Page 55 of The Mistletoe Mix-up

In search of sperm donor.

He choked in surprise, which turned into a full-blown coughing fit. When someone slapped him on the back, he turned and found Ricki taking the seat next to him. The gorgeous bartender from Brews and Chews had been a longtime friend and sometimes lover of his, but nowadays, they just stuck to being drinking buddies when they were in the dumps. Besides his brother and friends, Sam would consider Ricki his best friend. She was one of few women who’d never looked at him like she wanted to tie him up and keep him forever. On top of that, she never hesitated to tell him exactly what she thought.

Tonight, her long dark hair was loose with a single braid swinging next to her face and a teal feather hanging from the bottom.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just read something surprising,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. “How are you?”

“Fine. Now, tell me why you’re avoiding Brews and Chews and hanging out here of all places.” Ricki held up her hand to the bartender, who gave her a wink and a nod. “I thought you gave this place up years ago.”

“That was before the entire crowd at my regular haunt decided to air my dirty laundry. Now I am on the lam.”

“You’re about to be a lamb to slaughter because I think the crowd has found you.” She nodded, and he turned, spotting a few women who normally frequented Brews and Chews walking through the door. He ducked and rotated back to his drink, pulling his collar up to help hide his profile.

“Will you distract them while I sneak out the back door?”

“Not a chance,” she said, dark eyes twinkling. “This is too funny for words. I have never seen you afraid of anything.”

“Listen, I’ve had a really bad night. If you’re not gonna be supportive, then maybe you should just leave,” he said.

“This is me being supportive. I am supporting you getting the natural consequences of your actions.”

“You are the most unsympathetic, ruthless woman I have ever met,” he said.

“Sam,” a woman’s voice purred from behind him. He shot Ricki a desperate look before getting up from the stool and greeting the woman and her friends.

“Ladies.” There were five of them, and while they were all vaguely familiar, the blonde in the back was one he’d hooked up with before. She looked about as happy to see him as he felt interacting with them, but Sam turned the charm on full blast. “Hello, how are you?”

“We’re good,” the brunette closest to him said. “We haven’t seen you around.”

“Yeah, I’ve been really busy at work and with personal stuff,” he said, ignoring the “I bet” from Ricki. “So, what brings you ladies to the Den?”

“We’ve never been here before,” said the second brunette, who looked similar enough to the ringleader to be her sister, “and we thought it would be a nice change.”

Two men near the stage started arguing about their pool game, and one of them suggested that they go outside and finish it.

“Oh yeah, the crowd is a little more colorful here than at Brews and Chews.”

“We’re not afraid,” the ringleader popped off, smiling at him. “We’re always looking for a challenge.”

The blonde hanging in the back of the group had been a friend of his, briefly, once upon a time, and although she ignored him, her other friends at least didn’t act like he was a pariah.

“Well, I appreciate you ladies stopping by to say hi, but I’m actually hanging out with my friend Ricki tonight, so I’ll see you around.”

“Wait,” one of the other women asked, grabbing his arm. “Is it true that you sometimes pretend to be a woman’s fling so that her ex-boyfriend will be jealous and come running back?”

“I’ve never done that,” he said, glancing at his drink longingly.

“Dang,” she said, pouting, “I was really hoping that was true. My boyfriend broke up with me, and I was hoping that dating somebody like you would make him jealous.”

“Someone like me?” he said.

“Yeah, like somebody totally unmarriable,” the woman said.

Sam heard Ricki snort, and his eyes narrowed. “You’re saying that I’m not relationship material.”

“Isn’t that the point of your reputation?” The blonde finally spoke up. Sam was pretty sure her name was Anna . . . or maybe Amber?