“Another round,” I blurt.
Both women stop and stare at me.
“What?” Rebel’s eyebrows climb.
I slam both fists on the table. “We’re going to learn how to drink tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
NATHAN
I’m so busy staring at Riley that I don’t notice McLanely passing by with April on his way to the door.
“Hey, Chance.” Layla tips her martini glass toward the Lucky Striker’s captain.
Her words shake me back to reality.
McLanely scowls at Layla, nods at me and then hustles his girlfriend out of there so fast, you’d think the building was on fire.
“That’s the first time a man’s ever runawayfrom me,” Layla muses with a chuckle.
I grunt.
“I’m noticing something strange about Lucky Falls.”
My eyes return to Riley. How could it not? It’s like my brain and my eyeballs have mutinied. I know I shouldn’t be staring like this, but I can’t take my eyes off her.
In the background, I hear Layla droning on. “All the men here are so muscular and good-looking, but they’re also incredibly…”
She lets the sentence dangle as if waiting for me to guess what she means, but I couldn’t give two rat’s tails about what Layla is mumbling about. Every muscle, every vein, everymoleculeof my body is focused on Riley.
Are the remaining mechanics going to stay and enjoy themselves some more? Or are they going home? How far does Riley live from here? Is she going to walk or drive?
I hope Riley doesn’t plan to drive. I don’t care if she told me—in so many words—not to bother her. There’s not a chance on this green earth that I’m going to let her get behind a vehicle while she’s inebriated.
Layla inhales through her teeth. “Nat.”
“What?”
I feel something poking me in the shoulder and pull my attention away from Riley to find Layla trying to impale me with her monster claws.
“Have you been infected by it too?”
“Infected by what?” I grumble.
“This town.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t get it.” She throws her hands wide. “The vibes here are so… old-fashioned.”
I stare blankly at her.
“Like, for example, I ran into this ten-out-of-ten at the grocery store. He was big. I meanreallybig. Weirdly enough, he was carrying this Hello Kitty bag, so that should have been my first clue, you know?”
A Hello Kitty bag? Is she talking about Renthrow?
“I walked up to him and asked for help to reach the can on the highest shelf and do you know what he did? He got an attendant and didn’t even talk to me. So, my first thought is that he isn’t attracted to women. But then later, this little girl called him ‘daddy’. So he obviously likes women.”
