Page 107 of Forever Then

An hour and a half later,we settle in at the bar of a Mexican restaurant in downtown Sedona. The sun still a couple of hours from dipping behind the mesa rock formations, the panoramic red desert view has us content to stay a while.

I order two margaritas from the twenty-something female bartender before she turns to Gretchen and asks for her ID. She slides it across the bar and the bartender slides it back a second later, attention now fixed on me. I expect her to ask for my ID as well, but instead, she simply grins and walks off to begin preparing our drinks.

Gretchen, mouth agape, turns her head on a swivel, gaze locked on the bartender’s retreating form. “Unbelievable.”

“What?”

“That bartender and I are gonna have to throw down.”

I stifle a smile. “Is that so?”

“She just checked you out right in front of me.”

“Maybe she was checking to see if she needed to card me?”

She snorts. “You know for a former playboy, you’re very daft when it comes to recognizing when a girl is into you.”

“Is that so?”

“Is that all you say now?” Her eyes lock on me, wicked with amusement.

“Hey, you’re the one that calls me old man.” I arch a brow.

“And?”

“And maybe I look older than you.”

“Ormaybe she’s single, you’re hot, she’s not quite sure whoIam to you, and she wants you to notice that she noticed you and,ifyou noticed her, she wants to make sure she comes off all cool and laid back like‘See, I won’t ID you. Wanna go back to your place?’…you know, in case you’re single, too.”

“But I’m not single.”

Her smile is feral and all mine.

Said bartender returns with our drinks and two menus. Gretchen’s expression turns conspiratorial as she leans across the bar. “Excuse me, miss? Can I ask you a question?”

The poor woman hums her agreement, but I don’t take my eyes off Gretchen’s profile as I pivot in my stool to fully face her.

“Why did you card me but not my boyfriend?” Yeah, she’s out for blood, but in a cute way. Her grin is all smug and adorably possessive. I can feel the bartender’s gaze flick to me before it lands back on my girlfriend.

Before she can reply, Gretchen cups one hand around her mouth, stage whispering for everyone within a ten-foot radius to hear, “Is it because he’s hot?”

This girl. One second she’s in her head, overanalyzing, and the next she’s brazen and self-assured, proudly claiming what’s hers. She may as well have writtenminein black marker across my forehead. I’d tattoo it there permanently if she asked me to. I’ve never been happier to let someone else own me entirely, heart and soul.

The bartender coughs, clearly uncomfortable by Gretchen’s shamelessly forward line of questioning. I can only smile at my girl as I yank Gretchen’s stool closer to rest between my knees.

A couple of awkward beats pass before I throw the bartender alifeline and ask for some queso and guacamole. She ambles away to put in our order as Gretchen turns to me, taking a generous sip from her margarita. “Was I too harsh?” The arrogant tilt of her lips as she sets her glass on the counter says she’s not the least bit sorry.

“My little savage.” I grip her chin and pull her lips to mine for a quick kiss. “I only ever want to look at you, babe.” I kiss her again. “Got it?”

“Cheesy line, but okay.”

She pinches my cheek and tousles my hair before her expression neutralizes, swallowing down the humor from a moment ago.

“Thank you for knowing what I needed today.”

Confident and not the least bit ashamed about it, I use her own words from two days ago. “What else would you expect from the person who knows you better than anyone else?”

She purses her lips. “Don’t get cocky, old man.”

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