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I focus on the way his throat moves as he swallows his beer. Is it weird as hell I find that movement so damn sexy?
Cooper catches me and winks, and I quickly turn and focus back on Ace, who has a devilish smirk painted on his face.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he taunts in the worst fake Southern accent I have ever heard. He dramatically pushes back the chair from the table and takes a few steps forward. With his back still facing us, he flips up the bottom of his button-down shirt and reveals his denim-clad ass.
Cooper rubs his hand over his jaw. Clearly, this isn’t the first time he’s done this. “Unbelievable,” Coop mutters under his breath.
Ace glances over his shoulder, ignoring his friend, and quirks a brow. “I think that says it enough, don’t you?”
I dramatically tilt my head to the side and purse my lips together as if fully concentrating on his ass and deciding whether I agree with him. I have to admit that I’m impressed this man’s ego even fit in this bar, let alone this small town. I just shrug to fuck with him. “Meh, I’ve seen better.”
Cooper chokes on his sip of beer beside me, liquid dribbling down his chin.
Ace steps back up to the table and sulks down in his chair. “Your words wound me,” he says, placing his hand on his chest. “I take back all the nice things I said about you earlier.”
“It’s enough for me.” My sister smiles, tipping her drink in his direction. Ace places his hand on her chair and tugs it closer to her. He then slides his arm over the back of the chair.
“At least one Parker woman likes me.”Oh boy.Sutton is totally eating this shit up.
I can feel the stubble on Cooper’s cheek against my own as he leans in. His warm breath caresses my ear. “It’s more like heisa total ass.”
“You know I can hear you, dickhead.”
“Well aware.” Cooper leans back in and whispers, “It’s really because his initials spell outASS,so he literally is an ass.”
Oh my God, why would his parents do that? Did they not think that through beforehand?I guess that’s not exactly a high priority parents think of when naming their child. I recall last year when the librarian at the high school, Stacey Miller, had her son, Tucker, that it was about a week after he was born that her husband realized her son wouldn’t be able to sing the name game song in kindergarten without having some questions raised.Tucker-tucker-bo-bucker-banana-fanna-fo—well, you get the gist.
“So, Sutton, what brings you to town?” Ace asks as his fingertips dance over her shoulder, and she lets out a small shiver.
“Well, you see, my lovely baby sister here has been ignoring our calls—our older sister, Lyla, and mine,” she adds, clarifying who the “our” is.
“Oh, so there are three gorgeous Parker sisters.” The playfulness of his tone sounds like he just hit the jackpot.Not likely, buddy. Keep it in your pants.
“Yeah, but she’s old and married.”
I scoff. Lyla isn’t that much older than Sutton, but yes, she and my brother-in-law got married right out of college.
Sutton ignores me, and I continue. “And I assume it has something to do with a certain party.”
“Hi, I’m a certain party.” Cooper waves.
“Right, so I figured if she wouldn’t take my calls, why not just show up?” That makes sense in Sutton’s logic. If it were me, I would’ve just called Mom and tattled. “It’s not like she could slam the door in my face—”
“Of course I couldn’t. Not when you show up at my work! And for the record, I’m just a busy person. I have a full-time job; I have the dance company—”
Cooper cuts me off from continuing. “And me.” Cooper smiles, resting his head on my shoulder. His facial hair tickles my skin. He is so not helping the situation.
“Are you from here, too?” Ace twists his body closer to Sutton, and she does the same.
I watch with scrutinizing eyes as they chat and get to know each other.
“Hey, relax. He’s a decent guy under all that ego.”
A loud, embarrassing noise slips from my lips, a combination of a giggle and a snort. I don’t think I’ve ever made a noise like that.
“Sorry, wrong hole,” I say, trying to cover up.
“That’s what she said,” the table says in unison while I want to die of embarrassment. Thankfully, everyone is so focused on their massivethat’s what she saidmoment to realize I just tried to blame that noise on a drink that is clearly still on the table and not anywhere near my hands.
