Knox yells out the lyrics with zero shame, gyrating his hips with a certain gusto that should be studied. And then there’s the cheesy grin painted on his lips that shows he doesn’t give a shit what anybody thinks. Especially because every wink, air kiss, and cheesy hip roll is aimed straight at me.
And the crowd eats it up.
I can’t help the laughter that keeps bubbling out of me. My stomach starts to hurt from giggling so hard that I don’t care when Knox belts out the chorus while pointing straight at me.
Chaotic whoops and hollers drown my ears to the point I can barely hear his voice above the music. By the time the final note hits, he’s panting, and his curly blond hair is sticking to his forehead. He dramatically bows to his adoring fans and throws his hat at me like he’s a rock star, and I’m his salacious groupie. I catch the hat with both hands and nod to him as the room erupts with applause.
My face feels flushed when he jumps off the stage and makes his way straight to me.
“How’d I do?” he asks, leaning in close so I can hear him. His hand reaches out to my waist for balance, causing me to stumble and place my own hands on his shoulders.
“G-good,” I say, fumbling my words. I want to shoot myself in the foot when my eyes flicker to his lips. He reacts instantly.
His eyes darken, and my core tightens. “If I didn’t know any better, Bambi, I’d say you look like you want to kiss me right now.”
I swallow hard for the millionth time tonight—surprised I have any saliva to spare at this point. His words from earlier float through my mind. “You don’t know any better.”
His easy grin turns slow and almost predatory. “Maybe not, but I’d like to think I’m getting good at reading you. It doesn’t hurt that I can feel how fast your heart is pumping.”
I blink slowly—tongue tied yet again. “I believe I was promised burgers, not a psychoanalysis,” I recover.
Knox doesn’t pull away. Instead, his heated glare stays trained on my own. He leans back slightly, but only to trace the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. Chills crawl up my back and my lungs forget how to expand.
“You’re right,” he says, dousing cold water on whatever spell he’s cast on me. Although his voice is pitched lower than normal. It could be the song he just belted or something else. “Let’s go.”
My legs wobble as I step away. I feel his hat in my hand and almost forget that I’m holding it. I toss it at him like we’re playing an intense game of hot potato. “I need to go tell Marie I’m leaving. She’s probably pissed at me for ditching her.”
“I’m not so sure,” he says with a stupid grin on his face. “Looks like she’s taking all her anger out on Beau right now.”
I follow his eyes to another dark corner of the bar and furrow my brow when I see Marie in a heated conversation with Knox’s friend. She looks pissed. “Is that Beau?”
“Sure is.” He smiles. “He was right when he said she hated him.”
“I should go over there and break it up,” I say, getting ready to push through the crowd, but before I can get too far, he grabs my elbow.
“Let them sort it out, Bambi. Who knows. Maybe they’ll end up hate fucking by the end of the night.”
I rear my head back and give him a disappointed glare, but decide to leave it alone for now. Marie is a big girl and if anyone should be worried, it’s Beau.
“Okay,” I sigh, “let’s go.”
He laughs under his breath and falls into step beside me as we push through the crowd. My cheeks still feel like they’re on fire and my stomach is an endless pile of knots. But for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel an enormous weight bearing down on my chest.
I feel light. I feel happy.
CHAPTER 14
EMERY
“This place is…cute,” Eve says, dropping her large duffel bag on the ground. My sister is only staying for two nights, and I’m pretty sure she packed half her belongings.
Klepto doesn’t waste any time investigating. He stomps over and gives the foreign object a good inspection before scampering back off to wherever he goes during the day.
“That’s a nice way to say you hate it,” I tease, grabbing two wine glasses from the cabinet. I cringe looking around at the small space. Between cleaning up the store and being diligent about my fake girlfriend duties, I haven’t had time to tidy up the overflowing trash or random antiques overtaking every surface of my place. Knox would have an aneurysm if he walked in here right now.
“Hey, almost all my paycheck goes to a townhouse in Brooklyn that I’m barely at enough to call home, so I don’t have any room to judge.”
“Mhmm,” I hum, pouring us both a generous glass of whatever red wine they sell at the market on the corner. A.K.A the only place within walking distance. I miss my truck.
