“Young, hot, and no strings attached. What is she offering that youdon’twant?”
“Maybe I want the strings,” I replied, glancing over at Erica once again.
She was already looking my way with a frown on her face. The fire in her eyes wasn’t desire this time. She looked pissed.
Why was that so hot?
Picking up my half-empty beer, I stood.
“Where are you going?” Moves asked.
“I’m gonna go get what Idowant.” Erica’s eyes widened as I approached her table, stopping at the empty seat between her and Swole. “Can I sit here?”
“Sure,” Erica said, her voice taking on a husky quality as she spoke.
I settled into the seat, looking at the three women around me. “Hope I’m not intruding on a girls night out.”
“Not at all,” Tammy quickly assured me. Her smile and the way her eyes flitted back and forth between me and Erica made it clear that she saw the chemistry between us. I was sure that everyone did. It felt too powerful to ignore.
Swole didn’t say anything, but rolled her eyes at me. For someone that had been married to the love of her life for damn near twelve years, she was hopelessly unromantic.
“Actually, Tammy and I were just about to play a game at one of the tables,” Swole said, nodding to the pool tables on the far side of the room.
“We were?” Tammy asked. Swole gave her an impatient look. “Right. We were.”
They both stood and scampered away.
“Well, good thing that wasn’t completely obvious, huh?” Erica asked, flashing me a small grin that brought a dimple in her cheek.
Yeah, they were obvious about it, but I was glad to have this time alone with Erica. Well, as alone as I could get while in a crowded bar.
“They mean well,” I told her.
“I’m sure. They’re the whole reason I’m here tonight. Tammy talked me into it.”
“I’m glad.” Reaching out, I laid my hand on top of her smaller one on the table. “I’d been hoping to run into you again, but I’m not exactly the yoga type.”
“You sure? Lot’s of men do it.”
“Men like me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well… no,” she admitted. “You do seem more like a weightlifter.”
I flexed my arm muscles, and she giggled, slapping my chest playfully. Erica’s phone buzzed on the table, and she picked it up. I saw that it was a text message notification, but looked away so that I wasn’t reading it over her shoulder. She took a moment to type a quick reply before setting the phone down and turning back to me.
“Sorry about that. I left my son with a new babysitter, and I asked her to check in with me occasionally.”
Erica paused, watching me closely, an almost defiant look in her eye. I had the feeling she was looking for my reaction to the news of her kid. It felt like a test. Normally, I didn’t go in for mind games like that, but I couldn’t help admiring her for putting her kid first. I had no doubt that if I showed displeasure about there being a kid in the picture that she would end this before it even started.
“What’s his name?”
Surprise flickered across her face, but she recovered quickly. “Dominic. This is him.”
Opening her phone, she showed me the background picture. It was a picture of Erica with her arms wrapped around a young boy as they both smiled at the camera. They both looked happy, and Erica’s hair was different.
“So, you used to be a redhead?”
“What?” Erica went pale, as she turned, and saw the picture she’d shown me. “No, no. That’s not. I mean, obviously I did have red hair, but I didn’t mean for you to see that.”
