Gage signaled a waiter, settled the check, while Bobby and Cleveland tossed large bills on the table for the gratuity. “Karla, you can leave your car here in the lot, while I drive everyone over to the Quarter. Afterwards, I’ll bring y’all back.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Tonya winked at Gage when he reached for her hand and led her out of the club and into the cool nighttime air. “I like your friends,” she said in a quiet voice.
He dropped a kiss on her hair. “I had to tell Cleve to back up because he wanted to know if you’re available.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him hell no!”
Tonya felt something inside her she thought she would never feel again—a relationship. Being with Gage made her aware that she had unconsciously closed herself off from becoming romantically involved with a man. Even the few she had slept with after her divorce accused her of being cold, standoffish; she was neither, but she held back, unable to give all of herself because she feared she would lose what she’d fought so hard to acquire: independence.
