Page 26 of The Hot New Bartender in Town

“Yes,” I answer, exhaling hard.

9

RILEY

Well, this sucks.

I expected tonight to play out differently. I thought dinner would be awkward, which... it was. But notyou-just-slept-with-your-new-stepsisterawkward.

Married, Dad?Really?

As much as I’ll probably dwell on that later, I throw my focus toward the pretty girl sitting across from me now.

Tish Travis.

I’ve been looking forward to this since I kissed her goodbye this morning. And I hadplans. We’d share a drink. Get a little flirty. Maybe a little handsy. Then, downstairs we’d go again, and we’d continue where we left off.

Now... well...

My plans haven’t exactly changed.

Tish, however.

She’s not gazing at me across the table, her pretty eyes bright with booze. She’s sitting back, her drink barely touched, her arms crossed defensively. Eye contact comes sparingly. A wrinkle has formed between her eyebrows.

“Tish,” I say, my voice soft beneath the hum of the surrounding crowd.

She glances over at me. For the slightest of moments, the girl I met last night looks back at me, but then she’s gone again. “Huh?” she asks. “Sorry, I’m just...”

“Shocked?”

“Yeah,” she says, the word a squeak in her throat. “Sort of. Should we tell them?”

“Tell who?”

“Our parents.”

“About what?”

“About…”

“Last night?” I ask.

She nods.

“No.” I shrug. “Why would we?”

“I don’t know.” She leans forward, collapsing her elbows onto the table. “Shit, I don’t know what I’m thinking. Ignore me.”

I smile. As if I could. As if anyone could look away from a girl as beautiful as she is. Especially after they’ve heard her sing. Heard her laugh. After they’ve tasted her.

“Tish,” I say. “Look at me.”

She tilts up, but keeps the bottom half of her face obscured behind her hands.

“It’s going to be okay,” I say. “You know that, right?”

That adorable wrinkle forms once again between her brows. “Is it?” she asks.

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