Hell, he probably thought I was just another dumb guy at a wedding who wouldn’t leave him alone, but since I was tipping him well, he kept his mouth shut. Couldn’t blame the dude for that.
Fuck. Thatdidmake me a creep.
Despite the fact the wedding had mostly died down to just a couple dozen guests, the loud bass of the music continued to blare, grating on my nerves. My jaw twitched as I clung to the glass in my hand and willed myself not to beg the bartender to leave the whole damn bottle—despite the fact I was usually a two-drink max kind of guy.
I swear, there was nothing worse than being stuck at a social event that you couldn’t leave.
Scratch that. Being stuck at a social eventalonewhen you don’t really know anyone else should definitely be its own circle of hell.
When I agreed to come as my best friend’s plus-one to her cousin’s wedding, I assumed she’d stick with me most of the time. And to her credit, she had. Right until a tall, dark, gorgeous six-and-a-half-foot god came up and asked her to dance. Not that I could blame her, because if she hadn’t been interested, I might have tried my luck to see if the guy also swung my way.
But alas, Victoria seemed as enamored with the man as he was with her.
I flicked my gaze up to the mirror behind the bar and sought out my potentially former bestie. She was easy to spot with her red curls that had come loose and now flowed over her shoulder and her bright orange creamsicle-colored dress.My lips twitched and my heart fluttered as she clung to the man at her side. Even with the distance between us, I could hear it when she let out a laugh I’d never heard from her before.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy for Vic. She deserved the world and if this guy was willing to give it to her, then she deserved him.
But if he broke her heart, well, then he better hope he doesn’t meet me when I have my gun on me. Because I wasn’t afraid to use it.
So, I found myself sitting at the bar, sipping top-shelf liquor and mixed drinks that went down way too smooth. If I didn’t stop soon, I’d definitely end up embarrassing myself. And that was the last thing I wanted to do, especially in front of Victoria’s family. She’d never let me live it down. And considering I had to put up with her at work, giving my partner ammunition she could use to get the entire precinct to tease me over, was the last thing I wanted to do.
As I sat at the bar, sipping my third—no, fourth—martini, I scanned the crowd that had considerably thinned since the evening had started. I knew some of Victoria’s family, since we had been partners for almost a decade. But most of them had already turned in for the night. Besides the bride and groom, Victoria, and Shelby, Victoria’s sister, there wasn’t anyone else who was still mingling through the crowd that I knew.
By the way Victoria and her man were moving on the dance floor, it was obvious I was going to go back to the room by myself. With a sigh, I turned back in my stool to lean against the bar.
I brought my drink to my lips and drained the glass dry.
“I’ll have another one of these, whatever you wanna call them.”
The bartender raised a brow but didn’t make a move towardme as he continued cleaning out the glass in his hand. “You really think that’s a good idea?”
His smirk sent butterflies crashing through my stomach. Maybe I hadn’t lost my touch after all and still had a chance with him.
I leaned forward against the bar and gave him my best charming smile. But the way he snorted and shook his head had me frowning and second-guessing myself. I knew I’d had more to drink than usual, but I hadn’t thought I wasthatdrunk.
Dammit.
“I could think of a few better ideas.”
The bartender leaned down on his elbows and his eyes slid over me in a slow caress. “Sorry, handsome. I don’t date cops.”
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him as I lifted my glass for another drink, only to realize I was still empty.
“That so? Why? You a criminal or something?”
He smirked as he refilled my glass and dropped it in front of me, but didn’t answer my question. It shouldn’t have made him even more interesting, but fuck, it made me want to drag him back to my room even more.
“Oh, that’s a dangerous question,” came a deep voice from my right.
I turned and saw a man in an impressive-looking, well-tailored charcoal suit. He grinned and let out a chuckle, at my expense, no doubt. His deep chocolate eyes didn’t quite match the warmth in his voice, but they were still hypnotizing as I found myself letting out a chuckle in return.
“Is that so?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bartender cast a glance between us with a frown before he turned his back to us and moved off before I could say anything to him. I wasn’t sure what it was about the newcomer that had sent him scampering, but there was a tangle of nerves I couldn’t define that clenched in my gut.
When I glanced back over at the man who had joined me atthe bar, his eyes also seemed to track the bartender’s movements.
He turned back to me and gave a shrug as he swiped my glass and took a sip before giving it back with a grimace. I grinned at his obvious distaste and pulled the glass back toward me, only mildly disappointed we wouldn’t be sharing.
“Yeah.” He shot me a grin as he tried to catch the bartender’s eye, I assumed to order his own drink. “I learned a long time ago that it’s never a good idea to ask a question you don’t already have the answer to. Especially, if you aren’t sure you want the answer.”
