Page 73 of Bad Luck Club

Blue had the thought that she should pull away, but she didn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to…not when it was the very last thing she wanted to do.

“Whythatstatue?” Harry asked Nicole. “You didn’t like the look on his face? He does kind of have a stink eye. And from the way he’s holding that map, you can just tell he’s the sort of guy who’d get on your case about getting lost.”

Nicole smiled at them, but up close, Blue could see her fists were pink and red from hitting the statue. “My ex-boyfriend claimed he was a descendant of Olmsted’s. He’s full of shit, so it’s almost certainly a lie, but it felt like the right symbolic choice.”

“How did it feel?” Cal asked, his gaze intent on her.

She glanced at Dee. “I’m glad you said to use a proxy, Dee, but it felt damn good to finally let it all out.”

Dee smiled back at her and waved her phone. “I caught the whole thing on video.”

Which maybe wasn’t the smartest thing. What Nicole had done wasn’t illegal, probably, but it would surely be frowned upon.

Blue’s gaze drifted back toward the gardens. A few people were wandering their way, and she thought she saw the bright blond ponytail of the most vocal of the employees who’d approached them.

“We have to go,” she said. “Are we finishing the meeting at the Cluster?”

“Let’s get a drink,” Nicole said. “I need one.”

Lee, who still hadn’t released her hand and showed no interest in doing so, said, “I know a place for that.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Lee regretted issuing the invitation almost as soon as the words left his mouth. Buchanan Brewery’s event space wasn’t in use today, which meant it was fair game, but he couldn’t exactly walk out of the meeting if it was being held at his family brewery. At least there’d been the possibility of escape at the Cluster. This time he was good and stuck. The thing was, Blue wanted to be with the group, and he wanted to be with her. Which meant he was still a probationary member of the club.

She’d kissed him.

He was still in shock. If she hadn’t continued to hold his hand once they reached the parking lot, he would have thought his nightly fantasies had crept into the daylight.

She’dkissedhim.

Did that mean she’d skipped out on her date? Yesterday morning, Dottie had called Lee to tell him she’d pulled some tarot cards on his behalf, and the reading had indicated he’d have a good day but only if he pushed the family angle of the business. He’d laughed and said he’d give it a try. Then she’d shocked him by saying, “I’m sure you must have mixed emotions about Blue going out on her date tonight.”

He jumped out of the chair at the desk in his motel room in Winston-Salem. “What?”

He’d known, of course, but he’d hoped that after Wednesday…

“He’s averyhandsome surgeon. He saves children, you know. Quite handsome as well.”

“You already mentioned that part,” Lee grunted, the bagel he’d had for breakfast suddenly a lump of concrete in his stomach.

“He started an organization that takes surgical teams to South America to provide medical care for underprivileged children.”

His heart sunk. How could he compete withthat? “He’s probably an asshole with a God complex,” Lee grumped. “He only does it so people will pat him on the back and tell him what a great guy he is.”

“You would think, wouldn’t you?” she said, sounding oblivious to his discomfort. “But he’s one of the most genuine, nicest men I’ve ever met.” Then she paused and said, “Don’t forget what I told you about focusing on family today. Have a good day.” With that, she’d hung up.

It had ruined his day, of course. Every time he’d had a moment to think, his mind had conjured images of Blue sitting at a table with a man who looked like a movie star, candlelight flickering between them. Her date would tell her about all of the wonderful things he’d done with his day, all of them more significant than shilling beer.I reattached a toddler’s leg while instructing a doctor in a developing country how to do a tonsillectomy over FaceTime; then I ran out of surgery just in time to see my discharged patient, whom I’d single-handedly cured of cancer, so I could give her a balloon bouquet. Oh, and a pony.

Blue wouldn’t fall for that shit, would she? Did it matter? All he had to do was be a tiny bit better person than Lee, and that shouldn’t be that difficult for Dr. Wonderful.

His mind still on Blue, he met with the manager of a country bar in Winston-Salem and got the vibe that Dottie was spot-on with this one…even if he wasn’t supposed to believe in her hocus-pocus, new agey crap. Within five minutes, the man was showing him pictures of his own grandparents, hung on the wall of his office, and telling him they’d moved to the state with no more than five dollars in their pockets.

“Our family history is important to us at Buchanan Brewery,” Lee had said, taking a cue from the bar’s manager. “Our grandfather Beau Blue started the brewery—”

“I thought his name was BeauBuchanan.”

He’d scrambled to pull himself out of that one, and thankfully had managed to secure an order before he’d left the bar—though he’d been less successful in blocking out thoughts of Blue. But he’d left with an order.

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