I look over at him. He’s staring up at the bar with a grin on his face, and I’m about to tell him to stop looking at my girl like that.
But when I pay closer attention to the line of his gaze, I realize he isn’t looking at Emery.
“Since when did you catch feelings for Jamie Beth?” I say to him quietly.
“Fuck off, Michael.”
Cooper is good-natured ninety-nine percent of the time, so when he reacts defensively, I know I’ve touched a nerve.
“I won’t say a word,” I promise him. “I’ve got my own stuff to deal with.”
“You and Emery?” Cooper says back. “What’s that about?”
“I like her.” I’m surprised the words come out of me so honestly.
Cooper raises his eyebrows, and he looks so much like Luke I nearly smile.
“That’s good,” he says. “I’m happy for you.”
I’m happy, too. I just don’t know what to do about our looming expiration date.
As the song ends, Emery and Jamie Beth jump off the bar, and Emery flies into my arms.
I catch her, and she kisses me hard.
“That was so much fun!” she says.
I grin at her. “I’m glad.”
I find myself grinning a lot since I met Emery. I used to honest-to-God go days without cracking a smile.
Emery leans her head back against my chest, and I put my arm around her.
She whispers something I can’t hear.
“What’s that, babe?” I bend my head closer to her mouth.
“Those tequila shots are really hitting me hard,” she murmurs. “I don’t usually drink hard alcohol.”
I glance over at Sophia and Jamie Beth, who are still pounding their drinks. I have an idea where all the free-flowing alcohol came from.
“Do you want me to take you home?” I ask Emery.
“Please.”
We say our goodbyes, with Emery needing my arm around her to stay upright.
She falls asleep in the truck on the way home to theranch. By the time I park in front of her cabin, her hair is covering her face, and she’s slouched over with one cheek pressed against the side window.
I get out of the truck and walk around to the passenger side. All her weight is against the window, so I open the door slowly and take her in my arms when she pitches forward.
She snuggles into my chest, and I carry her to her cabin, realizing too late I don’t have her key.
“Emery,” I whisper to her.
“Mmm.”
“Honey, where’s your key?”
