I looked over my shoulder again.
Not wasting time, the man had made his approach, now he waseyeing me, but when Toni made a move, he turned his attention to her.
“Incognito?”he asked like he saw women in Toni’s getup inthat bar every night.
And who knew?Maybe he did.
“Damn straight,” she replied, throwing back more winecooler.
“Cheating boyfriend?”he asked.
She tipped her bottle my way.“Baby daddy.”
I closed my eyes and sighed as his attention shifted againto me, but he’d shut down.
Men had no interest in women with children.They could goaround making them and moving on and not many women would blink in taking themon.
But a guy found out you had a kid, he was out.
It shouldn’t be surprising.If they didn’t take care oftheir own children, they wouldn’t be in to take care of yours.
Not that I’d gone out and looked, just that I was a youngmother, but I still had a life, and I wasn’t hard to look at, so I’d learned.I’d decided it was good.It kept them at bay so I could focus on Liam…
And pining for my high school boyfriend.
“Maybe I can help,” he offered.“Got a name?”
“Not one I’ll share with just anyone,” I said quickly soToni wouldn’t pipe up.
“Just trying to help,” he murmured, visibly looking for hisout.
Toni really should have taken off the scarf and sunglasses.She was way prettier than me with her round cheeks and button nose and almondeyes.
“You can help by buying a girl a martini.The bartender gotour order wrong,” Toni put in.
He and I both looked at her, and incognito was a memory.Gone was the disguise and she was blasting out her Hollywood good looks,because she had the base elements in spades, but even in high school, Tonididn’t leave the house without a full face of makeup and perfect hair, and shehadn’t changed.
This was what he got a load of right then.
So this was why he turned his wide shoulder to me and gaveher his full attention.
Her smile got big and her come hither blasted out fartherthan her Hollywood looks.
Right, I’d lost Toni.
I did my own scan, some people shifting, giving me a directshot to the back of the bar, and I froze.
The people shifted back, hiding me from her, but I’d seenher.
And she’d seen me.
Darius’s Aunt Shirleen.
Okay,nowit was official.
This was a bad idea.
“We’ve got to go,” I told Toni.
