Page 22 of Kiss and Tell

They continued to drink and chat, ordering several appetizers for the table to share. The night was just as relaxing as Joey had hoped for, the Storm family great company. Even Miles had loosened up, letting Remi drag him to the dance floor to teach him a country line dance, which was hilarious to watch. Miles was a good dancer, but his skills were of the bump-and-grind variety, not the heel-toe, do-si-do kind.

They’d been at the bar just over an hour when the mayor showed up. Joey had taken an instant disliking to the asshole, and his feelings toward Scottie Grover weren’t changing tonight. Especially when the man made a beeline for Lucy.

“Lucy,” the smarmy guy said, bending over to give her a kiss on the cheek, one that didn’t land because she leaned away quickly. “You should have told me you were going out.”

“Why would I do that?” she asked.

“So I could join you,” Scottie said, as if Lucy were the ignorant one, not him.

Lucy’s lack of love for the mayor was evident to everyone except Scottie, the clueless wonder.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked.

Scottie pointed to three women sitting at a nearby table, one of them waving at Lucy. “Jess texted me. She and her girlfriends never miss ladies’ night.” Scottie glanced at him and Miles, chest puffed out with self-importance as he said, “Jess is my PA. I couldn’t live without her.” He studied the five chairs at the table, all claimed, then glanced around for an extra one at the surrounding tables.

Mercifully, the bar was packed.

“Well, it was just peachy running into you, Scottie,” Remi said, her tone making it perfectly clear she meant the opposite. “See you around.”

It was the least subtle dismissal in history, and if Joey hadn’t already thought Remi was amazing, that would have sealed the deal. Especially when Scottie frowned at her obvious insult and stormed off. Fortunately, someone called out to him, and Joey watched as he pulled on his politician mask to start shaking hands.

“Gotta admit, I’m curious how a guy like that was elected mayor,” Joey mused.

Remi snorted, Theo rolled his eyes, and Lucy laughed as she said, “He ran uncontested.”

He chuckled. “And now it makes sense.”

Lucy had made it clear she was limiting her dancing to the slow songs, so Joey quickly claimed the next two, dragging her out before Scottie could reach their table. The mayor shot daggers at Joey both times, upset at having his prize taken away. The man’s annoyance pleased him too much, so Joey countered the dirty looks with smug grins. Theo joined the game, cockblocking Scottie on the third song, but only because Joey had been in the restroom and unavailable.

When another slow country ballad started to play, Joey looked at Lucy and quickly tilted his head toward Miles, who wasn’t looking their direction.

She nodded at the unspoken suggestion, asking Miles to dance. Joey tried not to laugh when his best friend shot him an alarmed look, as if he expected Joey to be pissed off.

Lucy wanted him to like her, so Joey was going to make sure she got what she wanted.

“Don’t be surprised if she steps on your feet,” Joey joked, before leaning close to mutter in his friend’s ear. “And act fast. Mayor Douchebag is en route.”

Miles rolled his eyes, rising quickly and taking Lucy’s hand. “You act like Lucy’s the one to blame when the problem is you, Joey. Let me show you how arealman leads,” he bragged.

Joey pitched a pretzel at him, watching as the two of them made their way to the floor before treating himself to a quick peek at Scottie’s irritated face.

Miles took Lucy in his arms, her hands resting on his best friend’s broad shoulders as Kenny Chesney’s “Take Her Home” played. If Joey had expected the dance to be stiff or awkward, he would have been disappointed.

In fact…

Joey leaned forward, grateful Remi and Theo had found dance partners as well and were also on the floor. Because it gave Joey the chance to make sure he was seeing what hethoughthe was.

Miles was focused on Lucy, who was peering up at him through those long, thick lashes of hers. The two of them were staring into each other’s eyes, Miles smiling at whatever Lucy was saying. He sure as shit wasn’t looking at her like she talked too much.

Nope. He was looking at her like a man who was hanging on her every word.

He was looking at her exactly the same way Joey had whenhe’ddanced with her.

“Jesus,” he muttered.

Suddenly, he was reexamining Miles’s behavior the past few days…and seeing things in a very different light. Miles hadn’t been keeping his distance from Lucy because he didn’t like her or because he was distracted about Rhiannon.

Miles was holding himself apart because Joey had expressed an interest in the beautiful brewmaster first. And Miles, good friend that he was, was respecting that, stepping aside, giving him a chance to form a connection.

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