Page 101 of Swan

“You can’t help attracting attention wherever you go,” I teased.

He smirked before he took a sip of his beer. “Is that you tellin’ me you think I’m good-lookin’, Birdy?”

Oh shit.

I practically had, hadn’t I? I opened my mouth, made a noise, and closed it again.

Drake chuckled. “Good to know. But you don’t need to worry. I ain’t into her either.” He nodded back to the bartender.

Her either?

Wait, what?

Oh, he’d said that for Petra too. Who would he be interested in?

Me. It was me. I hoped and prayed it was me. But did I?

Yes, dammit. I wanted Drake to be into me like I was him.

“Swan, are you coming over?” Josie asked.

I slowly tore my gaze away from Drake’s and looked to her. She thumbed over to the table.

“Yes.” Looking back to Drake, I asked, “How much do I owe you for the drink?”

Billy snorted, Pick chuckled, and Drake smirked. “Nothin’.”

“But—”

“Go do your girl talk, Birdy.”

“Come on,” Josie said, taking my hand. As we walked over to the table that Vicious and Ruin had left to stand with Ryo and Link, Josie leaned in and whispered, “What was up with that?”

Sighing, I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Josie laughed. “From an outside point of view, there was a hell of a lot of sexual tension.”

I gaped at her. “You think so?” It wasn’t only in my imagination. This was real.

Drake Marcus was attracted to me.

Holy shit. Drake Marcus is into me.

Josie pulled me to a stop in the middle of the floor. “You didn’t think so? But you want there to be?”

I shook my head. Then I nodded while I blushed and winced.

“Oh, honey, signals can be a bit confusing. I know he’s always been flirty. But I also know my nephew and can read him like a book. That was a clear sign he’s into you.”

I always forgot Josie had been adopted by Zara and Mattie’s parents. She’d been around since I was two and Drake had been born.

She studied me for a moment and asked, “Are you into him like that?”

I glanced back to Drake and pulled my eyes away quickly when I saw him watching us over the rim of his glass as he took a drink. Suddenly feeling hot, I took a gulp of mine.

Josie smiled wide. “You are.”

I dropped my gaze to my hands wrapped around the cool glass. The urgent need for reassurance from someone had me asking, “Do you think it’s too soon and terrible of me to?—”

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