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“Well, long story short, I lost a bracelet the last time I was in the city, and he helped me find it.”
“Yeah, sounds like Da
Before Da
“He’s good,” she whispered.
“Who’s good?” Da
“Jake. He’s a good wingman. Make sure you tip him well tonight.”
Da
Leah sat back a little, looking him up and down as she pretended to assess him. “Hmm. I guess I can see it. Although you’d probably frighten the kitten and offend the gra
“No way. Then I’d have to put money in the jar.”
A slow smile lit her face as she looked at him. “If you really have a jar started, I’m pretty pumped. I should have my something pretty by this time tomorrow.”
“So little faith,” he said, and Leah shrugged.
“Old habits die hard,” she replied as she brought her drink to her lips.
He watched her lick the rim again before taking a sip, and he swallowed hard. She looked tempting enough tonight; the absolute last thing he needed was to be six inches away from her while she kept licking that glass.
He pulled his eyes away from her mouth and back up to her face; her normally wavy hair was straight and shiny, and she had some shimmery stuff above her eyes that made them look intensely green. And her mouth—that goddamn mouth. She wasn’t wearing any of that goopy, shiny shit that so many girls wore, but they were a soft pink color, and so full he wanted to lean over and bite her bottom lip.
“You look really beautiful tonight,” he said before he could stop himself, and he saw the surprise register on her face as she paused mid-sip.
She swallowed, clearing her throat before she smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
“So Tommy was telling me how you guys all work together,” Holly said.
“Oh really?” Robyn asked. “Where do you guys work?”
They spent the next hour talking and laughing over drinks, and Da
And on two separate occasions, both Tommy and Jake gave him the signal that meant Leah earned their seal of approval.
Da
In the middle of Jake’s spot-on imitation of the guy, Da
Right over his scars.
He jerked his hand back instinctively, and she jolted, yanking her own hand back as her eyes flashed up to his. She brought her hands into her lap as she quickly turned her attention back to Jake, looking like a child who had just been caught doing something wrong.
Da
He wet his lips before he looked back at her. Her eyes were downcast as she picked at her fingernail, and he could see a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
But instead of driving him crazy, this time it made him feel sick.
He watched her fingers fiddling awkwardly under the table, and before he could think about what he was doing, he reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, stilling the movement.
She froze, slowly lifting her eyes back to the conversation as her posture straightened.
“DeLuca, what was it the dude said when we told him he had no gas?” Jake asked through his laughter.
Da
Jake fell forward in hysterics as the entire table cracked up, and Da
That little hiccup of a sound did more to him than the touch of any woman he’d ever been with.
His eyes met hers as gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and then he turned his attention back to the table.
“Remember, we were go
That had actually been Bryan’s idea.
Leah gently squeezed Da
It was such a simple, i
She shifted her hand and their thumbs met, circling around each other’s slowly.
Okay, he was wrong. He had thought holding someone’s hand was i
You need to get the fuck out of here. Now.
His fingers tightened around hers for just a moment before he cleared his throat and slid his hand out of her grasp.
“Alright, I’m go
Give a reason.
“I have to be at the shop early tomorrow.”
“On a Saturday?” Jake asked, cocking his head.
Two years. He’d make him clean the shop floor for two years.
“Yeah,” he said, ru
“It was so nice to meet you guys,” he said, and then he looked at Leah. “I’ll talk to you soon?”
She smiled, reaching up to fiddle with her earring again as she nodded.
He turned then, because if he had to look at the poorly shielded disappointment on her face for another second, he would slide right back into that booth and spend the rest of the night doing anything she asked of him.
Da
He pushed the door open, ducking his head against the wind as he jammed in his hands in his pockets.
“Such an asshole,” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head. He had no idea why the hell he’d done that. Everything was going perfectly. They were having fun. Friends out at a bar. That was his plan for the night.