Devotion (Club Destiny #7) by Nicole Edwards

Dylan’s avoidance.
    After giving the situation a lot of thought, Cole realized what was going on with Alex probably wasn’t entirely work related. Considering the man was about to get married to Dylan’s sister, the whole situation was a little more personal than he had anticipated. Even if Alex wasn’t admitting as much.
    As he continued to the next office, directly across from the one that Alex had assigned to him, Cole stopped. He could hear Alex’s voice, and based on the long pauses and one sided discussion, it was clear he was on the phone. The door was open so Cole poked his head in, wanting to let Alex know he was there. Just when he was going to escape to his office until Alex was finished, his boss waved him inside.
    Hesitantly, he moved forward, foregoing the chair opposite Alex’s desk. He opted to lean up against the wall just in case Alex ended up needing more privacy for the phone call. Not to mention, there was no telling how the conversation he intended to have was going to go, and Cole wasn’t interested in staying long if Alex opted to avoid his questions as had become his M.O.
    “Thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Alex said to the person on the other end before returning the phone to its cradle. “Hey.” Alex spared him a quick glance, taking a deep breath, looking both tired and agitated.
    “I can come back if you need me to.” Cole didn’t like that idea, but he didn’t want to barge in on Alex if he wasn’t prepared to talk either.
    “No, it’s fine. Take a seat. You make me nervous hovering above me like that,” Alex stated, his attempt at humor falling flat.
    Cole took a seat in the chair across from Alex, resting his hands on his stomach and crossing one ankle over the opposite knee, hoping he appeared more relaxed than he felt.
    “What brings you in?”
    “Oh, you know, I just figured it was time you and I talked,” Cole said calmly.
    “About?” Alex sounded genuinely surprised.
    “First of all, you’re both frustrated and pissed off. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve known you for quite some time. It’s obvious something’s wrong.”
    “Fuck.” Alex’s frustrated exhale was followed by him leaning back in his chair and thrusting his hands through his hair.
    “Problems?”
    Alex didn’t immediately respond, instead turning to face the picture window behind him, offering up a fairly decent view of the Dallas skyline in the distance. Without getting an answer, Cole knew there were issues. Thankfully, he and Alex had been friends for a while, so he felt fairly comfortable asking the difficult questions, but in doing so, he knew he might risk affecting their working relationship. Since Alex was doing a fine job of the latter all on his own, Cole decided to take his chances.
    “What the hell’s going on?” Cole broke the silence after a couple of minutes, figuring it was now or never.
    “It’s Dylan,” Alex said after a long pause.
    “What’s Dylan?” Cole knew Dylan had been having problems with depression brought on with his wife’s death over eight years before, and from what he learned recently, it wasn’t getting any better. There for a short while, Dylan appeared to be on the mend somewhat, even dating Jake’s aunt, Sarah. But lately, after having taken two steps forward, it appeared Dylan was in the process of taking twenty steps back. He’d become an almost permanent fixture, bellied up to the bar at the club as Luke was to tell it.
    “He’s drinking. A lot.” Alex turned to face Cole and the concern on his face said it all. There was no misunderstanding the look in his eyes.
    “How bad?”
    “Bad.”
    “Have you tried to talk to him about it?” Cole knew Luke hadn’t because he’d asked him recently. Luke wasn’t known for his emotional, heartfelt conversations, and quite frankly, Cole was pretty sure Luke avoided them at all costs.
    “A few weeks ago, maybe. I tried talking to him, but as you can see,” Alex motioned with his hands as