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“You mean your boyfriend? Ah, he’s just jealous. I’m sure you’ll work it out.”
Andie stopped toying with her drink and stared at the dark-haired server. He thought Mason was her boyfriend. Huh. “What makes you think he’s jealous?”
The bartender averted his eyes, toweling an already-dry glass for all he was worth. Definitely spot free by now.
“Come on, tell me. Please.”
He hung the glass in an overhead rack. “Giving advice is murder on my tip jar, but how can I say no to such a pretty face?” He placed his palms on the bar in front of her. “Whatever you said when you looked at your phone pissed him off. Possessive-like. Not a generally annoyed look, like a guy gets after waiting an hour for a woman to choose an outfit, or listening to her complain about not getting enough cuddling.”
“God, women are the worst.” She loaded on the sarcasm, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Women are the best thing on earth,” he said with a big smile. “But you drive us nuts, especially if we’re really into you, which your man clearly is.”
Andie freed him with a thank you. Despite her feelings at the end of last night, she hoped the bartender had it right. She swallowed the last mouthful of wine and hit mental rewind. Then smacked herself upside the head.
The bartender removed her empty glass. “Guess you figured it out.”
“Too late, but yes.”
“I’d say you’ve got time to save this one.” He nodded toward the front of the restaurant.
She swiveled, scanned the room and came up blank.
“Outside,” he said from behind her.
Through the oversize front windows, she located Mason. He sat in a corner patio chair, long legs stretched and hooked at the ankles, nicely muscled arms crossed over his chest. Eyes fixed on the door. No beer on his table. Totally unapproachable looking.
She fished a five from her purse and placed it on the bar. A decent tip, considering she’d already given twenty percent when she paid. The bartender gave her a wink and a nod. Here’s hoping his advice was on the money.
The closer she got to the door, the tighter her stomach clenched. She stepped out into the summer night and connected with Mason’s eyes immediately. His expression stayed cool, borderline angry.
She made a straight line toward him, cell tucked in her palm, ready to go. The breeze chose this less-than-convenient moment to blow an errant lock of hair in her face. Stupid, good-for-nothing hair clip. She puffed at the strand—repeatedly—rather than use her hand, since she wanted to hide the phone from Mason’s view. A very anti-dramatic effect. But good for breaking the tension a bit, if she read his face correctly.
“This is the person who ditched me tonight,” she said when she’d reached his feet. She thrust the phone in his face before he could protest.
Grudgingly, he looked at Lasha’s picture on the screen. Recognition registered in his features. Still didn’t look convinced, though.
She switched applications and pulled up the text conversation. For extra sass, she pried one of his hands from his chest and slapped the phone in his palm. Let him look all righteous and smug after reading those snippets.
She shifted foot to foot while he read. For only a couple of texts, there was significant R-rated content. Make that X-rated. Lasha had made explicit comments about Mason’s body—all true, Andie could vouch for those—along with referencing Andie and Mason’s sexy evening. Because yes, she’d spilledsomeof the details. How could she not?
Lasha’s final text contained a suggestion for what Andie could get up to tonight—all activities involving the gorgeous man currently reading Andie’s iPhone. The smile on his face must mean he liked the ideas.
Mason offered the phone, catching Andie’s hand when she reached for it. “This is where I apologize for being a Neanderthal.” He opened his legs and pulled her between them. “Which explains why I’m alone, but why are you?”
“Um, because my friend took off when she saw us getting ready to make out at the bar.”
“Not just tonight.” He drew her close enough that her knees brushed his fly. His hands cupped the back of her legs, climbing the hamstrings and stopping at the bottom curve of her ass. He squeezed, his fingers curling between her legs. Her skin practically caught fire as his gaze slowly moved up her body. Cool blue eyes never looked so hot.
“Do you need to get home for your son?”
She shook her head. “He spends weekends with his dad. I’m free until tomorrow night.” Too much information…it probably seemed as if she were begging for an invitation to spend more time together.
“Meaning I have a chance to fix my mistakes, starting with the one from last night.” He grinned, one part sexy mixed with two parts sheepish. The effect was one hundred percent charming. “Only I haven’t figured out exactly what it was.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you’ve got all night.”
Chapter Four
