Page 25 of Welcome to Forever
Maybe he did need to wear a damn cowboy hat, because his charm was nowhere to be found right now.
Lifting her beer for the first time since he’d sat down next to her, she took a sip. And another. Then she took such a long pull on her bottle that Micah wondered if she’d pass out from the lack of oxygen. After several more swigs, Val and Julie stopped to watch her, glancing at Micah in question.
“What did you say to her?” Val asked, accusations etched all over her face.
“He didn’t say anything,” Kat said, raising her voice. “I need another drink.”
As if on cue, the waitress came with bottles for everyone except Lawson, who took another soda.
“If I said something—” Micah leaned in close to her, catching the scent of her perfume.Damn.She smelled amazing.
“You didn’t.” Rolling her lips into one another, she kept her eyes on the drink. “It’s just, well, I’m not engaged any longer.”
“Oh.” His gaze lowered to her ring.
With a shrug, she looked around the table. “That relationship is in the past, and I’m moving on.”
Shit, shit, shit.He’d really screwed up this relaxing night out for her. He wasn’t sure what the story was, but he was starting to suspect it was the reason behind the haunted look he sometimes saw in her eyes. His hand found hers under the table and he offered a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“You didn’t know.” She forced a smile at him and looked at Val and Julie again. “But tonight isn’t about that. It’s about catching up with my two favorite women, and enjoying a few drinks.”
“That’s notexactlywhat I had in mind,” Julie said, lifting her brows.
Kat wobbled a little on her seat, and Micah instinctively placed a steadying hand on her back. The touch zinged through him, and,yeah,he could think of some things he’d rather do than drink, too.
Grabbing the fresh bottle that the waitress had placed in front of her a moment earlier, Kat held it up to the group. “Well, drinking myself into oblivion isexactlywhat I have in mind.”
—
The room was spinning as Kat tried to focus on Micah’s mouth. He was saying something, but his hand on her thigh was very distracting.
And why had she just told him she wasn’t engaged? That opened all kinds of doors. Now there’d be questions, and answering questions when you were drunk was never a good idea.
She looked across the table at her sister and friend, who were laughing hysterically at something the other guy had said. What was his name again? All she could remember at the moment was the kiss that she’d shared with Micah the other night. It’d been a nice kiss. Better than nice. That kiss had set off fireworks inside her, lighting up places that had been dormant far too long.
“Kat?”
“Hmm.” She blinked heavily at Micah and felt that dorky smile crawl through her cheeks.Great, just great.She’d never be able to face him again, which was too bad. She kind of liked this sexy lawn keeper.
“I think you’ve had too much to drink.” His brows hung heavily over his chocolate fudge eyes.
“Yum.”
“Yep.” He nodded definitively. “I’m taking you home right now.”
All conversation stopped and everyone at the table turned to him.
“I’m taking her to her home, and I’ll be going back to mine.” Micah cleared his throat. “Ladies, you don’t have to finish your night quite yet. I can vouch for my friend here. He’ll get you home just fine,” he said, leveling his gaze at Lawson.
“And who’ll vouch for you?” Julie asked, looking at Micah. “How do we know you’re not going to take advantage of my sister while she’s falling all over herself?”
“Hey!” Kat objected. “I’m not falling over.” She swayed on her chair as she waggled a finger. “And I can vouch for Micah. He’s a perfect gentleman.”
Val’s gaze narrowed on Kat, her lips lifting lightly at the corners. “I’ll vouch for him. Micah should definitely drive Kat home tonight.”
And either Kat’s vision was jumping from all the alcohol, which was possible, or Val’s eyebrows waggled over her mischief-filled eyes.
Kat shook her head. Val thought they were leaving to rip each other’s clothes off—or at least that’s what she was hoping. But she was wrong. Raging hormones or not, Kat couldn’t sleep with Micah. She barely knew him, and he was a parent who also happened to work for her. She’d have to be a lot drunker than this to cross those lines.
