She gave me her number.
Teddy arched an eyebrow with amusement and waved the napkin at me.
“Well, well, well. My grumpy big brother has a secret admirer.”
Snickers rippled through the club, amused at our sibling drama. I gritted my teeth.
“Teddy. Give it back. Or I’ll wring your scrawny little neck.”
He grinned and pressed the napkin to his nose.
“Mmm. Perfume. She smells so sweet, brother. I bet she tastes as good as this cherry pie, too.”
Jealousy prickled up my spine. I knew Teddy was simply messing with me to get a reaction. And I had no claim on Keely anyway, so my jealousy was out of place.
It must have been an old wound acting up. Watching Stevie fall in love with another man right before my eyes had left me raw, bleeding. For a brief moment, I envisioned Teddy and Keely hitting it off, and I would be forced to watch from the sidelines again.
But Teddy wouldn’t stab me in the back like that. He was simply making a nuisance of himself because he saw the opportunity to pester me.
I lunged for Teddy, but he yipped with laughter and stepped behind Bruiser, the Enforcer, using his broad frame as a shield.
“Don’t drag me into this,” Bruiser grumbled, hunched over his sandwich at the bar.
“But I need protection,” Teddy said. “That’s your job.”
Bruiser snorted.
“You picked this fight for no good reason other than to piss off your big brother. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not my problem unless you two come to blows.Don’tdo that, by the way. Let me eat my lunch in fucking peace.”
Pretty Boy spoke up from a nearby table, waving a french fry in the air.
“In other words, fuck around and find out, Trooper. You’re on your own.”
I chuckled and took another step forward.
“Looks like no one is coming to save you, Teddy. Hand over my pie.”
Teddy snorted. “I can kick your ass any day of the week.”
Bruiser heaved a weary sigh. “For fuck’s sake.”
He snatched the container from Teddy and slid it down the bar to me. I caught it, victorious.
“Hey,” Teddy protested. “Traitor.”
He punched Bruiser’s shoulder. Bruiser didn’t even budge, immovable as a mountain.
I stowed Keely’s napkin in my cut pocket for safe keeping, away from Teddy’s prying eyes. Was I ready to give her a call? To venture into…whatever this was between us? The attraction was definitely there, mutual and reciprocated.
Scrubbing the back of my neck, I chastised myself for reading too much into it.
Maybe she was just looking for a hookup. A young, curvy waitress enamored with the tattooed bad boy who promised togive her a taste of forbidden fruit that she probably never had before.
On the other hand, that was a tempting thought—corrupting her curves a little bit. And if I had been in a better headspace, I might have jumped at the chance.
I wasn’t fucking blind. Keely had already turned my head. My palms itched to feel the softness of her hips dimpled beneath the press of my fingertips. And I would happily spend hours sucking those gorgeous heavy tits, biting and licking her nipples until she was a squirming, begging mess.
But in my current state, there was a very good chance that I would catch feelings too quickly. I couldn’t afford that right now.
