Page 6 of My Boss's Sons

Protective Jack snapped into high gear. “Are you sure? Do you have your phone? Is it charged?”

I nodded. “I’m fine. Go home and enjoy yourself.”

“Text me as soon as you get home. If you go to someone else’s place, text me their address. I’m serious.” He wrapped me in a tight hug and held my face in his hands. “Do not get murdered on me, okay? I’m not taking over raising Ava and Milo. Lily would be fine, but your sister and her boyfriend? No way am I taking on those two.”

I pushed him away and laughed. “Be nice to Ava and Milo.”

“Be nice to yourself. Go home with one, or all, of those guys.” Jack pulled out his wallet and shoved a wad of cash into my tight jeans pocket. “Just in case your card doesn’t work. It stresses me out that you don’t carry any cash, ever.”

I pushed him away and scowled. “Go. You’re going to kill the mood for yourself.”

“That’s impossible. Do you see this man?” Jack wrapped his arm around the new guy and winked. “Get laid, babe.”

I waved him away. “Goodbye and goodnight.”

“Love you!”

I rolled my eyes. “Love you, too, Jack.”

I pulled out my phone as I considered my options. Staring at the black screen, I debated going back over to the guys. If one of them was interested, maybe itwouldbe good for me to release some of my tension with them. If they weren’t interested, though, I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover from being the older woman who came on to younger men who didn’t want her. My ego was only built so tough. Before I had a chance to make a decision, the scent of leather and citrus had me looking up for the source and I found myself eye to eye with the tattooed guy.

“Come and sit with us.” He didn’t ask. His stance with his hands shoved into his pockets and his body slightly leaned into mine didn’t leave room for argument, either.

I licked my lips and watched as his eyes dropped to them. “Are you sure?”

Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he grabbed the back of my chair with one hand and the edge of my table with the other. He leaned even closer to me and I saw that his eyes were solid gray. What could’ve been cold burned hot, though. “I’m sure.”

I had to tip my head back to look him in the eye and I watched those unusual gray eyes move to my throat. Swallowing around a clump of words I wanted to say to keep myself from going over and making a fool of myself, I slid off my chair. He didn’t shift away so I brushed against his chest when I stood.

He reached around me and grabbed the small crossbody I’d hung on the back of my chair. Instead of handing it to me, he tucked it under his arm and pressed his hand to the small of my back. “You seem like a runner.”

My laugh sounded breathy but there was nothing I could do about it. I suddenly felt like a teenager on her first date. Looking up at him, I nodded. “Only emotionally.”

A smile transformed his face into something even more dangerous. With wolf-like eyebrows, a trimmed beard, and all those tattoos, he looked like the bad boy I’d always avoided. “What’s your name?”

“Sophia.” I stepped sideways as a drunk guy stumbled past us and my tattooed hero pulled me into his side so I didn’t get trampled. The feeling of his body heat against my side had my body reacting in big ways. I stammered as I nodded up at him. “Thanks.”

“Sophia. Pretty.” He pulled out a chair for me at their table and flashed me another panty-melting smile. “I’m Alex. Noah’s the suit and Ethan’s the one who needs a haircut.”

Having three sets of eyes on me was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. With them all watching, my every move would be noticed. I had no room for mistakes.

Alex sat next to me and rested his arm along the back of my chair. “This is Sophia.”

I looked at Lap Man, Noah, and then at Ethan. His hair was longer than the others and it curled out randomly all over. His beard was longer than the other two, as well. With his darker blue eyes, the wild hair gave him a friendlier vibe. When he smiled, I saw he had a slight chip in one of his top teeth and I immediately wanted to know the story. “I don’t think you need a haircut.”

Ethan’s smile widened and he sank his teeth into his bottom lip as he leaned across the table with his hand extended. He shook my hand like a gentleman but the way his thumb stroked my hand before pulling away was anything but. That thumb had felt positively seductive. “Thank you. These two are always talking about my hair. It’s nice to find someone who has good taste.”

Noah grunted. “We’re not discussing your hair.”

Ethan nodded. “Agreed. We’re discussing Sophia.”

“Your friend left you?” Noah shot a look across the bar, like he could still see Jack. “He’s not worried about you ending up in the wrong hands?”

All of my childish nerves fluttered away at the idea of them thinking poorly of Jack. I raised my eyebrows and found my hands solidly planted on my hips. “Jack wanted to drive me home, but I said no. He knows that if the wrong hands tried to snap me up that I’d be more than capable of handling myself.”

Noah rested his elbows on the table as he shifted closer. “I have no doubt about that, Sophia. I’m perfectly sure you can handle yourself in all types of situations.”

Heat scorched my face as his heated gaze moved over my face. I looked at the table, suddenly desperate for a drink. A waiter appeared like magic with a glass of water. I took it and drained half of it in one long gulp. I was in over my head. It didn’t matter that I was older than the men sitting around me. I was inexperienced and I hadn’t so much as flirted with a man who wasn’t gay in over a year.

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