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She forced Justin and Nate from her mind and concentrated on work. By the time five o’clock rolled around, she was relatively satisfied with her success and felt more like herself again.
“Hey, Marley,” Tom hollered from his truck as she reached for the door of the trailer. “We’re stopping at Joe’s for a beer, you comin’?”
Heaven help her, she looked right at Justin. Thank God his head had already disappeared into his Jeep. Was he going? She hoped…not. Repeat, not. Because not only could she actually use a drink right now, but after what’d happened, and Tom’s friendly invite, she couldn’t say no. For appearances sake, one beer wouldn’t hurt anything.
That was the one way she wasn’t like her father.
****
Marley walked into the bar and saw Tom and Warren right away. She groaned at the sight of Warren’s wife, Bonnie, and another woman who sat with them. A cute, petite blonde with curls, Bonnie was the exact opposite of her equally petite, brunette friend, whose long, straight hair perfectly complimented her olive skin and exotic eyes. They were both dressed in what Marley would guess to be the latest fashion. Then again, since she never paid attention to fashion, she really couldn’t say for sure.
Bonnie was very nice, and maybe so was her friend, but next to the two of them Marley felt like a drab giraffe. She didn’t need this. The thought of having to endure ‘girl-talk’ made her head hurt. No one had spotted her yet, so she turned around to leave.
And ran smack into Justin.
“Whoa.” He reached out and steadied her, then let go. “Leaving already?”
“I—um—I was looking for you…guys.” She’d just noticed Chuck behind Justin.
Justin’s brows rose. Yeah, the excuse had come out a bit weak, but thankfully he didn’t call her on it.
“You found us.” Chuck said with an oblivious grin. Marley focused her attention on him. At least he was smiling.
“What are you drinking?” she asked. “I’ve got the first round.”
“Whatever’s on tap, Mar, thanks.” Chuck stepped past them as he spotted the others.
Justin hadn’t answered yet. She looked back to find him watching her. She cleared her throat and straightened her spine. “What would you like?”
A subtle change in the color of his hazel eyes, a shifting of gold to brown, made her heart pound.
“Beer’s fine.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.”
Marley hurried to the bar and ordered three beers and a second round for the rest of the group. The bartender promised he’d bring them over, and she reluctantly made her way to the table.
Confusion turned her stomach. Justin had avoided her since the kiss, but just a moment ago, she’d gotten the strangest feeling from him. He’d looked kind of intentful again. Worse, she
had no clue how to act, or what to say, and felt dumber than a box of rocks. For the first time ever, she almost wished she knew how to be a girl.
Almost.
At the table, Bonnie introduced her friend, Isabel, who’d already captured Tom and Felipe’s attention. And no wonder, Marley thought with disgust as she eyed the woman’s skin-tight, barely-there top and low-rise jeans that exposed her flat stomach and navel ring.
After a few minutes, though, she had to concede Isabel was as nice as Bonnie. Unfortunately, Marley didn’t have much to contribute to their conversation about last Saturday’s evening at Club 9, so instead she joined the heated discussion of the virtues of various Bronco draft picks and whether or not the NFL team would make it to the playoffs this year.
She ignored the fact that Justin remained silent. It was no concern of hers if he wasn’t having a good time—she hadn’t even wanted him to show up. She didn’t care how his day had gone and certainly didn’t want to ask about the large dark stain she’d noticed on the front of his jeans when he first arrived at the job site that morning.
When Chuck ordered a second round of drinks, Marley decided one more wouldn’t hurt. But first she needed a trip to the bathroom.
She exited the stall as Bonnie and Isabel walked in, and groaned under her breath.
“Hi, Marley.” Bonnie’s perky voice echoed in the relative quiet of the restroom.
Marley offered a stiff smile on her way to the sink to wash, wishing they’d go into the stalls so she could escape. Instead they parked themselves in front of the mirror and started refreshing their make-up, chatting non-stop.
“Justin’s pretty hot,” Isabel commented as she leaned close to apply her lipstick. Marley glanced up at the woman’s reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see the woman watching her. After their gazes met for a brief second, Isabel redirected hers to the image of her lips. She pursed them as she capped her lipstick.
