Crew

T hey had agreed to go to a few bars each week, scouting out the women, which sounded totally gross and made feel like a stalker. But this was important to them both and they needed to try to find the right woman to put between them. knew that Zane was losing hope of ever finding a woman, but he tried to keep encouraging him to be patient.

It had been three months since Zane brought up the topic of finding a woman to put between them, and had given up counting how many bars they had been to over the weeks. Tonight, they were going to circle back to one of their favorite Irish bars in hopes that they’d get lucky.

Zane ducked his head into their bedroom and looked over. “You look good, babe,” he said, flashing his sexy smile.

“If you smile like that at me, we’re going to skip the bar and stay home for the night,” said.

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Zane said. “I mean, it’s been three months now and we are still no closer to finding a woman.”

barked out his laugh, “You make it sound as though we’re adopting a puppy and can’t find the right one. Maybe you should try to relax. I’ve already told you that this takes time, and you need to be patient.”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, patience isn’t my strong suit,” Zane said.

“You’re kidding,” teased. His guy was the most impatient man that he had ever met. It was one of the things that attracted him to Zane. He went at a fast pace all day, every day, to get what he wanted because waiting for it to come to him wasn’t an option.

“Oh, stop,” Zane said. “You ready to head out or do you want to make fun of me some more?”

“Let’s go before you become a complete grump. I’m betting women don’t like a grumpy ass man,” said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Zane grumbled. “I’m driving.” followed Zane out to the garage and slipped into the passenger seat of Zane’s car.

“We need a bigger garage if you’re going to keep all of these cars and trucks,” insisted. Zane had two sports cars, one luxury SUV, and a pickup truck. usually had to park his truck outside, not that he minded. His old place had off-street parking, so Zane’s driveway was a step up for him.

“I’ll consider getting rid of one or two of them, but I’m also thinking about building an additional garage, over to the side of the driveway.” rolled his eyes at Zane and laughed.

“You’ll have a bigger garage than you will a house,” he teased.

“Right, but we’ll be able to get a few more cars,” Zane said.

“Ugg, I’m never going to get to park in the garage, am I?” grumbled.

“We’ll see,” Zane said. They rode most of the way to the bar in silence and when they pulled into the parking garage across the street and parked, suddenly felt more tired than he had in weeks. He was tired of going to bars and trying to choose a woman who appealed to both of them. He was quickly realizing that Zane was a very picky man and at this rate, worried that they’d never agree on a woman.

Zane got out of the car and started to walk to the parking garage elevator. When he realized that wasn’t following him, he stopped and looked back. “You coming?” he shouted.

got out of the car and sighed. “Sorry,” he said. “I guess I’m just more tired of all of this than I thought.”

“You were the one who told me that we had to keep trying. Or was your pep talk all a lie?” Zane asked.

They stepped onto the elevator and waited for the doors to close. “I wasn’t lying. I just didn’t realize how much I hate doing this. I’m tired too, Zane.”

“Okay, I think we’re on the same page then. How about we say that this trip to a bar will be our last? We can try other ways to meet women,” Zane said.

“I hate to say it, but I think that’s a good idea. I need a break,” said. He grabbed his guy’s hand and crossed the street. He opened the door to the bar and smiled at people talking and laughing. Bagpipes had been one of their favorite spots since they got together. He loved how lively the place was and how much fun people seemed to be having there.

“The place is packed tonight,” Zane said. “Can you grab us two seats at the bar? I forgot my wallet in your car,” nodded and watched Zane Walk out to the parking lot. He headed for the bar and almost stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Dakota Ballerini sitting at the bar. She worked at the same precinct as he did, and they had a couple of cases together. She was his walking wet dream, not that he'd ever tell her that.

Zane walked back into the bar, almost plowing into the back of . “Woah,” he breathed. “You okay?” Zane asked.

“Yes,” said, not taking his eyes off Dakota. “You see that woman sitting at the end of the bar?”

“The brunette?” Zane asked.

“Yeah,” whispered. “I know her. She’s a cop at the same precinct as me. We’ve worked a few cases together.”

“You know Dakota too?” Zane asked. “She’s Ross’ little sister. I’ve had a crush on her since I was a teenager.”

“Did you two ever go out?” asked.

“No,” Zane breathed, “I never asked her out because I didn’t want to break the bro code with Ross. I’d never to that to him. He’s one of my best friends and telling him that I thought that his younger sister was hot probably wouldn’t have gone over well.”

“No, I don’t think that it would have,” agreed. “I wanted to ask her out, but my boss would have had a fit if I had,” said. “Not that he could stop me from dating her anyway. The police force wouldn’t care unless we were partners, and we’re not.”

“I have a question,” Zane whispered into ’s ear, “if we both like her and wanted to ask her out, why are we still standing here?”

“Fuck if I know,” said.

“She looks like she’s drowning her sorrow in those shots of whisky,” Zane said.

“Yeah, her partner died tonight. It was all over the precinct. She was shot by a drug dealer and I’m betting Ballerini isn’t taking it very well. They were close,” whispered. He was happy that as a police detective, he didn’t have a partner. He was a homicide investigator and worked better on his own.

“Oh God, that’s awful. I wonder if Ross knows,” Zane said.

shrugged, “Not sure, but I’m betting he does. He came downtown and picked her up from the office after her shift.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something that Ross would do,” Zane said. “Listen, maybe we should leave her alone and try another night?”

“No, if for no other reason than to know she’s okay, I want to talk to her,” said. “She has three empty shot glasses in front of her and I need to know that she’s not driving herself home. It could ruin not only her life but her career.”

“Always the cop,” Zane said, lightly kissing ’s lips. “Come on. You take her left side, and I’ll take her right. We’ll feel her out and if she seems willing, then we can take her home, sober her up, and if she agrees, discuss making her our third.”

“What about Ross and your bro code?” asked.

“I’ll figure that out later—if she says yes. Let’s cross one bridge at a time,” Zane insisted. “Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” said. He wasn’t sure if they were making a huge mistake by choosing Dakota Ballerini, but Zane was right—they both liked her and if this crazy plan worked out, they might end up being the happiest two bastards on the planet.