Most women would return his flirtations with an equally coy overture. Not me.
My half-drunk forty-year-old ass pushes off the bar stool and pivots, desperate to catch a better glimpse of my rear end. “It’s not that great, actually?—”
“Actually, it is.”
Do I think he means it? At this point, who the hell knows, but it sure doesn’t hurt to hear it.
With a nervous giggle, I drop my apparently fabulous ass back onto the barstool. “Thanks for making this old lady feel better about her age.”
“Hey, enough of that nonsense.” Eddie leans over, tipping my chin up to meet his gaze. “You are not an old lady, Kiki Wilder.”
Trust me, I’ve looked at Eddie before. Plenty of times, in fact. But it was sneaking glances on the down low, not this blatant, unapologetic stare that leaves my insides quivering like a thousand butterfly wings.
First thing I notice? The man has thicker lashes than me.
Second thing? I could stay lost in his eyes forever.
The bartender comes around, ending our unofficial staring contest and I shift on my stool, desperate to regain my emotional balance. Seems forty is really taking it out of me.
Total bullshit claim, but it’s easier than admitting therealtruth—that I like Eddie. Way more than I should.
“Where is Billie?” I mutter. “Did she fall in the toilet or something?”
“Not exactly.” His fingers tighten around the beer bottle, a rivulet of condensation rolling onto his oversized hands. “She left.”
Wait a damn minute.
“She what? No, that’s not possible. She was my ride.” I grab my purse, frantically searching for my phone, hidden somewhere in its depths.
Eddie leans over and stills my hands. “Relax. I’m your ride now.”
I sag against the bar stool with a grunt. “Oh my God. Billie dumped me on you? I’m sorry, Eddie.”
A grin breaks across his face. “Don’t be. It’s my pleasure, although your cousin did have two explicit instructions regarding this evening.”
“Can’t wait to hear this. Let me guess—you’re to ply me with cocktails and compliments until midnight?”
“If that’s what it takes. She specified that you are to have thegreatestevening of your life. High challenge to be sure, but she seems to believe I might be able to help out in that area.”
A flush spreads through my body, slowly at first, drifting from my core outward and upward, until I’m sure my face resembles a red rhododendron in full bloom. “How exactly do you plan to help?”
Trust me, I can think of atonof ways, but there’s no way in hell I’m placing that kind of demand on Eddie, no matter how dedicated he is in fulfilling my cousin’s quest.
The smile crossing this man’s face should be illegal. He leans over, until his lips brush the shell of my ear. “You’re going to tell me about those dreams you’ve been having.”
Oh my God.
No, no, no, no.
My face flames, my jaw drops open, and I’m about two seconds away from leaping over the bar and racing toward the nearest exit.
And Eddie? He’s not smiling anymore. He’s smirking, this sexy, infuriating smirk that… only makes him even more kissable.
So not helping.
I take a long pull off my neon drink, determined to look in any direction but Eddie’s. “She told you? I made her swear not to say a damn word. That’s it, I’m hunting her ass down.”
I pop off the barstool, but Eddie grabs me around the waist, hauling me close. “Not so fast. I think, considering I play a major role in these dreams, that I should know the details.”
