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“Give me a minute. I’ll bring it to the table.”
“No!”
His eyes darted over to Gerard.
Lauren made herself smile. “Let’s sit at the bar.”
He nodded, then led the way and signaled the bartender with a subtle wave, like a man who’d been ordering drinks for twenty-five years. Lauren liked that. She liked watching his hands as he drew his wallet from his jeans and slid out a few bills. His hands were wide and scarred and dark from years in the sun. She wondered how he touched a woman in bed. If he was careful or rough.
Careful, she decided, remembering Ruth’s petite frame and kind eyes.
When Jake handed over the drink, she took it gratefully and tossed half of it back, feeling almost defiant. Let him see that she wasn’t delicate or subtle. Better that he know. Not that he was likely to have any doubts. Most of his interactions with her in the past few years had been listening to her bitch about his men, after all.
They took the last pair of stools and settled in, both of them facing the bar instead of each other.
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“It’s a young crowd tonight,” Jake said.
Her chuckle was more of a gasp. “I know.”
“I mean, I haven’t been here in years. Is it always a young crowd?”
When she didn’t answer, she felt him turn slightly toward her, waiting. Was he wondering if that was her thing? If that’s why she’d come here? “I think so,” she finally said, meaning that she didn’t know, either, but it came out a little breathless, as if she knew and didn’t want to admit it. “I mean, it’s my first time here in a long time, too.”
Clutching her drink, she glanced at him, and Jake’s serious mouth curved into a smile. He leaned a little closer, surprising her pulse into a gallop. “It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“The saloon?”
He shrugged. “Everything.”
God. Yes. It was weird. All of it. Lauren smiled back at him. Then she found herself laughing. Hard. She cradled her forehead in her hand. Her fingers were cold from the drink, and they felt so good against her hot face. “God, yes, Jake. It’s so weird.”
“These girls are all my daughter’s age. Or younger.”
“I was just thinking that. About the boys, though. How am I supposed to flirt with them? They’re babies.”
“Well, I’m glad I rescued you, then. I wouldn’t want you flirting with little boys.”
“They’re not all so little,” she said without thinking, then blinked down at her drink in horror.
But Jake just laughed and picked up his beer for a sip. “Listen. Don’t let me cramp your style. A cold beer sounded good, but I’ll get out of your way if you want.”
Did she want that? She stole another look toward the table, but Sophie and Gerard had been joined by another, even younger couple. Even though Sophie was thirty, Lauren felt as if she should hand them all condoms and pamphlets about sex education.
She turned back to find Jake watching her carefully, the lines around his eyes slightly tight. “No,” she finally said. “This is nice.”
He smiled again, and she noticed he had dimples, just like that pretty young boy by the jukebox. Only Jake’s dimples were camouflaged by the shadow of day-old stubble that glinted silver and black against his skin. He wasn’t smooth and unlined. He was rough and prickly and so damn handsome it made her heart hurt for a few brief beats.
“Another?” he asked, gesturing toward her drink.
“I probably shouldn’t,” she said, but she tossed back the last sip and gestured for another glass.
Jake laughed and when his arm brushed hers, she didn’t move away. A few minutes later, as he slipped his wallet into his front pocket, his fingers touched the bare thigh she’d pressed close to his hip, and he didn’t move away, either.
Chapter Four
JAKE WATCHED LAUREN return from a quick talk with Sophie. His head buzzed, and not from the beer he’d had. She smiled a little shyly as she approached. “Can I bother you for a ride home?”
