Page 99 of His to Cherish
“Of course,” I said, unwrapping the paper from my second cupcake. Thank goodness I loved to run.
Camden flashed me a wide grin and reached for her own second helping.
—
I adored my friends.
Being with them at Fireside—country music filtering through the speakers, the sound of pool balls being smacked around the pool table, and the atmosphere at our table filled with lighthearted laughter—made me love them even more.
After I had called Suzanne earlier in the day and we’d talked about her pregnancy and my date with Aidan, she jumped at the chance to go out and celebrate her news with the rest of us. And after assuring her that I was completely thrilled for her and Jackson—because Iwas—there was nothing left to do except giggle like schoolgirls when I described my date.
And that kiss. I still felt it on my lips, even though it was just a “barely there” kind of kiss. I couldn’t forget the way Aidan’s lips felt and tasted, or how his hands held me in a way that made me want to melt right into him.
The only person unable to join us tonight was Blue. She was busy working some high-society engagement party for the governor’s daughter.
We were on margarita pitcher number two, taking it easy and drinking more slowly—in part because Suzanne wasn’t helping—when David walked up. He stood between Camden and me and slid a fresh bowl of chips and salsa into the center of our table. As he pulled back, his hand landed on the back of my chair and he gave me one of his easygoing smiles.
Paige and Suzanne sighed. Based on the dazzled look in Trina’s eyes, she might have as well.
I wrinkled my nose at their buffoonish behavior and looked at David. “What’s up?”
“Thank you for helping Aidan.”
I thought back to our date and bit my lip, unsure how exactly I’d helped him. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Trust me, he hasn’t stopped talking about you all day. Whatever you did last night, it helped.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, teasing me, and my cheeks flooded with heat. “You guys must gossip worse than girls,” I admonished him.
David stood up and looked around the table, his eyes stopping momentarily on Camden. “I’ve heard you ladies…there’s no way we’re worse than you.”
He flashed Camden a wink and whispered something into her ear that I didn’t catch, but her back straightened and her shoulders pulled back.
With a wave to our table, he stepped away. “See you ladies around.”
“Man, I love that guy,” Trina said, watching him walk away. How she could think tall, lean, and handsome David was worth watching when she had her large, muscular, and sexy-as-sin Declan in her bed every night I had no clue.
“What did he say to you?” I asked, leaning in to Camden.
She swallowed a glass of water, chugging it as if she needed to cool down. “Nothing.”
“Oh, come on,” Suzanne prodded. “You have to tell us after that reaction.”
“He thinks I’m pretty.” She waved a hand as if it were nothing and refilled her margarita glass. “Can we move on now?”
I took in her pinched lips and the tightness in her cheeks.
“He’s pretty hot.”
She shot me a glare. “He’s a bartender.”
Ouch. It sounded harsh, and I knew she hadn’t meant it as badly as that sounded.
I tried to let it go when Paige said, “Yeah but he’s a hot bartender and he wants in your pants. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Said the girl who’d been married since she was twenty-two and who had been with only one guy, her husband, Lucas, her entire life.
I snorted, covering my laugh.
