Page 48 of Tangled Kisses
I lean my head on my hand, my gaze slipping to the other side of the bar. Seeking out Griffin. “Yes. My bed is calling.”
“Mm-hmm.” That infuriating smirk spreads across her face. “Did you have fun?”
“I did.”
“Told you he liked you.”
“Jimmy?” I arch a brow and smile at the bartender, once again hard at work mixing drinks.
“Probably him too. But I meant Griffin.”
I glance back across the bar to where the soulful cowboy is leaning, beer in hand, laughing with a group of women hanging on his every word. My stomach knots.
“I think you’re mistaken, sis. He looks happily occupied.”
Occupied. Surrounded. Larger than life. Every inch the man women would sell their souls to touch.
Stop it, Reese. Stop reading into things that aren’t there. That’s the stuff of rom-coms and fairy tales, not your reality.
The truth burns in my chest, though I’d sooner die than admit it.
Do I want to drag every one of those women away from him? Maybe.
But he’s not mine, and he never will be.
I remind myself of that fact one last time before hooking my arm through Piper’s and steering her toward the door.
Chapter Twelve
Reese
We’re halfway across the parking lot when I pause.
“You okay?” Piper asks, eyeing me.
“Give me a second. I just need to run to the bathroom.”
Total lie, but it buys me a few minutes.
Even if Piper’s dead wrong about Griffin having a crush, I can’t leave without thanking him. It’s the right thing to do.
And that’s theonlyreason I’m doing it.
Nothing to see here, folks.
Voices drift from the rear lot of the bar. I follow the sound and find his band heaving the last of their gear into a pickup. With a thud, the tailgate slams shut. Griffin tips his beer at the guys, their laughter trailing as they climb into the cab and drive off.
When the dust settles, it’s Griffin—leaning near the picnic table, a couple of women hovering close, eyeing him like he’s dessert at the end of a long meal. He says something polite, easy, and they laugh before drifting off into the night.
Then it’s just him.
He turns on his heel and stops dead when he sees me. For a beat, his eyes flicker wide with surprise before narrowing again, guarded.
“Reese.” His voice rumbles over me. “Thought you’d gone.”
“I almost did,” I admit, words tumbling out faster than I mean them. “But I had to thank you for playing my songs.” I cross my arms, aiming for sass and failing miserably. “Way to play it off like you didn’t know them. Smooth move, cowboy.”
A hint of a smile touches his mouth. “I didn’t know them.”
