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“Okay. Stay here. I’ll get you a beer. What do you drink?”
When I have her order, I slip out of the bathroom and weave my way toward the bar. My route has me catching eyes with Dash, who throws a curious look my way. I gesture that I need a minute, and he nods. That’s one of the great things about Dash. He doesn’t push when it’s not necessary.
Back at the men’s bathroom, cold beer in hand, I knock lightly.
“Occupied!”
“It’s me.”
Summer whips open the door and waves me inside, immediately taking the beer off my hands and sucking down a huge swallow. At first, her wacky reaction amused me, but now I’m legitimately worried she’s going to give herself a panic attack.
“Let me know if you want to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave! I want to live in her brain!”
“Okay.” My hands go up in surrender. “How about I head over and say hi, and you text me if you need another beer before you come to the table.”
Summer only stares wide-eyed at me over the rim of her glass as she steadily chugs the contents.
All I can think is how perfectly my plan would have worked if I had gotten a book deal before asking her out. I mean, things seem to be progressing at a good pace on their own, but I wouldn’t have had any worries about her interest if there was a publishing contract behind my name.
“It’ll be fine.” I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead before slipping out of the bathroom again.
Three sets of eyes stare up at me when I reach the table.
“Everything okay?” Dash asks as he stands up to give me a one-armed hug.
“Summer is in the bathroom.” And the warmth of her presence diminishes slightly when I look over at Marianna, the woman who has my girl downing a beer just to function.
Marianna Tweep isPlayboymagazine centerfold gorgeous. Even dressed in jeans, she looks ready to walk a runway with her ebony hair and red-lipped smile. Paige was probably paying me a compliment when she thought this woman would be interested in me. And at one point in my life, I would’ve been all about getting with her for a night.
But she’s not Summer.
I look to Paige. “She’s nice?” Maybe talking about the woman like she’s not here isn’t the most polite route, but if this famous author is an asshole, I’m not letting Summer anywhere near her.
Paige seems to understand, smiling up at me in a reassuring manner. “She’s the best.”
I nod, returning my attention to the bombshell. “My girlfriend loves you. She’s going to be weird about it.”
“Weird how?”
“Weird perfect.” I glare.
“Oh good. That’s the best kind.” A purely joyful smile splits across the writer’s ruby lips.
And I feel strangely at peace with the situation.
“Hello.” The stiff greeting comes from just behind me, and I turn to see Summer hanging back a couple of steps, her hands wrapped tightly around her almost empty beer glass, her eyes flicking to the visiting author and then away from her just as fast.
Moving to Summer’s side, I wrap an arm around her waist and guide her forward, eyeing each person at the table, daring them to say anything to make Summer feel bad.
“Hello! I’m Paige. This is Dash. We’re Cole’s friends. This is Marianna. She doesn’t know Cole, so you’re not the only newbie at the table. Come. Sit. Join us. Eat some fries.” The blonde is all eager cheer, shoving her food toward us.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Summer.” Her voice is likely to crack, it’s so stiff.
Everyone at the table pretends not to notice the way she moves robotically, sitting in her chair as if the function was programed into her coding rather than a decision she made as a human being.
I’m not a good conversation starter, but I dig in my brain for something to say that will put Summer at ease.
