Page 7 of Make You Mine

“Nice to see you as always, Paige.” Was it bad that I was glad when he turned to go to the bar instead? “And it’s Richard. Did you forget about me already? You seem to have an issue with names lately, so I’ll forgive you. Twilight Tavern? Cute.”

He took a seat on a stool right in front of Paige. She glared at him without answering.

Did he want to die tonight?

“I’ll have a beer, please,” he said with a smirk. “This is your bar now, isn’t it?” Oh yeah, he was a friend of Paige’s ex-husband, they’d all gone to high school together, I was a couple of years behind. Paige was the one who set us up. Isn’t that ironic?

How I’d ever fallen for his act, I would never know. But to be fair to myself, he was very attractive and had started off being charming and sweet. I would have never gone out with him if he’d shown this side of his personality on day one. I had to quit beating myself up over this.

“Just get out of my bar, please.”

“I need to talk to Piper first.”

“Want me to get rid of him for you?” Ren asked, concern etched all over his face.

Paige started shouting before I could answer him.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you,Dick. She dumped your ass. Did that not paint a clear enough picture for you?”

I let my eyes drift shut. This would be bad. Paige had been on edge ever since the divorce, and my breakup with Richard only made it worse. She felt guilty; I’d finally gotten her to stop apologizing to me a few days ago. But, as usual, it looked like I would have to maintain the peace.

Turning on his barstool, he faced me. “Piper, can you tell your sister to stop acting crazy? I just want to talk to you. No big deal.”

I inhaled a huge sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s not acting. You should know that by now. But yeah, Paige, you can let it go. I’m fine,” I opened my eyes to say. “It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

“We need to talk about Cody—among other things.” Cody is the gorgeous and sweet golden retriever we adopted from the animal shelter outside of town. “I figured you’d be here.”

He cheated on me, practically stole my damn dog, and now he was here to taunt me?

So right, that’s typical Richard—he had made a scene to provoke my sister and force me to talk to him to diffuse the situation. If we didn’t have Cody to talk about, he’d be dead to me, and I was pretty sure he knew it. Never let a man move in with you and get a dog together. Bad ideas all around. It was too bad for me; he was a lousy cheater, but at least I fell in love with Cody more than him.

The energy in the room changed as everyone’s gaze moved from Paige to me. I felt the heaviness of anticipation as a rush of adrenaline coursed through my body.

Without thinking, I slid around the booth, plastering myself against Ren’s side until our thighs pressed together.

Sliding my hand up his neck to his cheek, I whispered. “Just go along with it.Please.”

I kissed him. A quick peck on the lips. I pulled back to find him blinking in confusion before he seemed to catch on to what I was asking of him.

“I got this,” he whispered, grabbing my hand to kiss the back.

A huge smile spread across my face, along with a well-timed blush.

This was perfect. “Thank you,” I mouthed.

He nodded, rolling his shirtsleeves up his perfectly tanned, muscular forearms like he was getting ready for—something. I watched his bright blue eyes light up, and a swift jolt of relief shot through my body.

Focus, Piper.

But good lord, how was I supposed to focus when he was making arm porn right in front of me?

“Would you like another drink, sweetheart?” he asked with a subtle wink, ensuring Richard could hear him.

“Uh,” I snapped back to reality with a jolt. “Yes, please.”

“Oh crap.” The slap of the swinging kitchen door against Noah’s butt startled me. He stood there frozen, holding a bowl of ranch dressing. His eyes widened as he watched the unfolding scene.

“Shit. Mom,” he called out to Paige. “No fighting. Remember what Chief Barrett said last time? Call him. Please.”

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