Page 7 of Expiry Dating

“Well, I guess I better get you another.” He gestured to the bartender, Teddy, and pointed at her drink. A very male, silent communication passed between them and ended with another drink being placed in front of her. “What are we celebrating?”

Oh, what the hell. I deserve it.

Two drinks later and she was pleased to learn that Ryan was indeed a nice guy. She’d shared with him details of her new job and in turn he’d talked about how he became a chef. The man was a shameless flirt, of course, but she seemed to be pretty immune to his charms. It made her wonder if maybe she was broken. Had Rob broken her?

It had been over three months since her break-up and she hadn't so much as looked twice at another man. Well, actually, that wasn’t quite true. There was one man she’d looked at more than twice, but that was never going to happen. But the point was, here she was, sharing a drink with an attractive man, who pre-Rob would have been just her type, and she felt nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Yep, I’m definitely broken.

Suddenly in need of a bathroom break, she excused herself and went in pursuit of the ladies’ room. She felt him before she saw him. Brady, leaning against the aging crimson wallpaper, his very angry eyes on her.

Fuckity fuck.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d stormed out on her, which was unusual, considering he had a habit of just showing up wherever she was. Despite him being a pig-headed arsehole, she knew she had to talk to him at some point and convince him to show up to his next session. But now was not the time. She was two drinks in, and he was looking at her like she’d just slapped his mum and shot his dog.

Adjusting her path so she didn’t have to pass him, Alice thought she could avoid the looming confrontation. She was wrong. Before she reached the door to the ladies’, a strong arm was on hers, swivelling her around to face him. Already in her space, he kept inching forward until her back hit the wall. That’s when he crowded her, one hand resting next to her face.

“Ever heard of personal space?” The words came out a little more breathless than she’d hoped. Having Brady this close to her was not good. Not good at all. He even smelled sexy.

Pig-headed arsehole, remember?

“Sure have, sweetness. You wanna tell me what you’re doing here with Ryan?”

“What?”

“You on a date?”

Is he jealous? No, he couldn’t be; he hates me.

“That’s none of your business.”

Brady’s eyes narrowed—they were the darkest she’d ever seen them. “Like hell it’s not. You think I’m gonna sit back and let you shack up with the town whore?”

“Let me?” she spat. “I don’t know what your dysfunction is, Brady, but the last time I checked, you have no control whatsoever of who I talk to, date, or fuck.”

His expression turned granite as his breath hit her skin and the notes of whiskey on his breath filled her nostrils. “You’re playing with fire, darlin’.”

“Is that so? And what exactly are you gonna do?”

Quicker than lightning, she was airborne and over his shoulder, her arse in the air. He was carrying her out of the bar like a Neanderthal, but she didn’t go quietly. She treated the bar to a show, mostly of her punching his back and shouting that he put her down. He didn’t even flinch.

It wasn’t until they reached his truck that he let her down, but it wasn’t on her feet. No, Brady placed her inside his truck and began buckling her in, calmly. Like he hadn’t just tossed her over his shoulder and carried her out against her will.

Jesus Christ. The man is unhinged. Batshit fucking crazy.

She released the seatbelt as soon as she could and attempted to barge her way out. She didn’t get very far. Actually, she was still in the truck seat, sans seatbelt.

Damn wall of muscle.

“I’ll call the police, Brady. I mean it.”

His smile made an appearance then, and she knew she wasn’t going to like what he said next.

“I am the police, sweetness, remember?”

“I think they call that abuse of power. Just ’cos you’re a cop, doesn’t mean you can go around kidnapping people ’cos you think you can get away with it.”

“Sweetness, I’m not gonna stand ’round here arguing with you. I’m taking you home. You’ve been drinking, you can’t drive, and I’m sure as hell not gonna leave you with Ryan.”

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