Page 17 of Christmas in Coconut Creek

“Is that your type? Skater boy?”

I scoffed and took another long gulp, watching the way Frankie’s eyes roamed over my body head to toe as I did.Fine, let him look. It was satisfying to know he might lie awake at night kicking himself over the loss.

“He’s a little young, though,” Frankie commented, leaning his hip against the ledge of the bar. “Probably not a lot in his retirement fund.”

“And what’s your type, exactly?” I flicked the sign on his chest. “Walks and has a pussy?”

“There’s that smart mouth.” His gaze shifted down to my lips for a fraction of a second while he toyed with the string of yarn that held his booty-call sign. “Cap’s idea.”

“I’m starting to think you need ‘Cap’ to wipe your ass too,” I jabbed. “Maybe you should stop taking his advice on finding a woman to fuck you, because holy shit are you zero for two in one day.”

Frankie pouted as he checked the time on his watch. “All I’m hearing is that I still have an hour.”

“Good luck, soldier.” I saluted him and began to walk away, but he grabbed me tenderly under the arm and pulled me back.

“Hey—wait, wait, wait.”

My brow lifted skeptically, but I fell back into place.

Blame it on the alcohol. Definitely not the tall, dark-haired man with his bare chest nearly pressed to mine in the crowded club. Our breaths synchronized as I waited for him to say something, thinking he would take the time to apologize or explain himself. Instead his expression turned from contemplative to curious.

“What are you wearing?” He reached out to massage one of the fluffy white pom-poms hanging from my waist between his fingers, his knuckles brushing lightly against the material just below my bust.

“I know your game Frankie, don’t play cute.” I batted his hand away half-heartedly.

“You look surreal.”

“Oh, you like?” I played with the hem of my top. “This is my ‘get over the asshole from the airplane that unmatched me’ outfit.”

He averted his eyes, scratching at the stubble on his jaw. “You noticed that?”

“Of course I fucking noticed that! I’m telling Nat about the guy I met on my flight, only to see you unmatched me thirty seconds after I walked out of the airport. I guess it wasn’t too much of a loss though. You probably wouldn’t even last that long in bed.”

“We could test it?” He shrugged.

“You could go fuck yourself.”

“I’mreallytrying to stop doing that so often. That’s kind of how we got into this mess in the first place.”

I blinked rapidly, nursing my expression from amused back to unimpressed. I wanted so badly to hate the man in front of me, but I was uncharacteristically smitten and unavoidably fucked.

“And what you said aboutNatalia,” I whispered accusingly, pointing at Frankie and narrowing my eyes.

“How was I supposed to know thatCasper the Friendly Ghostwas your college girlfriend?”

“I’m walking away now.” I grabbed my drink off the bar top for the second time in as many minutes and made my way back in the direction of the dance floor.

“I’m an asshole, okay?” Frankie admitted, catching up to me in one long stride.

“You don’t say?”

“But not for the reasons you think.”

Weaving in and out of the crowd, I spotted Nat and Mateo grinding like they were the only two in the room and swung back around, coming face-to-face with Frankie. “Are you married?”

“What?” He recoiled. “No, I’m not fucking married. I told you I live with Mateo.”

“You could have a girlfriend.”

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