Entering the building, I was grateful that I’d left my bulky coat on my passenger seat.The place was packed and warm.I had to weave around groups, perfumes and body odor mixed with the smell of alcohol.But I’d only found one sticky spot on the floor from a spilled beverage, so the patrons weren’t too rowdy, yet.
Emmett was where he had promised to be.He leaned one elbow on the bar sipping his beer.Missy sat on a stool next to him.
Her blond hair was pulled into a simple bun, combined with her oversized, black-rimmed glasses and loose-fitting black tunic she looked far too sophisticated for the area, let alone the bar—which was nice in a rugged kind of way.The walls were lined with wooden booths.Circular tables stood in the center, and black steel beams stretched across the ceiling.A large well-lit mirror hung behind tiers of alcohol.
When Emmett spotted me, he straightened and a little smile pulled at his lips.
He was slightly taller than the average man, and the trim fit of his blue sweater and jeans elongated his frame.His strong jaw was covered in a full, black beard, and his dark brown eyes were lined in long swooping lashes.
“You made it,” Missy said, her voice deep for such a tiny woman.
Lifting his beer off the bar, Emmett offered, “Do you want a drink?”
I couldn’t keep myself from scanning the packed room.If Remi was in it, I’d spot him.Not just because he was taller than most of the human race, but because my eyes liked to find him.They would land on him no matter where we found ourselves.
Not for the first time, I reminded myself,Noticing is not the same as action.
Had I taken an eyeful of my ex-husband that morning?The sprawl of his frame on the sofa, too big to fit.The fine lines from the corners of his eyes.His slightly parted perfectly shaped pink lips.The reddish brown of his eyelashes and in the stubble on his jaw warm against his skin.
Yes.
Had it rekindled the desire I’d struggled with all night?
Again, yes.
Had I acted on my unfortunately lusty thoughts?
No.
I’d learned the hard way to be mindful of my choices.
“Yeah, do they have a wine list?”I asked.
Missy pinched a laminated white piece of paper between her fingers and handed it to me.
Emmett leaned against the bar on his elbow.“How’s the petition coming?”
“I’m making progress.”I left out the fact that it was coming too slowly.
“You’ll get to meet pretty much everyone tonight.”Missy lifted her cocktail and scanned the crowd.“Bet Strauss just left, but Lola or Sterling might still be here.Just a warning, Sterling is the worst flirt.”
A muscle flexed in Emmett’s jaw.
I recalled the charming man with dark hair and blue eyes at the coffee shop on my first day in town.“I think I met him already.”
“He’d be good to get on your team,” Emmett said.“So would Hazel from the animal hospital, but I haven’t seen her.”
“I know her, actually.”My cheeks flushed, unexpectedly.“She was Remi’s classmate, when he and I were married.”
“Married?”Missy’s thin eyebrows arched.
“Yeah, but it was a long time ago,” I explained, even though it wasn’t really their business.
Emmett had frozen with his beer halfway to his lips.“What are the odds of that?”
Missy’s face had gone blank.It was seamless, as if she’d practiced for her therapy sessions.“Have you kept in touch since the divorce?”
I huffed a laugh.“No.”
