“Not all of us were raised with a best-selling author as a mom,” Taylor jibes back.
Gwen is called away by some girls at the other end of the bar and Lauren gazes around, standing up on her tip toes.
“Who are you looking for?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“Lauren, who did you invite?”
I see the recognition on her face before I hear their voices.
“My favorite Dorada sisters.”
Tanner approaches, one hand in his pocket and the other holding two beers by their necks. He’s dressed in worn jeans, a slim fitting T-shirt, and a Detroit baseball hat. I chug down half the beer to drown the growing heat in my lower belly.
“You’re joking,” I mumble to Lauren.
She is only beaming at Rhett as he approaches. I don’t miss the wink he gives her before looping an arm around her waist and kissing her. I want to knock their heads together.
“Hannah you’ve met Bobby.” Tanner motions to the man to his right. “He works at the shop with me, and Ava is his daughter. This is Rodney Rhulig. RJ is his.”
“Nice to meet you.” Rodney shakes my hand smiling like he knows something I don’t. Or something I won’t admit to knowing.
“I didn’t know we were meeting people here,” I say to Lauren quietly when they shift the conversation to the auto shop. All the while Tanner’s eyes are focused on me.
“It’s Morton’s.” She shrugs. “You always bump into someoneyou know at Morton’s. It’s always the last place you look because everyone congregates here.”
“Somehow this doesn’t feel like justbumpingintoeach other.”
A tall broad-shouldered guy with a boyish grin appears now. He is sporting a weak mustache that somehow suits him.
“Hannah Dorada!” his voice booms. “The man, the myth, the legend.” He reaches past the guys, takes my hand, and shakes it a little too vigorously. “I can’t believe you’re real.”
“This is Shelby Hamilton.” Lauren rolls her eyes with a smile. “He’s one of Taylor’s younger brothers.”
“The taller and better-looking brother, thank you.” Shelby takes his thumb and forefinger and smooths down his mustache with a smirk. “I’m just trying to lock in and get a Tanner Auclair level stache. Give me time, then no one will think of me as anyone’s little brother.”
Tanner claps him on the shoulder. “You’re an idiot and need to maybe not go out every night.”
“I agree.” Taylor adds from across the counter. “I’m tired of babysitting your ass. You should be home helping Mom with Bailey and Stacey anyway.”
Shelby chugs back his beer. “Bailey is almost sixteen and Stacey is in middle school. They don’t need me to babysit. Besides, I heard we were meeting up with the love of Tanner’s life tonight. I needed to come out for this.”
The entire group’s eyebrows hit their hairlines and mouths clamp shut, stifling laughter. I look at Tanner, he looks at me, and before he can fight the allegation, the song changes.
“Come on. I love this one.” His hand is against my lower back as he guides me away from his friends and through the throng of people on the dance floor
“Tanner—” I try to call over my shoulder to him, but there’s no use.
He spins me around to face him. “Oh, don’t tell me you left your dancing shoes back in Chicago?”
“Karaoke in a bar that I’ll never go back to is one thing, but this?” I motion back toward his friends all watching and loving the scene before them.
“I can request karaoke, I’m sure they would?—”
“Tanner.” I cut him off, but my feet aren’t walking away.
He leans in and offers me his hand. “Dance with me. Friends dance.”
It’s a lie that neither of us believe.
