My eyes narrow, and I shoot a glare over her head. The guys know better than to touch her around me. She’s off-limits. But that doesn’t stop Devon from trying to rile me up.

“Hi, Dev.” She smiles up at him but doesn’t relax into his body the way she does mine, and satisfaction fists in my gut. Maybe it’s masochistic to notice these things, but I can’t help it. She’s my addiction. And if I can’t touch her the way I want, then the second best thing is to hold onto that special place she carved out for me in her heart when we were kids. I’ve never come close to losing it before, and I don’t intend to now.

“I hear you’ve been looking for a man,” Devon says, his attention fully on Sydney.

I want to wring his neck, but it’s not exactly his fault he’s goading me so much. As far as he and Jase know, I’m protective of Sydney because she’s my friend. Like a sister. They don’t realize I freak the fuck out when anyone lays their hand on her or flirts with her because she’s mine. At least, in my head she is. In reality, she’d probably laugh her ass off if I said as much.

Okay, she wouldn’t. She’s too nice for that. But she knows I can’t give her what she wants, and based on how she reacted the other day, she wouldn’t hesitate to remind me of that.

“Just starting the search,” she replies, her tone tense. She doesn’t know how I feel about her, but she senses that her love life makes me a little crazy and probably doesn’t want to antagonize me when we’re smoothing things over. “I’ve been on a couple of dates but haven’t met anyone I want to go on a second one with yet.”

Covering my mouth, I try to hide my relief. Based on her expression, I fail.

“It’s a pity Gabe outlawed every guy at the gym, or you’d have plenty to choose from.”

Devon seriously has a death wish.

Sydney laughs. “That doesn’t bother me. Dating someone from the gym could get messy if it went wrong. I’m best to keep my romantic life separate from my friends until I meet someone I can see a future with.”

“Smart move,” Lena says. “Plenty of options online, anyway. No need to go fishing in the gym’s pool.”

I take Sydney’s hand, give it a squeeze, and swallow past the boulder in my throat. “You’ll find the right guy. He’s out there, and once he finds you, he won’t let go.”

“Aww.” Her expression softens, and emotion shines in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Releasing her hand, I set mine firmly on my lap before I do something stupid like raise her palm to my lips and kiss it.

“No problem. It’s what you deserve.”