Leaning across the bar, she passes a patron his drink, laughing again as she plucks folded up money from his fingers.
I stop walking, frozen in my tracks as I watch her.
Not paying attention, Jensen crashes into my back. “Shit. Sorry, didn’t see you stop.” He looks around at all of the packed tables. “It’s busy as hell in here.”
“Yeah. Kind of crazy for a Thursday night.”
“So which one is she?” he asks, looking in the direction of the bar.
I’m grateful he was able to come with me tonight, not that I need a wingman, but having someone in my corner is nice.
“There.” I lift my chin in Indy’s direction.
“Who? The pink hair?” The surprise in Jensen’s voice is apparent, but I can’t be bothered to glance at him.
Not when Indy’s eyes meet mine.
A dozen emotions flicker across her face as she processes that I’m here in the flesh. Heat flares through me when she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip and drops her gaze, fighting a smile.
“Yeah,” I say, satisfaction settling deep in my chest. “That’s her.”
“You’ve been letting Dylan dictate your relationship withher? Are you out of your mind? She’s beautiful.”
If he only knew how full of regret I am for wasting so much time.
A high-top a few feet away clears out and we make our way over to it, claiming our seats before someone else can snag them.I don’t love that we’re now in the center of the bar, but I shrug off my jacket regardless, draping it over the back of my chair.
When I settle in, I go back to watching Indy, my new seat giving me the perfect view of her. She moves around behind the bar with ease, oozing confidence and authority as she barks orders and mixes drinks.
A few men sitting at the bar slide from their stools when two bikers walk up behind them and gesture for them to vacate. I’m surprised they listen, although just by looking at them, I probably would have too.
My jaw tightens as they immediately engage Indy in conversation, and she chats with them with a blinding smile.
Jensen follows my gaze over to the bar and scoffs. “So, at what point are you going to tell her you don’t give two shits about what her brother thinks anymore?”
“She’s working,” I reply flatly. “It’s not like I can just march up to the bar and say ‘to hell with your brother, let’s run away together.’”
“Why not?”
I give him a pointed ‘are you kidding’ look before realizing he’s not. “Well, first off, she still has a boyfriend.”
It’s a detail that’s been gnawing incessantly at the pit of my stomach for days. Just thinking aboutZachmakes me want to break something. My hands ball into fists in my lap just thinking about it now.
“Fuck the boyfriend,” Jensen says casually. “Obviously, she’syourgirl.”
“If only it were that simple.” I watch as Indy helps a line of patrons crowding the bar. If I thought it was wall-to-wall people before, it’s nothing compared to how it is now. I don’t know how she keeps up, and for a second I’m awestruck, until I hear him grunt, “Isn’t it?”
It draws me out of the trance I fell into. I shake my head. “She needs to choose me like I am choosing her. We’ve been doing this foryears. We need to be on the same page and finally not willing to let anyone come between us. The difference is I now have two people working against me.”
Zach poses the immediate problem. Dylan is an obstacle we’ll address together once he’s back in the country.
“Your own damn stubbornness is the only thing that’s been standing between you two. At any point you could have said to hell with it and just gone after what you wanted.” Jensen leans his elbows on the table. My face must reflect the utter mindfuck I’m feeling inside, because he laughs, then explains, “I’m still not convinced Dylan won’t be happy for you. He seems laid back enough where he would have just shrugged it off. I get the whole ‘don’t date my sister’ thing while you were in high school, but you’re not in high school anymore. You’re adults—free to make your own choices.”
I snort, wondering if he’s right, and glance back at the bar. Indy’s deep in conversation with the two bikers sitting in front of her. A flare of jealousy steamrolls through me at the smile she gives them. I want her smiles directed atme.
Turning my attention back to him, I shake my head again. “You didn’t hear him that day.Ishouldn’t have heard him that day—it was a conversation between him and Indy—but I happened to come out of the locker room at the exact right time.”
“Or rather, the exact wrong time,” Jensen deadpans. “Butagain, high school.”
