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“Girl, you go call the hell out of him,” Tatum encourages.
“I’m going to take charge. I don’t need him to call me because I’m going to call him.” I don’t know if it’s the encouragement from my friends or the tequila flowing through my veins, but I’m doing this. We clink our glasses together and we all take a drink. Mine may have been a little bigger, or a lot bigger, then theirs. But I’m the one putting it all out there. Digging into my purse, I pull out my phone and hover my finger over his number. My heart races in my chest and my cheeks flush. What am I going to say when he answers? What if he doesn’t answer? Do I leave a message? Hang up? A hand appears on top of mine, pressing my finger to the screen.Sexy Bad Boypops up on the screen and a timer starts. I shoot a glare at Tatum.
She shrugs. “You were taking too long.”
My fingers shake as I fumble with my phone. It almost crashes to the table but I’m able to get a grip and bring it to my ear. The line rings. And rings. My heartbeat thumps in my throat as I tap at the base of my margarita glass with my nail needing something to do as I anxiously wait for him to answer. It rings again, then his voicemail picks up. I have approximately five seconds to decide what to do next. Hang up or leave a message. The voicemail beeps, and I can’t hang up now, so I opt for a long, detailed message. Once I’m done, I jab my finger on the end button, which isn’t as satisfying as slamming the receiver down with a corded telephone, but it’s done. The next move is his.
“We need another drink.” I mic drop my phone into my purse.
SEVEN
NO HOLDING HANDS
Ledger
As I turn the faucet of my shower off, I hear the tail end of my phone ringing. I pull open the curtain and Jack meows at me before jumping off the bathroom counter. Yanking the towel off the bar, I run it down my face before wrapping it around my waist, securing it in front. I follow Jack out to the living room. He jumps up on the couch and I take a seat next to him. I grab my phone off the coffee table. Unlocking the screen, aMissed Call Duchessmessage pops up. My lips tug into a smile. This week has been hell. Every available second, I itched to call her, but something always came up and distracted me. She was done waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands. And hell if that doesn’t turn me on. The voicemail icon catches my attention. I press it and turn on the speakerphone. There’s a moment of silence before her sweet voice fills the room.
It’s been three days, and you never called me, so I’m tugging on my big girl panties and calling you.
Her words slur a little at the end as noise fills the background. She’s out somewhere, and she’s been drinking.
You don’t get to ghost me. If you want to kiss me and never talk to me again, you need to tell me to my face. I’m right here, come tell me. If you lost your phone and you never get this message, that really sucks. And if the real reason you never called is because you’re married with ten kids, well fu—
The message cuts off. I stifle a laugh, imagining what the last few words of that sentence were. I check the time on my phone. 9 p.m. It’s not too late. I pull up her number and press call. After a few rings, she picks up. I can hear muted noises of people talking and music playing in the background, so I know she’s still at the bar.
“Oh, look who decides to call now.”
I want to kiss that sass from her mouth. “Where are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know where I am?”
“That’s why I asked. You want me to tell you to your face, so tell me, where are you?”
“Porter’s! We’re at Porters!” someone yells in the background. Then I hear Olivia, but she isn’t talking to me. “What the hell, Tatum? That’s not how big girl panties work…”
I hang up, jump to my feet, and dash into my bedroom. Tossing on whatever clean clothes I can find, I snatch my truck keys from the kitchen and bolt out the door. Ten minutes later, I’m pulling into the parking lot of Porter’s Ale House. For a weekday, this place is busy. Luckily, I find a parking spot close to the door just as another vehicle is leaving. Turning off the ignition, I jump out and traverse the parking lot. I open the door and scan the large room. My height gives me an advantage to peer over most of the crowd. Then I spot her, sitting at a far table with two other women. Her beauty making her hard not to notice. I’m surprised her table isn’t swarming with guys wanting to talk to her. Good thing there’s not, otherwise, I’d have to rip them all away.
I march my way through the crowd. Her sweet laughter fills my ears the closer I get to her table. As I approach, she’s seated at the end of the high top table, back toward me. Her two friends take notice first, their jaws dropping and eyes going wide. The one who’s an uncanny resemblance to Olivia jabs her with her elbow. She jolts and whirls around. Shock covers her face before she gains her composure.
Her eyes scan mine. “What are you doing here?”
“You told me if I wanted to kiss you and never talk to you again, I had to tell you to your face.”
She sits up straight as if she’s preparing for a punch. “Well, say it.”
“Can we go somewhere private?”
She lifts her chin. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of my friends.”
Not how I envisioned doing this, but okay. I step up to her causing her to crane her neck to meet my gaze. Lifting my hand, I grip the nape of her neck over her golden locks and slam my lips to hers. She releases a small squeak in surprise. Her fingers dance up my covered torso, gripping the fabric to keep me close. Her sweet jasmine scent wafts around me. Pulling away, I break the kiss, but I keep my lips centimeters from hers.
“See, I was going to call you, but my week has been shit, including today. Then I got your message, so I figured I needed to clear a few things up. I didn’t lose my phone. I’m not married. And have zero kids. Are you happy now?”
Her eyes flutter open. Blue irises with flecks of gold surround her dilated pupils. She parts her cherry red lips but says nothing. Instead, she nods.
“And now I’m going to take you home. Clearly, you’ve been drinking, and I don’t want you driving.” She nods again. “Two for two on making you speechless. I never thought that would be possible. Let’s go.” I release my grip on her neck and drag my fingers down her back, coming to a stop just above the curve of her ass. I turn to her friends. “Hi, I’m Ledger.”
“Oh, we know.” A woman with long auburn hair holds out her hand to me. “I’m Hollyn.”
