She jerks back as if I slapped her.
A knot forms in the pit of my stomach when she shoves me away and slides down off the bar.
“Dallas, I didn’t mean?—”
She storms off. Rosie shoots me a glare and follows after her.
“What did you say to her?” Sam asks.
The bartender is back behind the bar. She smiles at me and Sam. “Can I get you a drink?”
“We’ll have two Jack and Cokes with lime,” Sam answers for us both.
I rub my hand over the back of my neck, debating whether or not I should follow after Dallas.
“I just told her I didn’t like her doing those hurricane shots at work.”
He blinks at me. Dolly joins us, looping her arm through Sam’s.
“Okay, I might’ve said she’s not allowed to do them anymore.”
Dolly gasps, clapping her hand over her mouth before punching me in the arm—hard.
I wince. “Ow.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve told you that you’re an idiot, so here’s me telling you that you’re a grade-Aidiot,” she spews.
“Come on. Now that you’ve seen it, you can’t tell me that’s not sexual. Who knows how many guys she’s given those to at this point?”
“And? What are you, her priest? Her father? Her boyfriend?”
I grit my teeth. The bartender slides the drinks across and smiles at Dolly, who’s still fuming.
“I’ll take a mojito, please.”
“No. Okay, it was stupid. I didn’t think before I said it.”
I was overwhelmed with jealousy and an uncharacteristic possession in the moment. I’ve never felt that way toward any woman. Even when Rosie and I were dating and I suspected that she might be attracted to my older brother, it hurt when they ended up dating and getting married, but my anger over the situation was based on Holden stealing my girl, not jealousy.
“Fuck. Do you think she’ll forgive me? What do I do?”
Dolly purses her lips, sighing. “I don’t know, Duke. Her ex-husband was a controlling asshole. That’s part of why they divorced. She’s certainly not looking for another man to tell her what to do. Which is so weird because you’ve never been like that.”
“I don’t want to control her. I don’t even know where that came from or why I said it. I’m not looking for a relationship right now.” With Pops’s death still being so fresh, I just want to spend time with my family and work and grieve.
The bartender finishes garnishing Dolly’s drink with a mint leaf and hands it to her.
“Thanks,” she says, sipping on the straw.
A group of girls who must have slipped past security approaches Monroe, who smiles at them and rises to sign autographs and take photos. Cash stands closely by, observing warily within arm’s distance. The girls are clearly harmless, but he doesn’t relax until they’re gone.
An imaginary fist punches my gut when the dots connect.
I’m feeling possessive and protective of Dallas. I’m worried about her being in the sketchy town of Elmott, working at a bar like Lucky’s Pub, making strange, grimy men think they’re special because she spit tequila in their mouths.
Because I actuallylikethis woman.
“Fuck,” I mutter, rubbing at my eyes.
