Page 5 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

“You asked, I delivered.”

“Good thing I can walk home from here.”

“Bet you could find a chaperone too.”

I take another sip, cringing as the alcohol burns through me. “What does that mean, man?”

“I can’t figure out whether you’re oblivious or not interested.”

“In what?”

He looks at me like I just turned green. “Ridley.”

“I don’t get it.”

Florian chuckles. “Oblivious then. Got it.”

He tries to walk off, but I reach across the bar and grab his t-shirt. “Elaborate. What about Ridley?”

“You really don’t see it?”

“Obviously not. What are you talking about?”

“Dude. Ridley’s been making eyes at you for as long as I can remember. That fine-ass man is into you.”

I pull my head back, shaking it in protest. “You’ve got that wrong. He’s not at all. We’ve been alone a bunch of times and he’s never given me that impression.”

He chuckles, crossing his arms then lifting his head and calling out to Salem, who just left a table.

“Hey guys,” Salem says, leaning against the bar. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going,” Florian says. “I was just telling Wren here that he’s got a suitor waiting in the wings if he wants one.”

Salem scrunches his nose and makes a point of snapping his lips shut. Florian just laughs.

“You know about it too?” I ask.

Salem shakes his head. “I’m not at liberty to discuss.”

I scoff. “Is this something everyone knows but me?”

“Yes,” Florian says while Salem struggles to hold back a grin.

I turn my head and search the place for Ridley. He’s here as much as I am, and I find him holding a tray and talking to some guys playing pool. Ridley is insanely hot, defying his forty-plus years of life with all the tattoos, colorful hair, and chill personality. I’ve never noticed a single glance or any other sign of interest in me, but maybe I’ve been under this cloud of trauma so deep I couldn’t see it. If the guys say it’s true, could it be?

I focus on Salem, grabbing his wrist. “Tell me the truth. Does Ridley like me?”

He blows out a breath, glancing over his shoulder. “He made us promise not to tell you.”

“But he practically walks around with a billboard on his chest,” Florian says. “Not exactly subtle.”

“I didn’t see it.” I shake my head, thinking back over our interactions. Sure, he smiles a lot, but he’s a friendly guy. He’s always here to hang out on breaks or walk home later, but that makes sense—he’s got a huge stake in the bar, and he’s not all partnered up like the other guys and whatever Bane and Jerryn have going on. He compliments me a lot, but I’ve seen him with customers. He’s a flirt. It doesn’t mean anything. “Yeah, nothing.”

“He knows what you’ve been through,” Salem says, rubbing my arm. “And he respects your need to heal.”

“Oh.”

“Because…” Salem steps a little closer. “Ridley’s not a relationship kind of guy. He’s attracted to you, but I’m not sure he’d be up for more than messing around, you know? He thinks you deserve more and maybe wouldn’t want that anyway. Florian doesn’t know all the inside details.”

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