“I guess you could say that,” he said. He thought for a moment, then blew out a breath and settled on, “Idon’tknow what to say, actually.”
“Think about it,” Sassy invited. “Soledad can give you my work number, if you like.”
He glanced at his girlfriend, who nodded encouragement. A silly smile worked over him, transforming him into someone less stilted, more relaxed and natural. Even the line of his back softened toward her. They were ridiculously cute together. Sassy couldn’t help but grin along with them.
Nick materialized out of the crowd, double-fisting draft beer. “For you,” he said, passing one off to Sassy. He reached into his back pocket. “As are these.”
She took the handful of napkins. Some felt damp. Others were stained with substances she preferred not to identify. “What’s this?”
“Numbers,” he said, setting his cup on the table. “A dozen of them.”
Soledad hummed. “Which of these do you think belongs to the future Mrs. Malone?”
“We should choose one at random,” Sassy decided.
“A bridal lottery!” Soledad exclaimed. “Yes!”
“It’s a nice thought,” Nick drawled, “but they aren’t for me.”
“No?” Sassy studied each group of digits. A few had names:Tate. Carter. Andres. Morgan…“Oh.”
Smirking, Nick took a sip then crossed his arms over the table and leaned over them. “So which is going to be the future Mr. Colton?”
“Ha-ha,” Sassy quipped, gathering the napkins up quickly before he could snatch one. She used them to wipe up water rings.
Nick clicked his tongue and gave a small shake of his head. “Sassy Colton, crushing the hopes and dreams of young cowboys since 1998.” He noticed the stranger at the table and extended a hand. “You must be Fletcher.”
Fletcher shook. “And you are?”
“This is Nick,” Soledad told him. “He and Sassy… Well, they take care of each other in a sweet and platonic kind of way.”
Sassy rolled her eyes at the description, even if it was true. “He’s my bestie.”
“I didn’t know men and women could be besties,” Fletcher pointed out, bemused. “When you two date, don’t your significant others feel threatened?”
“If they don’t trust us to begin with, what’s the point of a relationship?” Nick asked.
Fletcher glanced at Soledad. “You don’t have any male besties. Do you?”
Soledad sighed dreamily. “Not like Nick.”
Nick chuckled. “Aw, Sole. You’re making me blush.”
Soledad laughed and touched his arm, and heat staked itself out inside Sassy, blooding her cheeks. She was blushing again, too. Furiously, just as she had at Jessamine’s.
From the bar, the clatter of a cowbell caused everyone to look around. “Bottoms up!” the bartenders shouted in unison.
Sassy automatically grabbed her cup. Nick and Soledad did the same. Before Soledad could explain to Fletcher what was going on, Nick and Sassy had already lifted their cups to their mouths and were gulping the draft beer down. Sassy wanted to gag on the foamy head. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she saw that Nick was ahead of her, half his beer gone. She buckled down and gulped faster, not coming up for air until the cup was empty.
Both their cups kissed the tabletop at the same time, and they both gasped for breath and joined the cheering of the participants around them. Soledad finished moments later, with Fletcher coming in fourth. Sassy applauded them both. Whatever she’d felt seconds ago had been a filthy, ugly emotion she never wanted to feel toward either Nick or Soledad again.
So what if they flirted? Sassy flirted with men around Nick all the time. He was more subtle about picking up women, and the idea had never bothered her before.
It was all harmless fun, anyway, the normal pattern of conversation whenever they saw people they were acquainted with in public. Sassy hated that she could for one second be jealous of Soledad. She hated how much she’d wanted to pick up her glass and throw the beer in Soledad’s face. “I think I need another,” she decided.
“I told TJ to bring a pitcher round soon,” Nick told her.
“Is the whole thing just for me?” she asked, hoping he would miss the lingering lashes of color across her cheeks. Or at least chalk them up to alcohol consumption.
