Page 10 of Cold Foot Cash

Cash leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, clasped his hands in front of him and said low, “What do you have to lose? You have my word I won’t try anything with you. I’m not interested.”

“Is it because I called you Cashew?”

“That’s part of it. Complete turn-off.”

“Well, you being arrogant is a turn-off.”

“Well, you aren’t even my type.”

“You couldn’t be further from my type if you tried.”

“Clearly. Your husband looks like he collects action figurines and would be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse. I run with monsters. Now that we have that cleared up, and neither one of us is at risk of falling in love with the other, can we go?”

“Cash!” one of his friends called.

He stared pointedly at Harley. “You’re holding up the fun.”

She leaned over and looked in the bar area, and everyone was turned, staring at them. She offered a tight-lipped smile at them and then hid behind Cash’s wide frame. “I have to pay still.”

“I already paid.”

“No, not for the beer. I mean I need to pay for my tea and fried pickles.”

“I already paid for those too,” he said, standing. He offered his hand.

She sighed heavily, annoyed at everything that was happening. Annoyed at the entire bar’s attention on her. Annoyed that she was negotiating with this guy. “No touching,” she gritted out, as she ignored his hand. She brushed past him.

“I was just being nice.”

“Well, thank you but I don’t need a man’s help to stand up,” she muttered as she gathered her purse and grabbed her beer.

“Fine. Can you tie your shirt in a knot or something?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re in a bar with a sweatshirt that is three sizes too big and no one can see your figure.”

“I’m not in the bar,” she gritted out, and he pushed her behind the wall with the touch of his fingers on her hip. “I’m in a restaurant,” she whisper-screamed. “Minding my own business—”

“Staring at me this entire time—”

“And furthermore, I don’t need to dress like a stripper to turn a man’s head. Clearly. I’m dressed like this and you came a-runnin’.”

“Good God, lady, who is the arrogant one now? I saw you over here looking all forlorn and on the verge of tears, and I’m offering to give you a fun night. No strings attached. I’ll keep the guys off you, and you keep the girls off me. You know what?” He asked, throwing his hands up and backing away a few feet. “You’re right. This is stupid. I thought it would be fun and we could be a little team, but you’re right.” His eyes softened. “I read some of your texts. You’ve got some big stuff going on, I’ll bet. You don’t need this. You don’t seem ready to have fun. Not yet. Deal with your shit, have the night you want, I won’t bother you anymore.” He sighed and glanced around the corner. “I’m sorry.” He shook his head and walked off and said it again. “Sorry.”

You don’t seem ready to have fun.Why did those words feel like such a deep cut?

She took another swig of her beer and watched him saunter back toward his group. His friend, a giant of a man with dark hair handed him a pool stick. Cash called a pocket, bent right down and made the shot. Then he stood, glanced over at Harley, and she could see the confusion written across his face. And you know? She felt confused as hell too.

What could it hurt? A night spent with a bunch of strangers who wore easy smiles and laughed a lot. She’d forgotten what that was even like these days. And honestly, she’d enjoyed watching their antics from afar.

She drank her beer down and clutched her purse close as she made her way to the bathroom.

You don’t seem ready to have fun.God, those words stung. Before Lance, she’d been a blast.

The bathroom was empty, but just to make sure, she checked for feet under the stalls. Truly alone, Harley looked at herself in the mirror. She had her dark hair pulled back, and was wearing an old oversized sweatshirt. Why she’d brought this thing instead of a jacket, she had no idea. She’d gotten into a habit of dressing herself down in the hopes that no one would look at her, or pay attention to her. She’d grown scared to be noticed.

That was it.

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