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Mia’s eyes were as big as saucers looking at the four full glasses. Taking one, she drank almost all of it before setting it down. “Bluff called, Tess. I’m a lightweight.”
Tess and Ruth laughed at Mia’s defeat. Tess had known the woman would in no way finish the alcohol, but she needed another drink herself, especially after her talk with Mathias. Somehow, his words always seemed to bother her more than anybody else.
Tess took the glasses from in front of Mia and quickly drank the three full ones, then finished the one Mia hadn’t finished and added the empty glasses to the pile in front of Mia. The burn helped drown her emotions, and the buzz was a nice side effect.
Just as the pizza showed up, Tess decided she had had enough of bar night, and she had hit her limit. The pizza looked like cardboard, anyway. With goodbyes to all, she headed out of the bar.
It was fun getting together with friends, but Mathias had turned the night sour. His anger was getting to her, and she had no idea why he was having such an effect on her.
But she didn’t like it.
CHAPTER5
Drunk,Math decided.She was drunk.He had been watching her all night, flirting with Rafferty Brooks and Anderson Miles. She and her friends. They had been buying the women drinks since he came in just before her. Tess, in her fancy leather jacket and skin-tight jeans. Tess with her hair all loose and wavy, sexier looking than she should have in a place like the Landing.A bar was no place for sexy hair!
Forcing himself not to look at her, all he could hear was her voice. Laughing and chatting about nothing, just loud enough so that he heard her every word, every chuckle. She was having a good time drinking fancy wine.
At first, he thought the ladies were together to celebrate Tess Thorn’s birthday. When he had walked by her outside, he had overheard her talking with her ex about being controlled and that he wrecked her birthday. But nobody at the table had said anything about her birthday. Ruth had asked her how old she was, but Tess deflected the question. They didn’t even know it was her birthday.
At his spot at the bar, he watched her drink Mia’s whiskeys as if she were drinking water. When she had come to the bar, he had let his temper get the better of him again. He had been rewarded by seeing pain flash through her eyes before she could tamp it down. Sadly, he had found a way under her skin, and he had used it.
Karen had taken the kids for the weekend on a mini-vacation. His kids weren’t even in the county tonight. They were hours away, having fun without him—which was why he had gone to the bar to see if something was happening. He wanted to get his mind off his failure as a husband. But instead, the bar had been dead, and he had just drunk alone, just like if he had stayed at home.
Tess had extended a peace offering, but he had rejected it. When she had drunk it, he saw the ice from the glass had left her top lip wet, and he really wanted to lick the liquid off it. She had very kissable lips for such an unlikeable person.
Once she made her way back to her table, he watched her drink nearly all the alcohol she had carried over to her friends.She had to be drunk, he decided.Nobody drinks like that, especially no woman with great curves.
Paul started to talk to him about football, and he stopped looking at her. Or tried to. When Paul was called away to get more drinks, he glanced back at the table, and Tess was gone. When had she left? Had she gone to the bathroom? He finished his drink, and she never came back out. She had gone home.
She was alone on her birthday, alone and maybe fall-down drunk on one of the coldest nights of the year. Why didn’t her friends make sure she got home okay? She’d be alone and sad, all because he said she didn’t belong there. He felt like a jerk.
“Damn it.” He waved Paul over and paid for his tab, deciding to add a bottle of wine to go. Landstad may not have any fast-food restaurants or fancy liquor stores, but you could get alcohol to go from the Landing six days a week. Sundays were dry there.
Zipping his coat as he stepped out into the bitter cold, he walked across the street and down a block to the door he presumed led to her apartment. Math opened the door to a hallway that was only steps to a second floor. Checking the mailboxes by the door, he saw she lived in apartment A, whatever that meant.
At the top of the stairs, he spotted the A on a door and headed that way. He softly knocked on the door and waited. Suddenly, he realized he had no idea what he was going to say to her. What was he even doing here? This was crazy; he didn’t even like her.
The door opened, and he saw she had changed. She was wearing an oversized pale green T-shirt and possibly shorts underneath, but Math couldn’t tell. All he could see was bare feet and long legs.Good god, they were long.
Her phone was to her ear, and he heard her mumble, “I will call you back, Tash.”
Her gray eyes were boring into him, and it was making him uncomfortable. Holding up the wine, he said, “Happy birthday.”
“What do you want, Mathias?” Everyone had always called him Math, but he liked her saying his full name. Maybe too much.
“I brought you a gift for your birthday.” He lifted the bottle into the air and smiled, hoping he would soon figure out exactly why he was there himself.
“Who told you it was my birthday?” She set the phone on a table by the door. He heard a text come in as she asked the question.
“You did.” Another text sounded from her phone.
“I really do not think so.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I heard you tell your ex on the phone that he was ruining your birthday.” His eyes traveled south, and he noticed the fabric of her shirt was pulled tight across her ample breasts. She was most definitely braless based on the nipples peeking at him.
“My ex?” she asked, and he knew she had caught him looking at her chest because her arms unfolded and fell to her sides.
“The guy trying to control you. I assumed it was an ex.” He heard another text come in, but she didn’t seem to notice.
