Page 32 of Up All Night

I used to be a ladies’ man, right along with Cannon. We’d been a great duo back in the day. We were such opposites. Where he was outgoing, I was reserved. He was spontaneous, and I liked to plan. He had the tall, dark and handsome look, and I had…well, I had the tall, blond, and handsome look. We’d found that no matter what girls we approached, one of us would catch someone’s attention.

Then I’d had a girlfriend but quickly found out girlfriends and work didn’t really go together. And so I’d given up on the girlfriend thing. Work was what mattered the most to me.

I spun my drink, still wishing it was water. “I used to be, but those days are gone now.”

She watched me carefully. “Are you sad about that?”

My eyes quickly lifted to hers in surprise. “What? No. Not at all.”

“Because it’s never too late to get out there,” she teased. “That blonde at the end of the bar keeps looking back at you, giving me the evil eye.”

I glanced at where she was pointing, and sure enough, a blonde woman was looking at me as she sucked her drink from a straw.

“If only she knew how much you hate me,” she chuckled.

Turning back to Halle, I swept my gaze over her. I definitely didn’t hate her. I didn’t even dislike her. Actually, the more I got to know her, the more I could admit I had misjudged her. I’d been the jerk who hadn’t wanted to care about anyone but myself.

My eyes locked on hers. “I don’t hate you, Halle.”

My statement had turned the moment serious, our eyes remaining connected for several seconds. I hadn’t meant to say more than the words I’d said, but somehow I was worried she could see beyond my words to feelings I wasn’t even conscious of myself.

She blinked, looking down for a moment before glancing back at me with a teasing look. “Hmm,” she mused. “I seem to have had lots of instances to reverse that.”

I let out a guffaw, my shoulders relaxing at her statement, grateful she’d moved us into more comfortable territory. “I was just following your lead.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at me, but she was smiling, so I hoped that meant she wasn’t truly annoyed with me.

“Speaking of following my lead.” She looked at the people around us. “How about we play a game?”

“What kind of game?” I asked warily.

She gave me a challenging look. “Who can get more phone numbers.”

She couldn’t be serious. I shook my head rather aggressively. “No, no, no.”

“Are you too chicken?”

I sat up straighter. “Of course not. I just don’t think we’re on a level playing field.”

She quirked one of her eyebrows. “How do you figure?”

I gestured to the room in front of us. “Any guy in this bar would give you his number in a heartbeat.”

She gave me a skeptical look. “You don’t know that.”

“I do know that,” I argued. “I have eyes.” She was hands down the most beautiful woman in the room.

She bit her lip, trying to hide her smile. “Okay, fine. What do you suggest to level the playing field?”

She wasn’t going to like my suggestion, but I felt it was only fair. “You have to get two numbers to my one.”

“What?” she squawked. “No way.”

“Why not?”

An exasperated look covered her face. “Because most of the women in here are hoping that a good-looking guy who has his life together will come up to them and fulfill all their dreams of getting married to a successful man, living in a house with a white picket fence, and having two-point-five children.”

Now it was my turn to smile, knowing she thought I was good-looking. “So you feel like it’s even?”

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