Page 22 of Mess With Me
“I’ve been—”
“Busy,” Josh finished for her.
Hailey smoothed her hair. “Yes.”
“Completely understand being busy,” Josh said, grabbing a rag and scrubbing the bar top. “I’ve been really busy too.”
Hailey let out a small forced laugh. “Guess we’re both really busy.”
An awkward silence fell.
Hailey backed away. “I need to check in with Lauren about her wedding.”
“Gotta do what you gotta do,” Josh said, not bothering to look up.
“Yes. So…” Hailey lifted a hand, her fingers fluttering in a small goodbye.
Josh looked up and raised his brows in response. He wasn’t a finger flutterer. Hailey headed over to the back of the group with Lauren.
That was weird.
Josh stared at the bar top.
Ally sat next to Jake. “So how’s the glam Hollywood life?” Jake worked for Claire’s production company now, so he was even more involved.
Jake laughed. “Not as glam as you’d think.” He looked over her shoulder. “Ethan! Get your ass over here!”
Ally turned to find Ethan dressed in regular clothes—white T-shirt and jeans—instead of his uniform. My God, he filled out that shirt nicely. She flushed, embarrassed at her uncontrollable admiration for his incredibly muscled form, but unable to tear her gaze away.
Ethan crossed to them, winked at Ally, and threw an arm around Jake’s neck in a quick hug. “Finally slumming with us regular folk.”
Jake socked Ethan in the gut, who socked him back, the pair of them grinning at each other. “Been too long, man,” Jake said. “What’s new in copland?”
“He got promoted to sergeant,” Ally put in.
Ethan gifted her with a smile that brought warmth to those blue eyes and a tender expression to his gorgeous face. Her stomach fluttered in a crazy dance of lust, her skin hot, every part of her hyperaware of him. “Sure did,” he said warmly.
“That’s great,” Jake said. “Congratulations. Let me buy you a drink.”
“Sure, thanks.” Ethan shifted to stand next to her at the bar. “You stalking me again?”
She laughed. “This time I was here first. You done work already?”
“Turned out the guy I stepped in for reported to work after all. Just a little late. His wife’s labor was a false alarm.” He stared at her hair, then her cheeks, her neck, and her lips. Warmth spread everywhere his gaze touched, bringing a low ache in her belly. “Buy you a drink?”
She licked her lips, leaning closer, every nerve tingling in anticipation. Then she remembered his girlfriend.
She eased back a bit. “How’s Cali?”
He smirked. “Great. Living it up in Rio de Janeiro.”
The smirk meant he was thinking dirty, but his girlfriend was getting dirty without him. Weird. “She didn’t invite you on vacation with her?”
They stared at each other.
Something wasn’t adding up.
“Hold up,” Ethan said, a slow smile dawning. “Ally, she’s mypartner.”
