Page 24 of The Puck Bunny

“A margarita with Patron for the lady.”

“Yes, sir, right away.” The waitress gives me a wistful look and dashes away.

“How did you know?” Sara says.

“You mentioned something about tequila and I didn’t figure you for the type to drink it straight up.”

His dimple deepens, obliterating whatever sass I have left. But it’s more than the dimple destroying me right now, it’s him and the gold-medal attention he’s showering on me that has me self-conscious about my non-gold-medal self. In fact, I’m so far from a gold medal, I never even dreamed of competing for the Olympics of flirtation.

Of course, that never stopped me from dreaming about the prize sitting in front of me. Maybe it’s time I man up and jump in the game. I’ve already humiliated myself in front of this guy enough to know he’s too nice to make me feel any worse.

Sliding my gaze over to check on Mindy and Jonas, I find them engaged in a tense conversation. I’m calling that progress, so I turn my attention to Quinn.

“You’re too nice, you know that? Surprisingly nice because it’s something people never talk about. They can rattle off all your stats and talk about how many starlets or princesses you’ve dated but—”

His smile falters on the mention of the princess and I stop my stupid ramble because making him feel uncomfortable is far worse than whatever humiliation I could possibly inflict on myself. “Sorry. Don’t mind my ramble.” I touch his arm as the server returns with my margarita in the nick of time. As I pick up my glass and she disappears, I lean in. “But you really are super nice.”

Then I down the drink, bypassing the straw, not waiting to see if his dimple’s returned because my strength to withstand his intense eyes alone is waning. Not to mention, all the girly parts are coming to life with a vengeance from my parched V right through my ovaries and all the way to my uterus squirming around and making me hot.

“Either you were very thirsty or you—”

“I was in need of courage,” I say with daring honesty. “You may have noticed I’m nervous.”

His dimple lights up—and everything in me lights up like a Vegas slot machine hitting the jackpot.

Sheila stands up, disrupting my moment, thank God.

“I’m heading for the ladies’ room. No need for you to come with.” She winks at me and sashays away.

He turns to me. “Thank you. You’re right. I don’t often get people telling me I’m nice. I think you’re nice, too.”

My blush is immediate and deep, probably enhanced by the tequila buzz running through my blood. I wave a hand. “Nah. How would you even know?” I ask. It should be a rhetorical question, but it’s not and I stare at him waiting for his answer.

“You’re here to help a friend, for one thing,” he says.

“You have a point.” I dare another glance at the unhappy couple. “And I think our scheme is working.”

He chuckles. “How do you figure? They look like they’d be strangling each other if we weren’t in public.”

“That’s nothing. They just need to get past those first bumps and they should be fine. Jonas cares about her.”

He glances at his teammate, then turns back to me. “Are you sure?”

I don’t get to answer him because Mindy stands and throws what’s left of her soda in Jonas’s face. “You can have your goddamn fucking paternity test if you want. But if you make me do that, I’m going to get an attorney and when it turns out to be a match, I’m going to make you pay.”

Jonas turns whiter than my mom’s bleached hair before he pulls her back down.

“I can’t believe you just caused a scene,” Jonas says, looking more panicked than I feel.

“Don’t worry about the crowd. Keep your cool,” Quinn says. He gives Mindy a cool look as if he’s taking his own advice. “There will be no lawyers,” he says.

My mouth opens and I’m going to protest on Mindy’s behalf, but she looks contrite and nods.

“You’re right. If this lug doesn’t want to be a father to his child, no court is going to be able to make him.”

“Who says I don’t?” Jonas asks. “All I want to know is if this kid you say you’re having is really mine.”

The waterworks start in earnest, making Mindy’s crying from last time we were here look like a puddle compared to this Lake Michigan.