Page 45 of Romance Is Dead

“Why don’t I buy us a shot? Does tequila work?”

“Hell yeah, it does.”

I waved over the bartender—whose name, according to the tag on her blouse, was Laurie—and ordered two shots of tequila, which arrived alongside a salt shaker and two lime wedges on napkins a few minutes later.

Alright, look sexy, I instructed myself. If I was going to get information out of Brent, my best chance was to flirt it out of him.

“Ready?” Brent nudged the salt shaker toward me. “Ladies first.”

Grasping it in one hand, I slowly licked the skin between my thumb and index finger. His gaze followed my tongue, his eyes darkening as they lingered.

“Mmmm.” I sprinkled the salt on my hand and passed him the shaker. “Ready?”

“Always.” Brent salted his own hand and picked up the tiny glass, which he tipped toward me in cheers. “One, two, three, go!”

I licked the salt and threw back the shot. Thankfully, the brininess did its job of lessening the burn, but the tequila still scorched my throat. I sucked the lime wedge seductively, looking up at him through my lashes. The corner of Brent’s mouth ticked up, the first sign of an emotion other than irritation I’d seen on him all night.

“Wow.” I reached out and placed my hand on top of his. “I don’t know about you, but I needed that.”

“I need about three more.”

“I can arrange that.” I wasn’t planning on drinking that much, but I was willing to foot Brent’s bill if it meant I could get information out of him. “What happened today?”

“I’ve just had it, to be honest. Natasha won’t get off my ass. Weird shit’s going on and somehow it’s my fault?” He shook his head. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

“That sounds awful.” I rubbed his arm soothingly. “Maybe I can help you take your mind off things later?”

I would do no such thing. But Brent didn’t have to know that.

“Oh, yeah?” Brent’s demeanor flipped. No longer slouched and glowering, he leaned in with a cocky smile. “I thought we were past all that.”

“We don’t have to be.”

My eyes flitted toward Teddy. He glanced away as soon as I spotted him, but not quick enough for me to miss him clocking my hand on Brent’s arm. And he didn’t look happy about it. I pulled back, removing my hand. Why did I feel guilty? There was nothing wrong with me flirting with Brent. And it definitely didn’t matter how Teddy felt about it.

“What’s Natasha blaming you for?”

“The brick, obviously.”

“Why would you have wanted to sabotage the boat?”

Brent shook the hair out of his eyes. “Exactly! She thinks because I’ve shown up high a few times that I’m responsible for everything that’s been going on.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” I decided to go out on a limb. “Next thing you know, she’ll be blaming Trevor’s death on you too.”

Brent’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about Trevor?”

“What do you know about Trevor?” We stared at each other silently, at a standoff. Then, Brent took a breath like he was about to speak.

“Hey, kids.” Teddy pushed his way between me and Brent, forcing us apart as he wrapped one arm around each of our shoulders. “Mind if I join you?”

Damn it, I was just getting to the good part.

“Kind of,” I said through clenched teeth.

“‘Atomic hot wing challenge,’” Teddy read out loud, squinting at a sign behind the bar. “‘If you can’t take the heat, get out of the bar.’ That sounds fun. What do you guys say?”

“No thanks. We were actually in the middle of—”

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