A man spills through the doorway, his stride lurching and his eyes unfocused.
My eyes go wide.
“Boone! It’s that guy!” I whisper sharply, pointing a finger at the jerk in question and scoot closer to my southern hero.
“He’s drunk out of his mind,” Boone mutters from beside me. He places one hand protectively on my knee and unexpected butterflies swirl in my stomach.
I gaze down at his hand, trying to figure out why my whole leg feels like it’s pleasantly burning beneath Boone’s touch. I almost never want him to let go of me.
My over-the-top reaction has to be caused by the fact that I haven’t had a man act like this toward me in a long time, especially a man as good-looking as Boone.
The gross guy from downstairs swivels around as if trying to find someone. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach that the someone he’s looking for is me. I honestly hadn’t expected him to chase Boone and me up here. I thought the loud music, fancy bar, and beautiful babes downstairs would keep him occupied.
I turn helplessly toward Boone, but he’s already working on the issue. He flags down one of the nearby servers and whispers something to him while pointing at the sleazeball.
The waiter nods and vanishes through a side door as I plaster myself against Boone’s side in an attempt to hide from the jerk looking for me. Boone scoops me up into his lap, turning me into his chiseled chest to hide me. He adjusts the coat around my shoulders to drape over my little black dress.
“What about you?” I ask, voice muffled by his shoulder.
“I can promise you that guy is too drunk to remember who I am. Plus, he definitely wasn’t paying any attention to my face to begin with,” he whispers against my hair, his breath warming my scalp.
A slow, delicious shiver rolls up my spine.
Boone shields me with his arms, but his body is tense like he’s considering carrying me Superman-style right down the stairs if the sleazeball looks this way. Thankfully, before he has to resort to that, the server reappears with a few more burly men, including the bouncer manning the door earlier. I peek over the edge of Boone’s jacket and his strong arms to watch. The bouncer flashes us a thumbs up before grabbing the jerk by the scruff and hustling him away. Relief pools in my core. I’m sure that’ll be the last we see of that troublemaker.
“Thank you again,” I gush, beaming at Boone. “I guess even if you’re not interested in our little business deal, I still owe you big. You rescued me twice in one night.”
Boone eases me down onto the cushion beside him, but his arms linger around me for a moment.
“Who says I'm not interested?” he quips. A smile slowly spreads across his face and his blue eyes glint in the dark evening light.
My breath lodges in my lungs. “Seriously?” I shriek a little too loudly because a few people look curiously over at us, but I’m too exhilarated to care.
Boone nods and I throw my arms around his neck. I squeeze him tightly, all the while quietly squealing, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Slowly, he pulls away and clears his throat, his eyes shifting momentarily toward the ground.
A strange, nearly unreadable expression briefly clouds his face and I think I already know what it is.
Had I seen a hint of an old wound in his eyes? Though Boone claims to be over this ex that stomped on his heart, I have a feeling he might still be troubled by it. I understand that, though. Feelings are complicated, but fortunately this relationship won’t be.
No drama, no real feelings—all simplicity. That’s the deal.
Abruptly, my phone trills from my clutch. I scoop up the small bag to peek inside and catch sight of the clock on my phone’s face.
“Is that the time?” I yelp in surprise.
I can’t believe how late it’s gotten. While Boone and I were chatting, hours had slipped away like minutes. I’d promised the girls I’d be back by midnight and the seconds are counting down. I don’t want them to worry about me, especially since I’m out on my own tonight.
Turning toward my fake boyfriend, I offer a big smile. “It’s almost twelve. I’ve got to head out.”
“Do you really, Cinderella?” he teases.
I dig out an old receipt for a pack of gum from my purse and scribble my number on it before thrusting it into his palm. Then I jump to my feet while hastily ordering an Uber on my phone. Thankfully, because it’s so busy tonight, tons of drivers are roaming the street.
“This has been really fun, Boone, and—” I say, but he shakes his head and climbs to his feet.
“You think I’m going to let you walk down there by yourself after that guy tried to bother you? There’s no way I’d treat my girl like that.”
