Page 7 of 28 Dates

A quick glance at Caitlin shows her smile has tightened, and before I can question it, Ashley is behind the bar, sliding up to me and wrapping her arms around me for a quick hug.

“Hey. Was knocking on the door to your office thinking I’d surprise you in there.”

“We must have missed each other.” Is my voice tight? Are my muscles bunched? I feel all sorts of cold and uncomfortable. Her being behind the bar is nothing new, although she’s usually not this affectionate. “Tucker told me you were out here.”

“Oh. I went to the ladies’ room first. How’s your day?”

Terrible. Confusing. It’s not what she needs to hear, not right now, with Caitlin glancing at us and punching on her phone. “It’s been better.”

She rolls to her toes and presses her lips to my throat. They prickle against my skin like an irritant. And God. If I needed confirmation before this moment what to do, I’ve certainly got it. “If you’re still coming over tonight, I can help make it better.”

I grin down at her. She’s short, barely over five foot, and just as tall as Caitlin, but that’s where their similarities end. But personally, I love shorter women. I like being able to lift and carry them easily. Like being able to whip them around where I want them to be. Ashley’s adventurous and good, but the memories flashing in my head are of a particular redhead.

Good Lord, I’m an asshole. I’m currently fighting getting a hard-on remembering times I’ve had fun throwing Caitlin around, while my girlfriend is in front of me.

“I’ll be there,” I tell Ashley. I have to get out of this bar before I do something stupid like break up with her here.

She must sense the coolness in my voice because she frowns and steps back. “Okay. Well, I’m going to go home and shower the day off me. See you for dinner?”

“After the dinner rush ends here I’ll come. Nine?”

There’s no way I’ll sit through a dinner with her, now knowing what I have to do. I just need to figure out how to do it without hurting her too much. But even this is different. During the week we almost always have dinner together.

“Something wrong?”

“No,” I tell her as she steps away from my arms and heads around the bar. “Just a long day and I have a few things here I need to get a handle on.”

Like my life.

“All right then. Text me when you’re on your way.” She grabs her purse from the stool next to where Caitlin is sitting. “Bye, lady. See you soon?”

Caitlin lifts her martini glass and grins. “Probably with a drink in hand.”

Ashley laughs, and my God I need to get a grip. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable watching the women banter. They’ve always gotten along. Caitlin’s always been kind to her, and it was awkward at first, but this…them teasing each other? I’m a bigger dick than I thought I was earlier, because watching the woman I want who sets me on fire with the girl I have who I know will never hurt me is the worst possible scenario for the day I’ve had.

Later,Ashley mouths to me as she says her goodbyes, throwing in a wink and a saucy little smile that’s usually cute.

It’s not until she’s gone that I realize, while she’s walking away I’ve kept my gaze glued to Caitlin.

“You okay?” she asks when she catches me watching her.

“I’ve got shit to do,” I mumble. “Tucker, you got this?”

“Righty ho, boss man!” he calls from the end of the bar.

I leave the bar and head back to the office before I do something incredibly stupid. Like kiss the confusion off Caitlin’s face.

Chapter 3

Caitlin

Teagan:Just because you don’t want marriage (which I’ll never understand) doesn’t mean you have to be alone. Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

I scrunch my nose at Teagan’s text. As soon as Jonas weirdly took off back to his office earlier, I finished my drink and ordered another. Tucker must have sensed my strange mood because he gave me a wide berth instead of our normal friendly banter. Which meant I had no one to talk to, and I wasn’t really in the mood anyway, so I started texting Teagan, bitching about the app and Trey’s idea.

Her last response is pretty much the same as her first five. Variations ofDo it. Try it. You’re nuts…go for it.And this one. It’s not like I expected Teagan to say, “Oh whoa, hold up, crazy. You don’t need a man.” It’s just…is it obvious to my friends I don’t like being alone all the time? Am I walking around with some neon light flashingLONELYabove my forehead with an arrow pointing down? I don’t understand where all this encouragement is coming from between Teagan and Trey, but I know I don’t like it. Not one little bit.

I tap my finger to the screen, considering a response, when a shadow falls over me from the other side of the bar, followed by a familiar woodsy scent. Sometimes if I try hard enough, I still imagine I can get a hint of it on my spare pillowcase.

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