She shook her head, still frowning at him. “No.”
“He seems to think he has some kind of claim on you.” Adam’s wolf prowled beneath his ribcage at the thought. He didn’t like hearing that any more than Adam liked saying it. He forced him down. This woman wasn’t either of their concern.
She silently studied his face for a minute longer, then she slid off her stool and got her coat, folding it over her arm before she picked up her purse. “Thanks for the beer.” She paused. “And the interference. But I can take it from here.”
Adam grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. “Where are you going?”
“Look,” she told him. “I can take a hint. You obviously don’t want any company.” She tried to soften her words with a smile. “And I don’t want to intrude on whatever you’ve got going on here, so thanks again for helping me. But you’re right. I’m just gonna go home.”
He still didn’t let go of her arm. “What about your admirer?”
She glanced over in the direction he went. “Looks like Lucy has him distracted for the moment, so I’m just gonna sneak out.”
Adam had no idea if what she said was true or not because he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. “Stay,” he found himself saying. “Don’t let him chase you off.”
“He’s not.” She looked at Adam pointedly.
Ah. So it was him. He was the asshole now. He let go of her arm. “Okay, don’t let me chase you off. Stay. Enjoy the party.”
She glanced in the direction of the front door again and, this time, he followed her gaze. Her admirer had noticed their conversation and was now blocking her path to the door, his eyes glued to Faye.
“Come on,” Adam told her. “Stay. I promise I’ll be nice.” Well, as much as he could be after being dragged there against his will by his well-meaning friends.
“I didn’t lead him on or anything, you know,” she said. “I’m just nice to him when he comes in to get a coffee. Like I am to all of the customers. Or when a group of us hangs out. Jeff just thinks it’s more than it is, and once he gets his mind set on something, it’s hard to shake him off.”
“Okay,” Adam told her.
She hesitated, but after another quick glance toward the front door and the man waiting for her, she hung her coat back over the stool and set her purse back on the bar. He waited until she was back up on her seat, and then flagged Greg down for two more beers.
“Bud Light?” Adam asked her when she picked up her bottle. “Really?”
“Babydoll?” she countered.
He shrugged. “It was all I could come up with at the time.”
Adam took in her delicate features as she smiled and waved at another girl on the other side of the bar, her knee bouncing up and down with the music. Seemed her natural good humor had been restored. And it was natural. He could practically feel the positive vibrations emanating from her.
“So, you work at the coffee shop?”
She set down her beer and nodded. “Yeah, at The Java House.” She eyed his face and shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you there.”
“I don’t drink coffee.”
“We’ve got other stuff there, too. Tea. Smoothies. Sandwiches.”
“How long have you worked there?”
He could see her adding the time up in her head. “About eight years. Ever since I got out of high school.”
That made her about twenty-six. She looked younger. “You never wanted to do anything else?”
Those little wrinkles appeared again, and then she nodded as if everything just suddenly clicked. “So, you’re one of those guys.”
“What guys?”
Her eyes traveled over his clean-shaven face and neck, down to his designer cardigan sweater. “The kind that think they’re too good to date a girl who works at a coffee shop. Even if it is a fake relationship.”
His thumb rubbed the label of his expensive beer, still full. “I think you took my question the wrong way,” he started, knowing damn well she hadn’t.
