“Quite a show you put on there.”
I huffed.
“Although, I’m surprised you gave him so many strikes before kicking him out of the batter’s box. You didn’t give me quite so much rope to hang myself with.” He leaned his forearms on the table, invading my space.
His presence was like kerosene on my temper, stoking the fire within me to four-alarm proportions. I leaned right back, staring into his ginger orbs, rising to the unspoken challenge.
Everything about Drew Bauer annoyed me. He was a dripping-faucet, nails-on-a-chalkboard, litter-tossed-in-the-streets kind of man all rolled up into one carefree, obnoxious package. I’d been accused of caring too much about too many things, and if that were true then Drew was the anti-me. All nonchalant casualness. Complacent disinterest and apathetic indifference.
A small part of me whispered that couldn’t be completely true, since he was a doctor, and doctors had to care about their patients. But then I’d remember his comments about how we needed more oil pipelines and less restriction on pollution from big companies, and my stance on him being a horrible human being would solidify.
“You know”—he continued to smirk at me—“I was five seconds away from laying into that guy myself.”
“I don’t need you to come to my rescue.”
“Of course not. You’re strong enough to fight your own battles. I’d never mistake you for a damsel in distress.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“No, I wasn’t going to say anything on your behalf.”
“Why then?”
A group of people at an adjoining table burst out laughing. Drew paused for their gaiety to quiet.
“For the male gender, naturally. That jerk was making us all look bad.”
My turn to bark out laughter. “A little late to redeem my estimation of the males of our species.”
His grin hiked. “We aren’t all terrible.”
I made a show of considering. “You’re right. Ben is a sweetheart.” Ben was Drew’s colleague and best friend and the fiancé of one of my best friends. Molly and Ben were the reason I put up with Drew. They were also the reason Ihadto put up with Drew.
I grabbed my purse and stood. “As lovely as this evening has been, I’m going to go home.”
His hand encircled my wrist to stop my departure. “Not so fast.”
I glared at his fingers. “Unhand me.”
Instead of obeying, he had the audacity to trail his thumb along the tendon of my inner wrist.
I jerked my arm away.
“I don’t think you really want to go,” he said smoothly.
“You presume to know what I want?” I challenged.
His eyes rose to meet mine, a flash of victory making them shine bright. “You want to earn the two hundred dollars your friends promised.”
My lips pressed together.
“I believe the stipulations were dinner consumed, three topics of conversation, and you let him walk you to your car.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “As everyone witnessed, David Brown walked out. My agreement with the girls can no longer be fulfilled.”
“Can’t it? They just said you had to go on the date. They didn’t say with whom.”
Jen took tentative steps toward the table, a tray with two dinner plates in her hand. Drew waved her over.
