“Change your shirt!”
“All my shirts are at the hotel.”
“Come on,” Dex said gruffly, pointedly staring over my shoulder. “I have a shirt in the car.”
Something significant bloomed in my chest, and I focused on the sprig of relief, deciding it was safest. “Cool, thanks. Come on, Phoebe.”
She scowled. “Why do I have to go?”
“I’m not leaving you alone in a bar.”
Her scowl deepened. Dex said, “Come with me.”
Phoebe’s sour face disappeared in a flash of light, and she hopped to her feet without protest. I gave Dex a searching look and he tipped his head slightly, indicating I should follow as well. He led us to the bar where the woman he’d hugged waited for us with a luminous smile.
“This is Bree,” Dex said. Her smile only widened at his deadpan delivery and she reached over the bar to shake both our hands. Bree was shorter than both of us, but carried herself in such a way that she seemed tall. Her dark brown skin was dewy, glowing, and tattoos snaked down both arms. “This is Violet and Phoebe.”
“Bree Calloway,” she said, looking between Phoebe and me. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot.”
My eyes cut to Dex. “Really?”
“From our friend, Gavin,” Bree clarified. “Would you believe I’ve put up with Dex’s shit for like fifteen years and he couldn’t be bothered to fill me in?”
“Fifteen years?” Phoebe’s eyes widened. “That’s longer than I’ve been alive.”
“Let’s pretend you didn’t say that so I don’t have to kick you out of my bar.”
Dex rapped his knuckles on the counter. “Can you watch her for a sec? We need to get a clean shirt from the car.”
Bree flashed me a grin. “I’m such a gentleman. I didn’t even look.”
I couldn’t help laughing, even as a tiny rush of anxiety blew through me at the thought of leaving Phoebe alone with a virtual stranger, charming as she may be. I touched Phoebe’s shoulder as she parked herself on one of the stools. “Are you good?”
“I’m awesome. Bree, is there anything frozen I can legally drink?”
“Kid, I’ve got mocktails on mocktails. What’s your poison? Strawberry? Cherry? I’m a pineapple gal, myself.”
Dex’s fingers wrapped around my upper arm, gently tugging me toward the exit. I kept glancing over my shoulder, watching Phoebe beaming in Bree’s presence. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her posture so perfect.
“I hope I didn’t overstep,” Dex said quietly, his fingers gently squeezing my arm. My pulse synced up with the thumping bass in the speakers. “Bree is one of my closest friends. I don’t trust anyone more than I trust her. Phoebe is safe with her. I promise.”
It meant something to me that Dex cared for Phoebe and me enough to follow us out into the city after hours of driving when all he wanted to do was sleep. His unshakable trust meant even more.
“I trust you,” I said, surprised by just how much I meant it. He kept his hand on my arm until we were outside. The air had cooled with the sinking sun, sending a chill to my bones. I shivered and tugged at my damp T-shirt, holding it as far from my skin as it would stretch. Dex had parked his car nearby on abustling street, passersby bumping us unapologetically until Dex was growling deep in his throat. I pretended not to be turned on by the sound.
Dex swung the trunk open and rifled around for a moment before emerging with a folded, perfectly pressed gray button-up. I bit back a smile and said, “I shouldn’t be surprised you keep spare shirts in your car.”
“I keep clean shirts in my car,” he amended, handing it off to me. The fabric was softer than it looked, like silk under my fingertips. “For this exact reason.”
“Do women often get drinks spilled on their boobs in your presence?”
That muscle in his jaw jumped. “Can we get back to the bar? You can—Jesus!”
I’d tugged my wet shirt over my head in the middle of his sentence, unable to take the stench of rum anymore. Dex immediately grabbed my waist, his hand hot and rough against the soft skin, and tugged me closer to the car, blocking me from view of the sidewalk.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
I laughed shortly, wishing I couldn’t still feel his handprint burned into my skin. “What’s the big deal? You saw me in a bathing suit yesterday.”
