Fuck. I rake my hand through my hair. Just because it was life altering for me doesn’t mean she felt a thing.
“Sure thing.” He gives our order to the bartender and returns his attention to me. The bartender moves smoothly from one end of the bar to the other, chatting, taking orders, and wiping up drinks. He’s a large guy with tattoos and looks like he’d be more comfortable in a boxing ring than behind a bar.
After the bartender hands us our orders, Xavier turns to me. “I heard you were out on a date with Amanda tonight.”
I cough over the water I’m attempting to swallow and nearly spew liquid in his face. He jumps back as I swipe the back of my hand over my mouth and set down my drink.
“Seriously, warn a guy before you start saying crazy shit.”
He frowns as his eyebrows arch upward. “About what? Amanda is a good-looking woman. A bit high maintenance.” He shrugs. “If you’re into that kind of thing.”
I don’t have to ask what kind of thing he means. Easy. Amanda is known for not playing hard to get.
I shift on my feet to allow the woman beside me to return to the main floor with her drink in her hand. “I just wasn’t expecting that kind of question. I forget I’m back in Brookhaven and that every time you talk to a girl, there’s talk of wedding bells.”
“So, you didn’t take her on a date to Rusty Nail?”
“Do I look like the kind of guy who’d take a date to Rusty Nail?” At least he hasn’t heard about my night with Emily. If he had, that would’ve been his first comment. Not Amanda.
“Maybe.” He winks and raises the beer to his lips.
“Fuck you.” I glare at him and wish I hadn’t made the decision not to drink. “I’ve never taken a girl to a place that suspect before and never will. You know Edward, right?”
“Yeah, Amanda’s younger brother.”
“I was talking to her the other night at the fire. The one at Frank’s house.”
“Right.” His expression changes to quizzical as if he’s trying to track my rapid changes in topics.
“Anyway, she told me her brother was going to my alma mater for criminal justice and was interested in law enforcement. She wanted to know what classes he should take.”
“And you believed that?” A man with a goatee elbows Xavier in the back, causing him to swing around to face him. “Watch it, buddy.”
“Shit, guy, I’m sorry.” He holds his hands facing outward. “I didn’t mean to run into you. This place is packed tonight.”
“Yes, it is.” Xavier’s neck muscles are tense as he surveys the man at his side.
“I’m grabbing a drink for my girl and headed back to the dance floor. The band is killing it tonight.”
Xavier dodges sideways to give him room to approach the bar. “Go ahead, we can’t leave a lady waiting.”
The man smiles. “Yeah, this lady is plowed.” He winks, steps between us and leans across the bar, allowing us to return to our previous conversation.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. I told her I wasn’t interested. We talked about her brother, and that was it.”
Did Emily think I was on a date with Amanda? She knows me better than that. Doesn’t she? She should. She knew Amanda cheated on me and that I wouldn’t go back to a cheater.
My stomach drops. Did Emily see Amanda’s message and think I was going back to her? The message came in at the same time Emily left. It’s all starting to make sense. Emily left because she didn’t believe I was serious about her.
It doesn’t matter what I have to say, I’m going to convince her that she’s the woman I want. Not Amanda. Not anyone else.
He takes another swig from his beer. “Playing hard to get?”
“No. I’m not interested in Amanda.” I stretch in front of the new guy and grab my water bottle as the man’s thumb and first two fingers rub together over the glass. Did he drop something into the drink?
My heart skips a beat as my jaw ticks. “What was that?”
“What was what?” The man looks at me like I’m stupid.
