She nodded, slowly, wiping a hand over a hip, drawing his attention there. “Yeah, okay. I just need to go over something with you before you go…in the back.”
“In the b-back?” he stuttered, his face heating as he fidgeted with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.
The guy standing at the bar next to him signaled Kelsey for a beer before turning to look at him, recognition dawning on his face. “Hey, I know you.”
Davis forced a smile.
The guy pointed at him. “Renovation Dudes.”
“Yep,” Davis grunted, his stomach tightening. He was hoping to slip in and out of the bar tonight without running into anyone who might recognize him.
“My girlfriend is gonna lose her mind when I tell her I saw you.”
“I take it you’re not from around here?”
“Nah, Wyoming. Just here for work.”
While Kelsey filled the man’s beer, Davis took this as a sign that maybe he’d made a mistake coming to O’Henry’s tonight. The best thing to align the relationship between him and Kelsey would be distance.
He snatched his beer, took a long swig, and then slammed it down before whipping around.
“Hey, where ya going?”
His shoulders tensed. He spun to face Kelsey. Concern smeared across her face, and it instantly riddled him with conflicting guilt.
“Too crowded. I’ll come by your house tomorrow. I told Zach I’d let him borrow a flashlight.”
“Just stay for a few. Norah and Maddie should be here soon.”
Norah and Maddie were fine separately but together, they were too much for him. And why was Kelsey suddenly bringing up Norah? Kelsey had tried to fix him up with plenty of women throughout the years, but he’d never been interested in any of them. For someone who had been his best friend for the last ten years, she really didn’t know his type.
Did he even have a type?
“I’m tired. Early day tomorrow.” It was a half lie. He was tired, but he didn’t have an early day tomorrow. He’d finished his part on the Larson house and had the day off. It was Garrett’s turn to work his magic on the designing side of things.
“Liar,” she countered, her dark brows raised. “You’re not filming tomorrow.”
He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it.
Guilty.
“Fine. I’m just tired.”
“And you don’t want to be here?” she asked it like a question.
He noticed how her bottom lip pushed out, her eyes drifting to the side, unable to meet his stare. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, and that was the problem.
“Can you stay for a bit?” she pressed, finally dragging her gaze back to him. A teasing smile replaced the uncertainty, and she gave him a knowing look. “I promise after we talk, you’re free to return to hibernation.”
“Ha, ha,” he said sarcastically.
He should be relieved by the out she was giving him. But what could she need to talk to him about? If it was about this recent, weird energy buzzing between them, he wasn’t sure he was ready to discuss it. What he really hoped was that it would go away completely.
Davis checked the time on his phone.
8:00 p.m.
“Yeah, okay, you free now?”
