Page 2 of The Wingman

She heads back to the bar, and my gaze slides over to Darcy again.

She tugs at her sleeve. Shifts in her seat. Glances over her shoulder.

I pause with my beer halfway to my mouth.

He says something that makes her shoulders hitch up with tension. I’m back on high alert, wishing I could read lips, when her paper coaster flies off the table and hits the floor. My mouth slides into a grin, and I press my phone to my ear as it rings.

“Hello?” she answers, sounding worried.

“Something, something excuse.”

She gasps, and I grin wider at the back of her head. “Oh my god. What? Are you okay?”

“I have half a percent of battery left and chose to call you instead of 911.” My chest expands, sparks cracking and popping behind my sternum. I’m smiling like a fool. “I couldclimb down the side of the building, but thisisthe penthouse, and Iamnaked.”

“You got hit by a car?” I can hear her trying not to laugh.

“Yes. Naked. I was flexing and the driver got distracted. I caused a ten-car pileup.”

“And you’re in the hospital?”

“Yep, and they keep staring at all my muscles.” I sigh. “It’s making me feel objectified, like a piece of meat. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this without you.”

From three booths away, I can sense her eye roll. A shy wallflower, I am not. She covers a laugh with a quick cough.

“You poor thing. That sounds scary. I’ll be right there. And Hayden?”

“Yeah, Darce?”

“Don’t cry. It’s going to be okay.”

She hangs up, and I chuckle.

See,that’s the kind of stuff we should be doing. Not her on some date with a guy who can’t stop drooling over her tits.

“Naked on the patio?” Darcy drops into the booth across from me about thirty seconds after she walked by with the guy. “Really?”

My flirtatious grin widens. “There’s a reason I keep a key out there.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling.

“Guess he’s not your Prince Charming if we needed the emergency call.”

“Not even close.” She leans her forehead on her hands. “That was a disaster.”

I shouldn’t be so happy to hear this. “I’m sorry.”

“He saidI’m from a big family, and we have big babies, withbig heads.” She catches sight of me doubled over, laughing, and gives me a hard look, although her mouth is twitching. “Stop laughing.”

“What? He’s warning you ahead of time.”

She groans. “He kept talking abouthisfuture wedding and how his mom had everything planned.” Her pretty face pulls into a cringe. “And then he wanted to kiss me outside.”

My smile drops. “Did you?”

She’s Kit’s ex. She’s off-limits, and she’s her own person who can make her own decisions, but I think about some guy’s hands all over her, and I want to break something.

“Of course not.” Her expression turns horrified. “I lied and said I had a cold sore, and that it was a form of herpes, so we shouldn’t.”

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