Page 34 of Up All Night

Too much? Well, if you saw West Vanderhall, you wouldn’t think so.

I’d only seen West in suits or workout clothes, but seeing him in casual clothes made my stomach do funny things. What was it about a guy in a t-shirt and jeans? Or was it just West? His toned body and broad shoulders, tapering down to his slim waist, were made for that sexy casual look.

Turning my focus back to the guy whose name I’d already forgotten, I nodded, acting as if I had been listening the whole time. He was going on about his job in accounting—about as exciting as it sounds.

I couldn’t keep my eyes from roaming back to West if I had wanted to. I watched as the woman looked down, fishing around in her purse for what I assumed was her phone. West used the moment to glance over at me, sending me a wink with a satisfied grin on his face.

I wished I could say his wink didn’t affect me, but it totally did. And I shouldn’t enjoy competing with him so much, but it made me happier than I’d like to admit. I worked to hide my smile, but I could tell by his expression that he’d noticed.

I subtly held my fingers out in the number three, giving him a you-better-catch-up grin, before turning back to what’s his name and batting my eyelashes at him for good measure.

Unfortunately, I got stuck with the accountant for way longer than I had wanted, giving West enough time to talk to two more women. If he had been successful with both of them, that meant we were now tied.

I leaned against the bar and scanned the room, hoping to find another easy target. Instead I found West striding toward me. He joined me at the bar, ordering himself a sparkling water.

“Looks like we’re tied, Parker,” he goaded.

I continued my perusal around the full bar. “Don’t get cocky, Vanderhall. I have plenty of time to win.”

He grabbed his drink and turned to lean his back against the bar with me. “Since it might take you all night to beat me, I think we should put a time limit on this game of yours.”

“We both know this time limit idea of yours has more to do with your bedtime than anything else.” I looked down at my watch. “And speaking of, it’s very late for you.”

“Exactly, which means I need to hurry and beat you so I can head home.”

“Haven’t you learned by now that I always win?”

“We’ll see about that.” He brought his glass up to take a drink.

“Yes, we will.” I tipped my chin up. “But since I don’t want to be doing this all night, I’m willing to put a time limit on it. Whoever has the most numbers by eleven, wins.” It was a little after ten, which gave us less than an hour to finish this game I’d started.

I was about to go in search of another guy, but his hand on my arm stopped me.

“Wait,” he said, his face losing his competitive edge. “I actually needed to talk to you about something and am glad we happened to run into each other.”

I was surprised at his words and waited to see what he had to tell me.

“I might have an early meeting on Monday that I have to be at, which means there is a chance I won’t be able to make our training session that morning. I’m waiting to hear back if the meeting is happening. Can I text you once I know?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, that’s totally fine,” I said. It was no big deal if he needed to cancel. Then I’d get to sleep in.

I should have been excited about one less morning I’d have to spend with him, but I actually felt a twinge of possible disappointment, which surprised me. Maybe it had more to do with me losing my ride to work and figuring out if Kate would be able to take me. Probably not, but I was going to let myself think that.

“Great, thanks.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”

I rattled off my number for him.

He finished putting in my contact info. “I’ll text you to let you know either way.”

“Sounds good.”

He put his phone back in his pocket and gave me a mischievous grin. “I’d better get back out there.” He lifted his glass at me. “I look forward to beating you at your own game.” He turned and made his way through the crowd.

I would need to get faster if I wanted to solidify my win. I quickly picked out my next two victims and made my way toward the first one.

Time flew by, and I hoped I’d gotten enough phone numbers to beat West. I lost track of him a few times as the bar continued to get more crowded. It was one minute past eleven, and I walked through the bar to see if I could find West. Craning my neck, I couldn’t find him anywhere. Had he already left? That would be just like him to leave right on time.

“Looking for me?” a deep voice sounded behind me, full of amusement.

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