His eyes flash with a fleeting emotion I can’t identify before he says in a low tone only meant for me to hear, “Let’s talk later.”
With no idea what he’s getting at, I simply nod and turn back to the rest of the group.
For the next hour, we all chat amicably about casual things. Hockey, horses, and the unusually warm fall weather in Missoula this year. I finish a third beer, and I’m feeling sleepier than I am buzzed. The time change is definitely affecting me. It’s not even nine o’clock.
“You tired?” Jared murmurs.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll take you home whenever you’re ready. I need to turn in early myself.”
“We should feed Louie too.”
“We should.”
I catch eyes with him, and we share a smile before I turn back to the rest of the group.
Across from us, Max shifts his gaze from Jared to me. When I catch his eyes, he gives the barest hint of a smirk before turning to ask Jared a hockey-related question.
“The temperature in this booth sure went up a notch when the boys arrived,” Jamie Beth murmurs on my other side. “One boy in particular.”
“Not because of me,” I say back to her. “I’m just minding my own business.”
“Catching up with an old friend,” she says like she knows exactly how to continue the narrative I want to stick to.
“Yes,” I say gratefully. “No biggie.”
“Don’t you hate when someone you know isn’t right for you turns your insides out?” she says like she knows.
I turn to her in surprise. “Do you have a similar situation?”
“Not really. Well, let’s just say I know what it feels like to have a nuclear attraction to someone that I have no intention of dating.”
“Ah.” I glance at her face, which is half-hidden by her gorgeous red hair, and I catch the hint of a blush on her cheeks. “It’s not a Storm brother, is it?”
She breaks into laughter. “Definitely not. I don’t go for hockey guys. I barely understand the sport. I’m more of a cowboy girl. Despite my absolute best efforts not to be.”
I silently wonder who the cowboy is that Jamie Beth unwillingly desires and if his last name is Wild.
Before I can decide whether or not I’m drunk enough to ask her something so private, Haley announces she needs to use the restroom.
“I forget where it is,” she says with a giggle.
Everyone laughs, but I tell her I need to go too, so we make our way through the bar together.
After going into separate stalls, we stand next to one another at the sinks and wash our hands.
“You should say something to him,” Haley says to me with a confident nod. “About your conflicted feelings.”
“What?” I say. “To Jared?”
“Uh-huh.” She takes off her glasses to clean them, and I marvel at how crystal blue her eyes are.
“Why?” I ask her curiously. “Why would I say something?”
Haley’s state of inebriation appears to be making her more open. “Because you want to.”
I stare at her. “Do I though?”
