He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone went off. After a quick check, he sent an apologetic look to Rowdy.
“Sorry to abandon you, doll. Daddy Big Bucks calls.”
Skylar slid off the barstool and waited for me to take it; a kindness in this crowded bar, even as his eyes narrowed. He was still staring at me as he bussed both of Rowdy’s cheeks.
Pretty sure there was a warning in those sharp eyes.
Rowdy, unaware of our silent exchange, grinned and gave his friend a quick hug. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Skylar refocused on Rowdy, pursing his lips. “Now, that doesn’t give me much to work with, does it?”
Rowdy pushed his shoulder, and Skylar winked. “You know how my sugar daddy is. He won’t last long. If you want to hang out, I’ll be back in half an hour, forty-five minutes, tops.”
Rowdy pulled a face. “Eh. Haven’t had any alcohol, so I was planning on heading home tonight.”
“Fine. But text me when you get home.” Skylar kissed his cheeks. Again. “Oh, are we still on for the weekend after next?”
“Absolutely, my friend.”
Skylar beamed. “I can’t wait to give you the cabin of your dreams.”
With that, he sauntered away, several men tracking his ass as he walked out the door.
I crossed my arms as Rowdy situated himself on the barstool and drank his soda.
“What?” he asked, uncertainty in his dark eyes.
I gestured to Skylar’s retreating figure. “Did your hookup just ditch you for a sugar daddy?”
Rowdy shuddered. “God, no. Not a hookup. I told you—Skylar’s one of my best friends.”
“I’ve known you, what, two years now? How come I’ve never heard of this Skylar person?” I asked, utterly aware of how insecure I sounded.
“You don’t know everything about me,” he tossed back with an arrogant grin.
No shit.
“Fine. I guess I’ll find out more when he shows up weekend after next. To stay with you in your one-room cabin. On your single bed.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s a queen, Kess. Besides, Woody’s been nagging me to make the cabin my own, and Sky offered to help.”
“Yeah, right. Now that I’ve met this Skylar person, I’m surprisedyoudon’t have a sugar daddy.”
I’d said it to be funny, but the joke landed like a broken ankle. Rowdy looked ill at the words, an expression that was there and gone in a second. I felt five kinds of wrong-footed and couldn’t shake the feeling that’d been growing since our encounter at my housewarming: I did not have the full story on Rowdy Lockwood.
And once again, I’d stumbled into some invisible miscalculation of the man in front of me.
Rowdy straightened his shoulders, tossing me a smirk. “You can miss me with a sugar daddy. I have zero interest in that kind of exchange.”
I lightly shoved his shoulder, hoping to get us back on track. “Besides, isn’t a sugar daddy too much of a commitment for you?”
If anything, that seemed to make Rowdy even more uncomfortable. After the briefest moment, however, he sat up and sent me a teasing smile. “You know me, Kess. Strings are for bikinis.”
I returned his smile, even as my lawyer brain fired up. Any legal professional worth their salt could spot a lie from a mile away, and Rowdy had just lied right to my face.
About what, though?
Rowdy ran a nervous hand through his beard, his nails catching my eyes. Only...
