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“What bait?”
“Whatever she throws out there.”
Okay. “A favor for a favor.”
He nodswhateverand slips his hand around my waist.
My stomach flutters. Which is silly. I’m only here to keep the guy busy. Sure, he’s obscenely hot now, but—
“Alice.” He greets the bartender with a smile. “This is a nice surprise.”
She offers a scowl in response. “I thought you were in New York.” She packs awhy didn’t you stay in New York, as far away from me as possibleinto the sentence.
“I was,” he says. “I am. I’m visiting.”
“It’s been a while,” she says.
“It has.”
Alice studies me the way other women study Lexi, with a glint in her eyes that tells me I’m competition.
I’m used to the feeling in academic and professional settings, but here? My cheeks flush. My chest swells. A strange mix of pride and self-consciousness fills my body. “It’s nice to meet you, Alice. I’m Deanna.” My manners kick in and I offer my hand. First, an introduction. Then a compliment. “I love your dress.”
“Thanks.” She shakes with a firm grip. “You, too. On both counts.” She looks to River. “It’s a slow night. Plenty of dance floor to ignore.”
“River doesn’t dance?” I ask.
“He asked me to senior prom,” she says. “Then he stood there, on the sidelines, the whole time. But maybe he’s learned.”
Oh. She definitely thinks I’m his girlfriend. And that I dance, I guess. Which I do, but how would she know that by looking at me?
“I dance,” he says.
Alice scoffs and moves on to more pressing matters. “Still drinking cosmos?”
“They’re pink,” he says, as if that explains anything to anyone other than me.
They’re Lexi’s drink. That’s the reason.
Alice looks to me. “Cosmo for you, too, princess?”
“With your best vodka. And no triple sec. Cointreau or bust.”
She grins. “You know your cocktails.”
“I dabble,” I say.
“Have you bartended?” she asks.
I nod. “For a semester in college.”
“Now?”
“I’m a programmer,” I say.
“A nerd,” she says to River. “That is your speed.” She addresses me again. “We have fresh lime, but our cranberry is a mix.”
“I’ll live.”
