“You say ‘fuck’ more, so that’s promising.” He winked and chewed on the edge of his tongue.
Unable to resist, she rolled her eyes and leaned her knee against his. “More.”
“I’ve got loads that I’m not going to say in public,” he said, upgrading the knee-snuggle to a full thigh. “Do me.”
She tongued the edge of her teeth as she focused on him. “Hmm. You talk more.”
“Do not.”
“Hey. These are my observations. Shut up,” she teased.
He snorted a laugh and relaxed his expression, exuding approachable, flirty confidence instead of the badass don’t-talk-to-me he’d walked in as.
“You smile more. Especially that smile where you lift one side higher.”
“It’s effective.”
“Ha. I won’t argue with that,” she admitted, that damn blush heating her cheeks again.
Eyes locked on hers, confusion and hope tweaking in a subtle crook of his brow, he seemed to search to see if she was still messing around.
Before awkward could take over, in front of all of her friends when she wasn’t sure herself, she lifted her expression into her winningest smile.
Cole bit the edge of his tongue, smiling uncertainly, and she knew he saw right through it.
He cleared his throat and looked away. “So. Asher. ‘Sort of’ eloping?” he asked, voice bright and playful, no trace of the heat from a moment ago.
“That’s the plan,” Asher said, grinning smittenly, then leaned in for a kiss on Sophie’s temple. “Sophie hates big parties as much as I do.”
Cole shook his head, laughing and appearing relaxed. “She must be someone special, to put up with you?”
Asher shrugged sheepishly. “She is very aware of my… history. I may have informed her that you were involved in many of those escapades.”
“You can’t prove a thing,” he teased, tipping back his beer.
Finn lifted a pitcher and was about to refill Cole’s glass, but he waved it away.
Trace whispered in his ear, “I don’t mind driving home.”
“Nah, thanks though,” he answered. “I’d rather see you unleash my favorite laugh, like when your head tips back and your throat bobs and you can’t contain it. You know, that only happens when you’re completely honest and in the moment.” He looked around the table, and angled his whisper, quieter, as if ensuring no one could even read his expression. Cheek to cheek, he away from the others and said, “The sooner I get to know you in the here and now, the sooner I can make a move.”
Trace’s mind slowed, her expression softening and she pulled back just far enough to see his expression. So close she could kiss him, so close she could see the green accents in his gray eyes, she quickly shifted so she could hide her expression behind him, answering softly, “These are some of the few people on this planet who know me well enough to know that laugh.”
He chuckled softly, his cheek brushed against hers and she could feel his smile. “Yeah? Do they know that you’re wearing that sweatshirt because you didn’t want your parents, nor any coworkers—or really anyone you’ve ever met—to see you in the tight tank top and realize how fucking hot you are?”
“I’m not sure.” She shouldn’t ask, but she couldn’t resist, the noise of the tavern, her friends distracted. Pulse pounding under her skin, she kept up the flirt. “Is this your professional interrogation strategy, giving me wine and compliments, so I’ll let my guard down and tell you all my secrets?”
So close his skin warmed hers, the beginning of new growth of beard scratched against her cheek as he spoke. “I don’t need to get you drunk, and I will only ever tell you the truth. When I want to interrogate you, you won’t even realize what’s happening, until I know everything.”
“And if I play the damsel and beg for mercy?”
“If you played the damsel, I’d know you were trying to throw me off.”
“A sweet, dull thing like me?”
“Because I know it’s bullshit. Plus, you have tells. You’re good, but I can see right through the phony smiles and good-girl image.”
Done socializing with the masses, Pippa bubbled back over, entirely sober with her wee pregnant belly starting to protrude, accented by her snug wedding party tank and pleated miniskirt. As she dropped into her seat at Lincoln’s side, she announced, “I am sad to say, that my co-party planner,” she gestured across the table at Freya, who responded with a simmering eye-roll, “has let me down and did not plan any party games.” Pippa tipped her chin at her cousin with dramatic disappointment.
