“No, I mean, it’s fine. I just meant—” A tap on my shoulder almost made me slip off the stool.
“Easy, Cupcake.” Josh smiled and kissed my cheek. I’d never seen him in office clothes. Josh still favored T-shirts and ripped jeans, but tonight he wore a plum button-down shirt tailored to his broad frame and black pants. He extended a hand to Amanda, the colorful lines of ink peeking out of his sleeve. Okay, so maybe I did I have a crush. When it came to Josh, I had years of practice in burying my feelings. And unlike riding a bike,thatwas something I knew I could pick right back up.
I supposed Scott wasn’t the only one distracted lately.
“Nice to meet you, Josh. Finally.” Amanda threw me a wink. Josh settled onto the stool next to me and ordered whatever beer was on tap.
“So, Josh . . . you’ve known her all her life?”
Josh brought the mug of beer to his lips and nodded before setting it down. “Since we were five years old. She fed me and I hung around, like an alley cat.” He nudged my shoulder with his.
His full lips curved into a smile, and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. My happiest days growing up were always with Josh. Every good memory I had was somehow connected to him. His eyes fixed on me, the familiar bright green I knew so well. His smile widened as he gave my hand a squeeze. I took in a shaky breath and tried to shake off the jolt from his skin touching mine. The long talks, the teasing, the comfort of being in each other’s presence—all of it was exactly the same as when we were young.
Memories. That’s all it was.
Amanda gave me a quick eye roll as she looked back and forth between us. “Since you have all that history together, hit me with the really embarrassing stuff and don’t hold back!”
Josh threw his head back with a laugh. I didn’t think it was even a little sexy.Goddamn it.“Sorry to disappoint you. Other than a few falls on the ice, I don’t have any really good embarrassing stories to tell . . . Well, maybe that one Halloween.”
“Don’t. You. Dare.” I leveled my eyes at him.
“Perfect!” Amanda rubbed her hands together. “Now you have to tell me.”
“One Halloween, I think we were . . . eleven or so. She was Wonder Woman and I was Superman. She wanted the . . .” He motioned across his chest with his index finger, “ . . . breast plate or whatever to be authentic. So, she stuffed rolled up anklet socks inside. The first house we went to, she yelled trick or treat . . . and the socks popped right out of her shirt and into Mrs. Cullen’s bucket of candy.”
My cheeks heated as I dropped my head to my hands. Amanda cackled next to me.
“C’mon, Cupcake.” He rubbed my back. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think you need the socks anymore.” I elbowed his side and more laughter erupted from them both.
“Nice, pick on the chubby klutz of the neighborhood.” I glowered at Josh but couldn’t help the twitch of my lips.
Josh stopped laughing and shook his head. “You were never the chubby klutz. Don’t listen to her, Amanda. She was always beautiful—since the first day I met her.” Our eyes locked as the air thickened between us.
Josh reached into his pocket, grimacing when he glanced at the screen on his phone. “Hey, this is Uncle Billy. I need to take this. Excuse me a second.”
As Josh strode outside, I felt the weight of Amanda’s stare but refused to look her way.
“Wow, Bri,” she whispered.
“Wow what, Amanda? We’ve known each other our entire lives. It’s . . . easy between us.”
“Do you realize he didn’t stop touching you since the moment he walked in? Squeezing your hand, arm around your shoulders. Do you notice the way he looks at you? How he called you beautiful just now? Even I had goose bumps. You need to figure shit out, Bri. And fast.”
“Hey, babe!” I jumped at the sound of Scott’s voice behind me. I stiffened as he kissed my lips hello.
“What are you doing here?” I breathed, dizzy from the surprise of seeing Scott and a weird sense of being caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be.
“Todd booked drinks with another prospect after dinner tonight. He’s always scoping out this neighborhood for clients.” He nodded at Amanda. “Hey, Amanda. I forgot you guys were going out tonight. Small world.”
“Sorry about that, ladies!” I turned to Josh’s deep timbre behind me. “We’re all still getting used to this new payroll sys—Scott, hey!”
Scott’s face hardened as he reluctantly shook Josh’s hand. “Hi, Josh. I didn’t realize you were here.” He looked between Josh and Amanda and a strange recognition drifted across his face. “Is this a set up?” He laughed before turning back to me. “I was going to suggest that—”
“No,” All three of us answered. The smile faded from Scott’s face, his mouth hardening to a flat line as his eyes met mine.
“I had to take a call outside,” Josh explained. “Brianna wanted me to meet Amanda. She’s been trying to pull dirt from me, but I keep telling her I have nothing.” He cocked his head at Amanda and smiled. “I’ll move down so you can sit here—”
“No, it’s fine. I have clients waiting for us. I should get back. Goodnight, Bri.” He gave me a quick, lukewarm kiss on my forehead. “I’ll call you later.” Scott stalked to the back of the bar and didn’t give any of us a second glance.
