Page 78 of His to Cherish
“Hey, sweetie,” I said, and kissed Paige’s cheek in greeting when I slid onto the barstool next to her.
David was behind the bar with his back to us, mixing drinks for other customers, and while I found him attractive only in a purely appreciative sense, I still noticed how well his butt filled out the dark denim jeans he was wearing.
Very nice, as a matter of fact.
“Hey!” Paige wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward her. “How are you?”
“Good.” I smiled, my mind drifting to last night and this morning before I could stop it. My cheeks heated as my smile spread. “Great, actually.”
Paige’s eyes went wide with happy surprise at my quick response.
“And does that have anything to do with a sexy man who’s been seen parking his truck in your driveway as of late?”
I laughed, but kept my voice low, not wanting David to hear. “The gossip in this town is unreal.”
“You should hear the gossip at the hair salon I go to. Apparently you are currently numero uno on every single woman’s hate list.”
“Fantastic,” I murmured, but despite the fact that single women all over town hated me, I couldn’t quench my smile.
Two water glasses appeared in front of us, and I looked up to see David grinning at me. “Please, don’t talk about him here.”
He was joking, it was clear in the mischievous glimmer in his eyes, but I was feeling lighter than I had in months and I couldn’t help but prod him after Paige and I ordered margaritas.
“Why, David? Don’t you want to know what he’s like in bed?”
Next to me, Paige made a choking sound and cold water hit my shoulder.
“Ew!” My head snapped in her direction. “You just spit water on me.”
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “You’re having sex with him?”
“Please,” David said, raising a hand to stop me. “I really don’t need to hear this.”
“Then maybe you should go to the other end of the bar so you don’t have to.” I wiggled my eyebrows, teasing him.
I wouldn’t spill specifics about Aidan in bed, and I wouldn’t even confirm to Paige whether or not I was in fact sleeping with Aidan. In my opinion, that was private information, and I wasn’t one to boast about my sexual exploits.
Although with Aidan, there was plenty to boast about.
The thought heated my cheeks and I took a sip of my water, thankful for the icy drink that cooled my warming skin.
“So tell me,” Paige said once David gave up and moved down to the end of the bar to serve a group of men dressed in business suits. “Tell me what he’s like.”
“I’m neither confirming nor denying anything.” I flashed a wink in her direction and we laughed.
“You’re no fun,” she pouted.
“That’s not what Aidan says.”
She faked another pout when David came back. After sliding menus and our drinks in front of us, he covered his ears and left.
It only made us laugh more, but Paige dropped the sex talk while we decided what to order.
“It’s good to see you smiling again,” she said once we’d given David our orders. Mine, a huge pile of nachos with extra jalapeños. Paige got a double cheeseburger like she always did. I envied the metabolism she had. The girl ate like a man and somehow stayed a size two.
“It’s been a rough couple of months,” I admitted. “And there’s so much more I haven’t talked about regarding Derrick and Shane and Aidan…” I didn’t want to finish it.
Not because I was worried David might hear, but because I felt something shift in the atmosphere, as if the fog that had been weighing me down lately was beginning to lift, and in its wake, there were pale rays of sun beginning to peek through.
