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“Hey.” Keaton nudged her with his elbow. “Earth to August.”
She blinked. “Sorry, I’m totally zoning out.”
The rest of the table was in discussion. The owner had come out to see how the meal had gone, and he and Theo were chatting about their favorite Italian wines. Scout, meanwhile, had Lane and Isla in peals of laughter about something funny that had happened at her prenatal checkup last week.
“You can try to act like it’s nothing, but something is up,” he said.
“I never denied that. I simply said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
He turned to her in the banquette seat, and the action caused his knee to brush against her thigh. He slid his arm along the back of the seat, not around her shoulders, but it still made part of her want to sigh and lean into him.
“I might be able to help,” he said. “I know you think I’m just some emotionless robot, but I do give good advice.”
“I don’t think you’re a robot.”
“You’d be wrong, then,” he said, leaning forward slightly. His stubble had grown even darker through the day, and she’d never seen him look so rough-and-tumble sexy. “I’m actually a bionic weapon of annoyance.”
She snorted. “NowthatI would believe.”
“Look, I understand you think we’re not friends, but rather ‘acquaintances joined by a mutual thread’ and all...” He cocked his head. “But Idoconsider you a friend. If someone is being an asshole to you, I can have a quiet word with them.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Sounds like that ‘quiet word’ has some baseball-bat-to-the-knees connotations.”
“Not required. I’mverypersuasive with my mouth alone.”
She gulped. He probably didn’t mean those words to have such a strong sexual undertone, but August was feeling at least fifty degrees hotter all of a sudden. She took a swig of her red wine, but it didn’t help at all. The sensual berry notes of the alcohol were going to her head, and suddenly she was finding it hard to fight back all the usual things that held her at a distance.
He’s emotionally unavailable.
But was he, though? He seemed genuine now.
He’s already broken your heart once.
Technically, that was her fault. Not his.
He’s not looking for commitment.
Were any men? It felt like every time she tried to find someone who was looking for the same thing as her, she ran into a dead end. Doing the same thing over and over was like slamming her head against a brick wall.
He’s not the practical choice.
He really wasn’t. There was so much baggage. So much history. He was guarded and wary and he had the potential to break her heart clean in two. Because she’d already loved him for very nonpractical reasons, for chemistry reasons.
All the things she’d struck off her checklist.
Yet, for some reason—maybe the wine and good meal and the warmth of being around the people she cared about—the checklist suddenly felt like a burden, rather than an aid.
“Tell you what,” she said. “I don’t want to get into it here, but we’ll talk in the car, okay?”
“Told you I’m persuasive,” he said.
Across the table, August caught Scout nudging Isla, and then both women looked in their direction, giggling. It must be written all over her face how much she wanted him, even when she knew better.
But she’d drunk enough that her tongue felt loose and her ability to put her brain in charge was slowly slipping through her fingers. She was tired of trying to make good decisions, only to face humiliation. She was tired of pretending that she didn’t feel the chemistry she had with Keaton. And, most of all, she was tired of feeling like the partnership she wanted was completely out of her reach.
What if, for one night, she just...had a good time?
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