Cam grins. “My thoughts exactly.”
Sophia returns with Slammer, whose hand is already on her ass.
She laughs at something he says in her ear, and then she catches eyes with Luke.
Who’s unabashedly staring at her.
“And who are you?” he asks her, his blue eyes lazily scanning her from head to toe.
Sophia loves attention of any kind, and she turns on the charm. “I’m Leleila’s best friend. Sophia Loren.”
“Like the actress?” Luke says right away.
She smiles. “Nope. My mom’s a drunk who probably never should have procreated, and she named me that accidentally.”
Sophia may not have caught the way Luke flinches at her story, but I did. He covers by saying hey to Slammer, and then a woman proceeds to scream his name and throw herself at him.
His easy-going attitude returns, and he gives the red-headed woman a squeeze while he flirts with her. Sophia rolls her eyes and returns to flirting with Slammer. But Luke’s attention keeps flicking back to Sophia, who’s acting oblivious.
“Hey, Sophia Loren,” he calls over as the redhead huffs and walks away.
Sophia twists around in Slammer’s arms. “What?”
A smile plays around his lips. “How come you’re in a bar if your mom’s an alcoholic?”
“Christ, Luke.” Brayden glares at him. “Try the polite route once in a while. It won’t kill you.”
Sophia’s face turns red.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her embarrassed.
She steps away from Slammer and walks right up to Luke. Then she keeps walking until he backs up a step. His eyes are burning into hers, and she jabs her index finger at his chest.
“You. Don’t talk about my mother again. Ever.” Another finger jab. “Only I can talk about my own mother, not some cocky-ass cowboy who looks like he had to quit the rodeo a little early. Are we clear, Mr. Wild?”
Luke clears his throat as he and Sophia continue to engage in some sort of long-ass staring contest.
He breaks first. “We’re clear, Ms. Loren.”
She steps back from him. “Good.” Then, she whips around, her hair flying off her back, and returns to Slammer’s side.
I take a seat at the bar, sensing this is going to be a long night.
* * *
A couple hours later, I’m sitting on the same bar stool with Brayden and Sophia on either side of me. I’m on my second beer and have a little buzz going, and I haven’t seen anything but Sophia’s back for the last hour. She’s been wrapped up in a tongue-wrestling match with Glenn Slammer.
Luke has disappeared somewhere, and Brayden and I are chatting with the others. Everyone’s really friendly, and I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed hanging out at a bar. The few times Sophia has dragged me to one, I’ve counted down the minutes until we could leave. My party side began and ended with one bad night all those years ago. Even through four years of college, I never enjoyed socializing.
But tonight, I’m having fun.
When Cam, Ayden, and Brayden get into a long conversation about football and the Cougars’ chances to repeat as champions, Jasalie and Bella huddle around my stool. They’re both genuinely nice, and Jasalie tells me about her upcoming wedding renewal. I’ve been to the venue she’s looking at tomorrow, and it’s beautiful.
“I’m not getting married in anything other than the city courthouse,” I say with a laugh. “But one of my sister’s employees got married at The Montana Club, and it’s very nice. You’ll love it.”
Jasalie and Bella both furrow their brows.
“What?” I ask them in confusion.
