He takes a few steps back. “Have a good rest of your night.”
“Thanks,” I say a little hollowly.
His eyes roam over me for another beat before he walks over to talk to the guys behind the bar.
I can’t bring myself to turn around and face the girls who are still dancing behind me. Not yet. I just need a minute.
I take a few deep breaths, then plaster a smile on my face. It isn’t completely fake. I’m having a great time tonight, but seeing Kane brought some things back into stark clarity.
I am bound and determined to enjoy the rest of this girls’ night, though. When I turn back around and see Riley’s concerned expression, I give her a shrug. She slides her hand into mine as we both start to dance with the group again.
Avery hands me another drink. Leah says something that makes me laugh. The night moves on with my melancholy mostly forgotten.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Wyatt
Multitaskingbehind the bar is usually a piece of cake for me. Tonight, I’ve struggled far more than usual. It’s probably because of the gorgeous brunette who has stolen my attention all night long.
There hasn’t been much brain power left for carrying small talk with customers or making drinks when all I want to do is stand here and stare at her.
That might sound creepy, but I swear it’s not. She’s mesmerizing. Nothing else in this bar or anywhere really is as entrancing as her.
Wow…I need to get a grip.
I glance to my right. Kane is drying the same glass he has been working on for several minutes now. Any remaining drops of water vanished long ago.
There’s no logical reason for him to be manning the bar alongside Linc and me right now. The two of us can handle this size crowd pretty easily, and we do it all the time.
His gaze is continuously drawn to the same corner of the room where my eyes have been trained all night. She’s the reason he’s been coming up with pointless tasks so he has aplausible reason to stay out here and not have to venture back to his office in the back.
Linc isn’t any better. His broody stares have been focused on her in any free second he’s had.
I know my brother like the back of my own hand. That intense, verging-on-angry look he’s been giving her means he can’t get her out of his head, and it’s slowly driving him crazy.
I shake my head. All three of us are fucked.
I’m so lost in my thoughts, Abby surprises me for the first time tonight. “Hey,” she says, leaning against the bar with a tired smile on her face.
She isn’t hammered, but she’s definitely feeling a little tipsy.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, leaning in a little closer. What can I say? I’m like a moth to a flame. And the beautiful woman before me is a mighty hot one if I do say so myself.
“Can I close out my tab?” She gestures to her friends, who are starting to put on their coats. “Actually, all of ours.”
They all took turns paying for rounds through the night, so they all have open tabs at this point.
I tap around on the computer, printing out all their tickets and grabbing their cards from the drawer. The ladies all group around Abby and close out their own tabs.
Abby looks around, confused, when she finds just her credit card sitting in front of her. “Where’s my ticket?”
I shrug, like I have no idea. I guess I didn’t hide my guilt very well because her eyes narrow. She straight-up glares at me.
In this moment, there’s no denying Abby is a mom. No one can deliver a look like that quite like a mom. You’d think the alcohol would hinder the sharpness of the look, but it has done no such thing.
“Wyatt,” she growls. “Where is it?”
“I didn’t run your card,” I tell her honestly.
