Page 113 of Ride a Cowboy

As it was, he was going to have to plaster a fake smile on his face and pretend he was having fun. Doing so would take more energy than he had.

He grabbed a seat at the table, surrounded by his former teammates and their girls. Everyone was laughing, talking and drinking. Twice, Lorelie had given him a questioning look and asked why he wasn’t talking to Sadie. He’d shrugged it off, claiming she was too busy to chat.

Joel glanced at Oakley, who looked as miserable as he did.

“One drink,” Joel muttered. “Then we’re getting out of here.”

Oakley shook his head. “Nope. Not going anywhere.”

Joel hadn’t expected Oakley to dig his heels in. His friend didn’t have a stubborn bone in his body. Then he realized Oakley’s gaze was glued to the bar.

Joel followed his line of vision and suddenly understood. There was a guy sitting alone, chatting with Sadie. Flirting, actually. When Sadie set a fresh drink in front of the man, he reached out to grasp her hand, pretending to look at her tattoo.

Sadie withdrew her hand, but the fact she wasn’t responding to the asshole’s come-ons didn’t calm Joel down. He didn’t consider himself a jealous man, but he realized that was because he’d never been in love. It appeared Oakley was suffering a pretty bad case of the emotion as well, his friend’s hands balled into fists on the table.

Sadie must have sensed the heated looks honing in on her like laser beams because her gaze lifted and connected with his.

If he hadn’t been so furious, he would have chuckled when her lips clearly moved and she said, “Fuck.”

Her curse caught the attention of Mr. Can’t Catch a Clue, who leaned closer, his face covered with fake concern.

Joel wasn’t sure what Sadie said to the man, but she obviously hadn’t mentioned him or Oakley. Instead, her scowl softened, her lips curling into a coquettish smile of her own. One that she gave to the man at the end of the bar. The man she hadn’t given two damns about three seconds earlier.

Then she leaned over the counter, pointing to her tattoo. The man’s interest in her ink vanished in the face of the ample eyeful of cleavage she was treating him to. Then she gave the guy a flirty look and flipped her hair. Joel knew exactly who her little show was for, but he wasn’t sure what her goal was. If she’d wanted to solidify the fact she was no longer interested in them and was moving on, she failed. All she’d managed to do was trigger his temper and prove to him that she hadn’t meant a damn thing she’d said in the restaurant.

Sadie was in love with them and fighting it. Hard.

“Oakley,” Joel said, not bothering to look at his friend, refusing to take his gaze away from Sadie.

“Yeah?”

“I’m about to do everything wrong.”

Oakley didn’t laugh and he didn’t ask questions. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Joel and Oakley rose from the table, ignoring their friends when they asked where they were going. They made a beeline for the bar.

Sadie’s eyes narrowed when they stepped up to the counter, flanking the asshole.

“You want a drink?” she asked, her tone sheer belligerence. It was a dangerous stance to take, given Joel’s current state of mind.

“You got a break coming up?” Joel asked.

That caught the attention of the man sitting between them. “Hey, back off, man.”

Stupid prick must have thought there was some first-come-first-serve rule in effect.

“Excuse me?” Joel said.

The guy wasn’t easily intimidated. “Sadie and I were having a little chat. I’m sort of hoping she’ll take a twirl with me on the dance floor on her next break.”

He gave Sadie a look that reeked of confidence. The man didn’t have a clue she wasn’t really interested.

“Yeah,” Oakley said, drawing the man’s attention to him. “That’s not happening.”

Sadie slammed down the metal shaker she was using to mix a drink with enough force that everyone in the surrounding area looked up. She pointed at both Joel and Oakley. “Come with me.”

Every word dripped with fury. Joel welcomed it. They’d let her walk away from them in the restaurant without a fight. That wouldn’t happen again.

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