“Sorry, Gil. With school starting though, you'll be able to get ahead,” I added, still not understanding her and Fritz’s need to work despite their inheritance. I admired them for it. Money was not a part of who they were, and while they had a large nest egg, they were determined to earn their way through life.
“On the other hand, I didn't have to carry seven three-gallon coolers with blisters on my feet or be insulted. God, if Pablo called me incompetent, I would walk out on the spot.” She shook her head and held up her beer. “I admire the hell out of you, G, for putting up with Asshole Anderson. I'm glad you're sticking it out.”
I was going to correct her, tell her that things were better. But, she kept going. “Are you going to tell him your classes overlap his schedule? Please tell me you are. Those classes are important to you, and you don’t need to be suffering like this for some prick.”
I bit my lip, my stomach souring at the thought. I hoped I didn't have to tell him because I refused to show weakness. Just because he helped me last weekend and drove away the drunk man, it did not mean I trusted this new behavior. “I reached out to my teachers, and they are okay with my late arrival.”
She made a humming sound as she searched the patrons around us. Then she elbowed me like we were in high school again and her crush winked at her. “Ohmigod. How is he so good-looking? Shit. It’s not fair, really, to be that attractive and awful.”
I turned to look to see who she was talking about. I sucked in a breath, shaming myself. I should've known it was Anderson. He sat at a back booth, his arm loosely hung around the back of it. His tight thermal shirt stretched across his impressive chest. Did I think about that chest often? More than I should.
He laughed, the sound carrying across the bar, and it hit me in the solar plexus. Then, his gaze met mine. The blue, that sweet sky blue, set a shiver down my spine. This wasn't good. It was a shiver of attraction, warning, and unknown. I couldn't see who he was with, but his eyes stayed a little bit too long on me.
Gilly squealed. “Ohmigod, he just checked you out. Oh shit. Gracie, he's so hot.”
“Gil, there’s no—”
“He's walking over. Right now. Holy shit.”
She hit me. Then, she hit me again.
I looked up and saw, in fact, that he was walking over toward us. His hand was clasped to a woman, a drop dead gorgeous woman. Her legs were long. Her perfect hair flowed. My stomach dropped from the stool to the floor, and that made no sense. None at all. I didn't like the guy. Why did this bother me?
His attention stayed on me the entire walk toward the stool, and he stopped. His jaw tensed, the blue eyes dark now. Shit, this wasn't good. “Grace, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Anna wanted to meet you.”
“Uh, hi.” I gave him a puzzled look, smiling awkwardly at said Anna. “I'm Grace.”
“Nice to meet you. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I didn't quite believe Brock here that he had to scare off a drunk guy from you.” Her pretty eyes softened, making her look adorable. “Is that true?”
I looked at him, trying to read his face. It was a mask. It was a vault, giving nothing away. Just the nostril flare. I shrugged, hearing Gilly gasp. “Yeah. It happened before my friend got here.”
“What?” Gilly yelled. “You weren't going to tell me?”
“I might've. It wasn't a big deal, Gillyweed,” I told her, not taking my eyes away from Anderson and his date.
“The guy ran out of here, so it worked,” I said, hating how his intense stare made me nervous all of a sudden.
Anna smiled, relief in her eyes. “Damn. I'm so sorry that happened to you, hon. So, you work with Brock?” Her voice was sweet, sickly sweet, and endearments like hon were one of my pet peeves. It was condescending, letting me know she thought I was a young kid. I bit back a mean response. Two scenarios ran through my head. A, I could tell the truth and ease the poor insecure woman's mind. For whatever reason, she didn't trust Brock. The thought made me laugh. Or B, I could make this hard for Anderson.
Goals. Put my goals first. Being an athletic trainer. Rehabbing athletes.
It was difficult, but I swallowed down all the retorts going through my brain. “Actually, I workfor him.”
“Aw, how cute. Isn’t he just the best?” she said, snuggling into his bad arm. He winced, but he made no move to adjust her position.
“Sure,” I said, making sure to not meet Anderson’s eyes.
“I was telling him how I wish I could work with athletes. I have a knack for helping those who get hurt, you know? I’m really friendly and not afraid to get down and dirty. You are so lucky you get to work with him. How did you get selected?”
It took so much effort not to roll my eyes. Why was this lady saying this to me and how dare she question my position? I gave her my best smile. “I have a gift for recognizing injuries, even when that person is trying to be a tough guy about it. And I know not to put unnecessary strain on an old injury, for instance hanging all over someone’s arm when ”
Her face paled, and she jumped away from Anderson, issuing apologies in a high-pitched voice that could’ve caused glass to shatter.
Anderson’s mouth flattened, and he glared at me, but I could only shrug. I wasn’t wrong, and she hurt him. I saw it.
He didn’t say anything—nor did I—then he ushered hisdateaway back toward their booth.
I took a long swig before acknowledging Gilly. I was sure she had thoughts. “Well?”
