“You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”
Truthfully? No, not entirely. Under different circumstances, I could definitely see myself being interested in the guy. But life isn’t about hypotheticals; it’s about dealing with the hand you’ve been dealt. No matter how crappy it is.
“I have a firm boundary about this,” I tell Pip. “I’m not interested in dating anyone. Especially not Maverick.”
“Why especially not him?” he prods. He’s like a dog with a bone sometimes.
Because I may actually like him.
I knock back half the glass at once.
“Because I said so, that’s why. Boundaries are boundaries, and boundaries don’t need to be explained.”
“I’ll give you fifty bucks if you stop saying boundaries.”
My lips twitch. “Sorry. Look, I know this might not make a lot of sense to you, but I’m going through a lot, and I just don’t have the capacity to deal with anything else at the moment. I’ve hit my limit.”
“I can understand that. I won’t push anymore,” he says. I bring the rim of the glass to my lips and fix him with a skeptical look. “Okay. I won’t push any more tonight,” he admits with a goofy smile because, just like Clancy, he’s incapable of letting shit like this go. He takes a sip of his wine and scans the bar. His face drops. “Oh no.”
“What is it?” I ask, looking out into the bar. I can make the first few figures out reasonably clearly, but behind them, everyone else is blurry outlines.
“Ridge Duporth is here.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to be on my best behavior and keep my hands to myself.”
Pip ignores me, staring out to where I assume Ridge is. “Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“He saw us.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He just smiled and…fuck.”
“What?”
“He waved.”
I follow the direction Pip is focused on, lift a hand into the air, and give him the finger.
“What’s he doing now?” I mutter.
“Not smiling.”
“Good.”
Pip turns back to face me. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on there?”
“Nope.”
He releases an exasperated huff. “You’re just as pigheaded as Clancy.”
“I can say the same about you.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll let the Ridge thing go because it’s probably nothing anyway. On one condition.”
“Which is?”
