His eyes dropped to her mouth as the smile she’d tried so hard to keep in place slipped again. She tried to keep the disappointment from her face as she let go of his wrist. “Oh. Okay.” Not knowing what else to say, she grabbed her bottle of beer and leaned back against the bar to watch the other couples as they passed by. Tears threatened at his brusque dismissal, but Faye blinked them away. She wasn’t usually so sensitive, but she’d had a hell of a day and all she’d wanted to do was come celebrate the new year with friends. And dance. And if her new fake boyfriend didn’t want to help her out on that front, well, it’s not like they were exclusive or anything. She would just go find someone else to dance with. Most of the guys who’d grown up in this town had figured out real quick that they’d better learn how if they wanted a chance with any of the girls they liked. But she also knew that as soon as she left Adam’s side, Jeff would be on her like a bur.
An awkward silence grew between them as all of this ran through her head. Faye looked around, desperate to find someone she liked to talk to. But everyone was either already dancing or engaged with other people. Chewing on the corner of her bottom lip, she fought the disappointment that threatened to rise within her.
“Come dance with me, Faye!”
Her head snapped up to find Alan George—football quarterback and homecoming king in high school—beckoning her onto the floor from the other side of a crowded table. He still dated his homecoming queen, Angela, but Faye had already seen her dancing with one of her brothers.
Knowing that Angela wouldn’t mind, Faye grinned and nodded, then turned to set her beer down on the bar.
Green eyes caught hers. “Where the hell are you going?”
“To dance,” she told him. Turns out Margo was right. He was grumpy.
He didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t give him much of a chance as she walked away, dodging the other couples and meeting Alan in the middle of the dance floor. Tall, lean, and blond, he let out a “Let’s go, girl!” and spun her around once before clasping one of her hands with his and settling the other on her hip.
Faye laughed and eased effortlessly into the dance. Even though Alan was quite a bit taller than she was, they’d danced together many times since high school and moved together almost as well as him and Angela. Halfway around the floor, they caught up with his girlfriend, and he leaned out and kissed her on the cheek as they passed by. Angela waved at Faye and laughed as Alan spun her around again.
By the time the song ended, Faye was out of breath.
“Again?” Alan asked her as Garth Brooks came over the speakers.
She nodded happily and laughed as he threw her into a spin as Garth sang about not going down till the sun came up.
Adam could sit over there and brood all he wanted to. Faye was going to enjoy herself and ring in the new year in style. And if the mere presence of her new fake boyfriend watching her from the bar kept Jeff away from her, she would be forever grateful.
Hell, she might even give him a kiss at midnight.
Chapter 3
Adam
For a damsel in distress, Faye was having a mighty fine damn time.
Without him, he might add.
The male who’d saved her.
Adam scowled as she danced past, completely ignoring him as she grinned up at her dance partner, a guy who looked like he was still in high school and who he’d seen snuggling up with another woman not thirty minutes before.
“Your scowl is extra scowly right now.” Lex Chapman, the only wolf Adam fully trusted with his life and who scared the actual hell out of him at the same time, took a seat on the empty stool that Faye had abandoned, despite the fact her coat was still slung across the back. With his shaved head and neck tattoos, he was the exact opposite of Adam in the way he looked and dressed. Biker boots, torn jeans and old T-shirts were Lex’s go to, and the two of them always got strange looks when people saw them hanging out together.
Lex waved down Greg and ordered a dark beer.
“I don’t know how you drink that stuff,” Adam told him.
Lex picked up the mug of Guinness Greg set down in front of him and tilted it toward the bottle in Adam’s hand. “I don’t know how you drink those girly beers.”
“An IPA isn’t girly.”
“If you say so.” Lex toasted him with a smirk and took a big swallow of his beer.
Adam went back to keeping an eye on Faye. He told himself that the only reason he kept his eyes glued to her was to make sure her not-so-secret admirer didn’t give her any more problems, but the way his wolf was prowling beneath his skin begged to differ.
He felt Lex’s dark eyes on him for only a few seconds before he saw him look over his shoulder and find the object of Adam’s undivided attention. “Who’s the hottie?”
“Faye,” Adam answered automatically. “My new fake girlfriend.”
“It doesn’t look so fake to me,” Lex observed.
