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Anna Beth turned away from Jared to face Cade, her voice taking on a flirty tone. “Last time, it was fourteen.”
Cade grinned. “You get a discount for making me smile.”
Before Anna Beth could pay, Jared held out a twenty. “Keep the change.”
“Thanks, Jared.” He cocked his head to the side. “See you around, Anna Beth.”
Anna Beth stood there with two drinks in her hands, looking fit to be tied. “Why’d you do that? I can buy my own drinks. Now he thinks we’re together and we are so not.”
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”
“You have no business caring about the way anyone looks at me,” she hissed.
Jared realized she was tipsier than he’d originally assumed and tried to reason with her. “I know you’re angry at me, but—”
“If you know I’m angry with you, then why are you here with your chiseled face and hot body, pissing me off more?”
Before Jared could process that outburst, she downed the first drink, then the other, before pushing past him with a huff. She set the glasses down on a nearby table, startling the couple sitting there. She hit the dance floor and he paused, watching from a distance as she closed her eyes and moved.
Jared went back to the bar, giving her space. He waved Cade down.
“What can I get you?”
“Two whiskeys.”
“You got it.” Cade grabbed the bottle from the shelf on the wall and set two glasses down on the counter. “Hey, sorry man.”
“For what?”
“Stepping on your toes with Anna Beth. I didn’t know you were a thing.”
“We’re not. We’re just friends. Or I guess enemies, depending on the day.”
Cade laughed as he passed the two glasses across the counter top to Jared. “I should have made these a double, then. I don’t know how you can be just friends with someone like her.”
Jared lost his smile. Right now, he couldn’t imagine either.
He paid Cade for the drinks and searched the crowd for Vance.
The song ended and he emerged from the dancing bodies and took the glass from Jared. “Thanks, how did you know?”
“Because I needed one.”
“Things didn’t go well with Anna Beth.”
The karaoke DJ called Anna Beth’s name and Olive squealed. Several loud “whoo hoos” echoed through the crowd as she took the mic.
“You could say that,” Jared grumbled.
Anna Beth smiled, but when she spoke, her voice trembled. “Thank you. This is really embarrassing, but here goes nothing.”
The jaunty tune from Santa Baby came out of the speakers and Anna Beth started off hesitantly. As the cheers grew louder, Anna relaxed. She sang along in a husky voice, her hips swaying as she danced, acting out the lyrics with her body while the crowd urged her on. She glided down the steps of the stage, singing about Tiffany’s and the people on the dance floor tightened around her. Anna Beth emerged from the mass of people and Jared watched her run her hand across one man’s chest. Jared’s shoulders stiffened when she twisted her finger around another’s tie, using it to drag him down until their faces were only inches apart.
Jared downed his second shot, his breath hissing between his teeth. “I’m getting some air.”
Vance called his name, but he kept going. He stepped into the cold, closing his eyes as tiny snowflakes fell against his skin.
The door opened behind him and Anna Beth stood in her tight red dress. His living dream and nightmare all wrapped up in one gorgeous package.
