only smirks back at him, giving him a look that says, Try me, dick. You’ll be sorry.
    “Dierk, come dance with me,” Nikki intervenes as she grabs his arm and pulls. My eyes snap to her as she manages to get his attention. He gives her some kind of smirk . . . maybe he’s trying to be sexy, but he looks like an ass to me. When she gets him on the dance floor, he wraps his arms around her and moves his hands to just above her ass. My fists clench. Maybe John’s idea that I should play indifferent is backfiring. Does she like this fuckwad?
    “So you’re John’s friend?” Joey asks.
    “That’d be me,” I manage as I drag my eyes from Nikki. “Parker Hayes and you’re Joey, the ‘practically brother’ guy.”
    He beams a full white grin. “Yeah, that’s me. Bud, her grandfather, kind of took me under his wing a long time ago and when Edie moved in with him, we were thick as thieves. She’s like a sister to me.”
    “You have a way with pissed-off fiancés. What’d you say to John to get him to cool off?”
    Joey sips his beer and shrugs. I can tell he’s an easygoing kind of guy. He’s wearing black dress pants and a white shirt. Even among the suits here, he’d look pretty classy if not for his ball cap that’s on backwards, letting some of his hair hang out. But something tells me the people of this town wouldn’t think twice of it. Joey just seems like the kind of guy everyone would like. “I told him he had one of the two prettiest girls in the room, wearing a gorgeous dress, which she never gets to do working on a horse farm, standing behind him, wanting his attention. I told him this was their night . . . and not to let Dierk ruin it.”
    “I’ve been friends with John for years and I’ve never seen him get so riled up.”
    Joey gives a half smile as his line of sight moves to John and Edie at the bar. “Edie’s a catch. It took John a minute to figure that out . . . now he knows.” I can’t help smirking as I remember John saying Joey had some unfavorable feelings toward him because of how he and Edie got started.
    “Well, you have a gift. It seems to work,” I add as I jut my chin in their direction.
    “For now. Dierk . . . he likes to push buttons. I’m sure it won’t be long until he pisses John off again.”
    “The guy kind of sounds like a dick.”
    Joey shrugs. “Sometimes. I think he’s just realizing he’s been friends with Edie his whole life and seeing her with John is messing with him.”
    “You mean he loves her?” I ask. Now I definitely want to beat this guy’s ass.
    “Well . . .” Joey laughs. “If I’m being honest, I think he loves both the girls.”
    “Both girls?”
    “Edie and Nikki. They both offer very different things and I think he’s drawn to them for very different reasons.”
    My gaze moves to the dance floor where Dierk is twirling Nikki and she’s laughing. She’s wearing this gray dress that’s strapless and tight around her upper body, but the skirt is kind of poufy and fans out as she spins, showing her fantastic legs. Dierk pulls her back to him and presses his body to hers. I clench my jaw and fight the urge to go steal her away from him.
    “Well, Joey. I need a drink. Care to join me?”
    Joey lifts his beer and shakes it.