Page 9 of Phoenix

She couldn’t believe that Riggs finally admitted that he had feelings for her, but what exactly that meant was still a mystery to her. She looked around at the people on the dance floor and spotted her three friends sitting in a back corner of the bar with three bikers. She couldn’t help her smile as she shook her head at them.

“You okay?” Riggs asked.

“I’m fine,” she said. She was more than fine, but she wasn’t going to give up all her secrets just yet. “I just saw my friends in the back of the bar with a few of the bikers. They seem to be having a good time.”

“How about you, Phoenix?” he asked. “Are you having a good time?”

She pretended to think about her answer and Riggs seemed to know the game that she was playing. He tugged her barstool closer to him and leaned in so close, she was sure that he was going to kiss her. Phoenix felt as though her heart might beat out of her chest.

“I’m having a lovely time,” she insisted.

“Good to know,” Riggs breathed. He was so close to her now, she could feel his breath on her cheek. “I’m going to kiss you, and I don’t want to freak you out. Is it okay?”

“You are?” she squeaked. “Here, now?”

“Here and now,” he said. He didn’t give her any time to think about what he had said. If he had, she wouldn’t have agreed to the steamy kiss that he gave her. Phoenix was practically on his lap, which she honestly didn’t mind, but they seemed to garner the attention of a few guys in the club, and that was the last thing she wanted since she was starting work there the next night.

Juno walked over to where Phoenix and Riggs sat and wrapped her arm around Phoenix’s shoulder. “What are you doing over here, kissing the hot guy?”

“Juno, this is Riggs. He lives next door to Aggie,” Phoenix said.

“So, you’re like a neighbor with benefits then?” Juno asked.

“No,” Phoenix almost shouted at her. “He’s a friend of my grandmother and I guess me now too.”

“I’ve never kissed any of my friends that way, Phoenix,” Juno insisted. “Listen, I was going to invite you over to join us at the corner booth, but you seem to be good right here.” Phoenix nodded her agreement, and Juno took off for the back of the bar again.

“Which one of you drove here?” Riggs asked. She thought that was a weird question for him to ask, but she answered it anyway.

“Juno drove here,” she said, “why?”

“Well, she’s not driving home tonight,” he said. “She’s had too much to drink. I’ll take you home and arrange for one of the guys to run the other women home.”

She leaned into Riggs again, running her hand up his thigh, “You’re taking me home to your place, right?” she asked.

“While I love your eagerness, honey, I don’t want to rush things,” Riggs insisted.

“Honestly, Riggs, I can’t go home to Aggie this way. Lydia has never seen me this way either. At least let me sleep on your couch for the night. I promise to behave myself.” That was probably a lie since she couldn’t seem to keep her hands to herself. “Cross my heart,” she said.

Riggs chuckled, “I don’t think that it’s a good idea for you to crash at my place, honey. I’m not sure why you can’t be drunk in front of your grandmother,” he admitted.

“Because I don’t want to disappoint her,” she said.

“Does Mrs. Aggie know that you are at a bar with your friends?” he asked.

“Of course she does,” Phoenix insisted. “She’s watching Lydia for me, and I don’t keep secrets from her, I just don’t want her to be disappointed.”

“Well, from the way that she brags about you, I don’t think that it’s possible for her to be disappointed in you at all.” Phoenix was sure that wasn’t true. She had let her grandmother down in so many ways and now she was home feeling completely defeated with a two-year-old she couldn’t financially take care of. What kind of grandmother would be proud of her granddaughter after she had failed so miserably at life?

“Thanks for saying that, Riggs, but you don’t have to,” she assured. “I know how badly I’ve messed up my life and Aggies. Now that I’m back, she’s had to take care of Lydia for me instead of going out and having fun herself. Plus, I’m relying on her financially and that has to be hard on her.” Sure, Aggie had money that was left to her by her second husband, but that didn’t mean that she needed to use it to take care of her and Lydia.

“First off—Mrs. Aggie is thrilled that you are here. She told me so herself. Second, she is so excited to finally get to meet Lydia, so I’m betting that taking care of her isn’t as muchof a hardship as you’re painting it to be. And third, I heard from Savage that you are going to be waitressing here starting tomorrow, so you’ll be able to help out financially. You’re being too hard on yourself, Phoenix,” he insisted. God, it was nice to hear praise instead of criticism for a change. Everyone in her life over the past four years made her feel like trash, but Riggs was telling her that she was being too hard on herself gave her hope that all those other people who were putting her down, were wrong.

“Hey, we’re heading out,” Juno said. She and the girls were standing behind her and Riggs with the guys that they had met at the bar. “Do you need us to drop you off?” she asked.

“You’re not driving, are you?” Riggs asked.

“Um, no,” Vixen said, stepping forward, “we are all drunk.”

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