I quickly pushed him back inside. "That was my engagement ring. If you threw it away, I'll have to find another one just like it to give back to Noah."
"When do you plan to give it back?" Huston leaned against the shoe cabinet, his breath lightly brushing my face as he spoke.
It was one thing to be close on the bed, but off it, I wasn't comfortable with such intimacy. I subtly stepped back, pressing myself against the door, and whispered, "Definitely not now."
He said, "Then come find me when you've made up your mind."
Noah rarely introduced me to his friends, so I didn't know much about Huston. He dated several girls in college, but none ever spoke ill of him.
They say you see someone's true character after a breakup, so he was either genuinely a good guy, or he treated everyone the same. Whether it was Jane or Jill, anyone who was with him got the same treatment, which might explain why none of his relationships lasted.
That night, Noah invited a few extra people over, with Ava arriving first and Huston last.
My skills at poker were about the same as playing a match-three game—I hadn't won a single round. Huston stood beside me for a while, and someone, seeing how badly I was losing, suggested Huston play on my behalf to win back some of my losses.
"If anyone's going to help, it should be Noah. Dumplings are dumplings, but a sister-in-law is still a sister-in-law."
"They're a family; it doesn't matter who helps."
One moment, I felt relieved by that distant joke about our complicated family connections, but the next, my heart was in my throat.
Huston sat in my spot, and as I stood, I noticed the necklace around his neck, with my engagement ring hanging from it. Fortunately, his shirt quickly covered it up, and no one else noticed.
Huston won three hands in a row, and all the money Ava had won from me was now his. She called out to Noah as she usually did, "Noah, help me with my hand."
"Ask Rodney to help," Noah might have been avoiding suspicion, given that I was right there. He turned to Huston and asked, "Why do you keep yawning? Did you stay up late last night?"
Huston smiled, "Yeah, didn't get much sleep."