Ryan: Might be a stray.
Connor chuckled before looking at Joel. “Sounds like you’re a cat dad now.”
“I do not own a cat. I do notwanta cat. I just got away from the annoying dog next door in Houston.” He turned back to his cell.
Joel: Get it off my couch.
Zac: Already done. Now it’s rubbing against the fridge like it wants me to feed it.
Joel: Do not feed it!
Ryan: Jesus Christ, just check if it belongs to the neighbors.
Zac: And if not, obviously the thing lives here now, so you’ll either need to assume your role as cat dad or burn the house down. I’m giving him some cooked chicken from your fridge.
“What the hell?”
Ethan laughed. As Joel continued to madly text, Ethan noticed Connor was distracted by something or someone over his shoulder.
One side of Ethan’s mouth lifted. “You looking for that woman?”
“No. Just scanning the bar.”
Yeah right. He was looking for her. Probably because of the woman’s big blue eyes.
Joel stepped away from the bar—still texting—when a woman took his place. She had a sickly sweet scent to her. A scent Ethan remembered.
Nel smiled up at him. “Hey, Eth.”
She called him “Eth” a lot. And for some reason, it always grated on his nerves. “Nel. Did you just get here?”
“No, I’ve been at a corner table. I was hoping you’d spot me first and come over.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t initiated a third date. He hadn’t contacted her, and she hadn’t contacted him. He’d assumed they were both on the same page. He really should have called her after that town meeting, but he’d been distracted by Maggie and busy setting up the team.
“I really enjoyed our two dates.” She stepped closer and touched his shoulder. That scent of hers overpowered every other smell in the bar. “What do you think of a third?”
He grasped her wrist and gently tugged it down. “That’s not going to happen. I’m sorry.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Why? I thought we had great chemistry.”
How the hell was he supposed to answer that question? Did he tell her that Maggie had re-entered his life and now everyone else paled in comparison? Did he break it to her that he hadn’t moved on from Maggieat all, that she’d always been there,living inside him? And even though he wasn’t sure what their future held, he knew it didn’t include Nel.
“I’m sorry.” That’s all he said. Two words.
Her brows furrowed, then she quickly turned and walked away. He felt like an ass. He should have called her earlier, been more upfront.
He was about to turn back to Connor when a familiar woman at the end of the bar caught his attention.
Polly’s eyes widened before she swung her head in the opposite direction.
Was Maggie with her?
His heart sped up, and he turned to scan the bar, but it was too busy to spot her. He crossed the small distance between him and Polly. She was still looking in the opposite direction. “Polly?”
She didn’t turn right away.
He tapped her shoulder. “Polly?”
