Page 38 of Never and Always
The women all traded glances.
“Caden went with him. The big, strong men taking care of the little, dim woman.” I took another swallow. “I mean, who does he think he is?”
“Girl, I think you should let him help you,” Jazz murmured.
Tessa, Sierra, and Allie nodded.
“If there are bad guys with knives, I suggest letting Everett help,” Allie said.
“Ro and Caden are in cahoots with him too.” I scowled. “It’s like they get together and believe that as a woman, I don’t have the brains to deal with things.”
“I don’t think they think that,” Tessa said. “They’re clearly worried about you.”
“And trust me, Caden has the need to protect inserted into his DNA.” Allie lifted her glass. “He can’t help himself.”
I made a disgruntled sound. “Then, Everett kissed me!”
Allie grinned, Tessa’s mouth dropped open, Sierra poorly fought back a smile, and Jazz looked like she was biting her lip.
“Was it good?” Allie asked.
I scowled at her. “That’s not the point.”
“It was good,” Jazz said.
“He’s being nice to me, bringing me coffee, and checking on my injuries.”
“How dare he?” Tessa said.
“He needs to be stopped,” Allie joked.
Jazz leaned against the counter. “He can bring me coffee.”
“Don’t be reasonable when I’m ranting.” I finished my second drink, feeling a very pleasant buzz. Sierra hadn’t skimped on the vodka. “He annoys me. He wears a flannel shirt just to drive me crazy. Especially when he pushes the sleeves up to his elbow. Does he know how good that looks?”
My friends looked like they were all trying not to laugh.
I huffed. “We are total opposites. We have no business kissing.”
“I want to hear more about the kissing,” Sierra said.
I shook my head. “I’m worried about my brother. I think he’s in over his head.”
“Honey, he’s an adult,” Tessa said. “One who makes some poor decisions, it sounds like. I know it’s in your DNA to solve problems, but some of these problems, he needs to solve himself. Or he’ll never learn.”
My shoulders slumped.
“Let’s go back to the kiss,” Allie suggested.
The front door opened, and suddenly the room was filled with handsome men. Ro entered, wearing a cashmere overcoat Iknew was Dior. His gaze went straight to Tessa, his lips tipping up.
“Sorry to interrupt cocktail night, but the bar lost power,” he said. “They said a transformer in town blew.”
Caden followed, and made a straight line to Allie. Gunnar was next, looking very silver-fox handsome.
Everett followed them in, looking far too good in his brown leather jacket. I stiffened, and his hazel gaze flicked my way.
I shot to my feet. “I need to go.”
