“I guess I’m just surprised that someone like you wouldn’t have guys lining up at her counter.”
“You mean someone so amazing, smart, and intriguing?”Am I fishing for compliments?You bet.Am I embarrassed by it?Not in the least.Thank you, tequila.
Ethan’s lips lift into a crooked smile that makes my stomach heat up.“That’s exactly what I mean.”
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
ETHAN
I’ve never hada woman look at me the way Chloe does.
Don’t get me wrong, I get my fair share of stares, but Chloe’s gaze is different.It’s like she’s looking rightatme, burning down every wall I’ve spent years putting up.
This woman doesn’t give up.I respect that.She lives entirely in the moment.I envy that.
She sets down her glass, and my eyes snag on the scar on her shoulder—the place where her skin cancer was cut out.
A strange coldness grips my throat.The woman sitting beside me right now looks anything but unwell.She’s all sparkly eyes and bouncing energy.
Now that I’ve gotten to know her, I can’t imagine a world without her smiles.
“So, when’s the last timeyouhad sex?”she asks, her tongue playing with her teeth as she smiles.
I probably shouldn’t tell her that I could fuck my own hand right now if she keeps doing that thing with her mouth.
“We still playing truth or dare?”I reply.“Because I didn’t say truth.”
She rolls her eyes.“Truth or dare.”
“Dare.”
Her smile grows.“I dare you to tell me when you last had sex.”
“When I last had sex,” I repeat.
Chuckling, she gives my shoulder a little shove.I could get used to the sound of her laugh.It’s so raw and free.
She drops the sex question, not that it matters.The last person I slept with was my ex, and we’ve been broken up for ages.
Lola stops by to let us know she’ll be down at the beach campfire a bit later, and Chloe says we’ll head down without even asking me.Zero surprises there.
The next round of drinks turns into two more, and as the evening drifts on, my shoe ends up resting on the rung of Chloe’s stool.We talk about random shit—everything from our favorite concerts to why coffee smells even better than it tastes.The conversation then shifts to deeper stuff, like how her parents don’t talk and how she’s been their go-between for years, trying to keep the peace.I confess to her that my best friend got badly injured at work around a year ago—something I’ve barely told anyone.
She murmurs a sound of sympathy but thankfully doesn’t push for me to say anything more about it.
Leaning in to softly dig her forefinger into the space between my brows, she says, “You know, I’m gonna miss this when you take off back to the big smoke.”
“What?My highly evolved brain?”
“More like your grouchy little frown.”She runs the pad of her finger over the ridge between my eyes.
I narrow my gaze, deepening the crease, and she practically coos.This girl is off her rocker.Why does that turn me on so much?Why am I even sitting here with her—hours into the night, God knows how many drinks down, actually enjoying myself?Pretending I haven’t been telling myself to avoid exactly this?
Chloe’s smile widens as she returns her hand to her glass.My gaze zeroes in on that sexy little gap between her teeth.
“And I’m gonna missthat.”I up-nod at her mouth while I suck on my beer.
Her thumb moves to her lips.“Miss what?”
