Page 133 of The Sweetest Devotion

He shrugged and faced the bartender. “Put it on my tab, Rick.”

I raised my shot toward the man next to me. “To friendly people.”

He tipped his beer my way and nodded. “Tobeautifulpeople.”

I was happy when he didn’t press for more conversation and allowed me to sneak and make my phone call.

Keith’s line rang a few times before he picked up. “Hello?”

I hadn’t heard his voice in almost a month and the sound of it made me melt, causing me to squirm on my stool. “Hey.”

There was a pause and then he was back on the line. “Where are you? It’s loud in the background.”

Being coy, I lifted and dropped my shoulder, as if he could see me. “Nowhere special. Jadyn and I are out getting vegan Jell-O shots and enjoying the night.”

Keith heaved a sigh. “Make sure you get an Uber home.”

“They’re not that strong.” In fact, I could almost go for a third.

“Kenny,” his tone was filled with a warning.

I loved it. “Well, there are some nice,handsome, strong young men here. Maybe one of them will give me a lift.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith asked.

“Uh-huh.” I hoped he could hear the grin in my voice.

Again, Keith sighed. “You’re inmycity, you don’t think I know you’re down at On Tap where they exclusively serve plant-based shots?”

Oh crap. “So?”

“I’ll see you when I see you, Kennedy.” He hung up and I was left looking at my phone screen.

Was that a threat?

A rush of heat settled between my legs as the ache in my chest intensified.

Usher was serenading the room with “Dot Com” by the time Jadyn made it back to me. She put in an order for two baskets of fries and shrimp and then we grabbed a private booth. Her with a Coke and me with a Sprite.See, we were responsible.

“Are you still getting hitched in December?” Jadyn asked. “It seems like things are happening way too fast.”

“Tell me about it. I almost want to get married next week to just hurry up and start the countdown,” I said.

Jadyn scowled and took a sip of her Coke. “I still can’t believe you’re actually willing to go through with this sham marriage.”

“What choice do I have?”

“You shouldn’t have to choose between being left out in the cold and going along with your dad’s fucked-up deal.”

I shouldn’t have, but this was where we were.

“Order for Jones!” the bartender shouted at the bar.

Jadyn was quick to get up and collect our orders before returning with two baskets heaping with fries and beer battered shrimp. She hadn’t lied. The shrimp was to die for. I was definitely going to need to hit Pilates hard in the coming week, maybe add in an hour on the elliptical for good measure as well.

When we were finished, we made a run to the women’s restroom and cleaned up before hitting the first available pool table.

The pool cue wasn’t heavy to hold, but I was still clueless on how to use it. I’d seen Gaius shoot pool a few times when we were together, but back then I’d always been caught up hanging out with the other WAGs to pay attention to the rules and methods.

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