Page 62 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 16
Ryder grinned at Chloe as she put three shots of tequila in front of them. Her blond hair was pulled up into a ponytail and he was itching to reach across the bar and yank the tie out so he could see it tumbling over her shoulders. It wasn’t that she didn’t look hot with it up, but when it was down it reminded him of how she looked in his bed.
“Bottoms up, boys.” She laughed. “And I don’t envy you one bit.”
Nate slapped him on the back but he was busy grinning at Chloe. He knew she’d never throw back tequila again.
“This one’s a keeper,” Nate said with a laugh. “She actually wants us to drink shots. Perfect woman in my books.”
Ryder bristled. When Nate decided he wanted a woman, he stopped at nothing until he got what he wanted, but there was no way he was touching Chloe. Not now and certainly not when their arrangement ended. He was still trying to figure out himself how to keep her..
“You do realize how big your tips are, right?” Ryder asked. “She’s a bartender and you’re a big drinker. Of course she’s gonna keep pouring.”
Nate chuckled, clearly not giving a shit what he said about him. And then Ryder saw a pretty brunette tossing her hair over her shoulder, saw the way she glanced at Nate from across the bar.Bingo.If there was ever a way to get Nate all twisted in knots it was seeing the one woman he refused to talk about, or look at.
“Hey, isn’t that Sam’s little sister?” Ryder asked, giving Chase a nudge as he spoke. “She’s all grown up now, ain’t she? Think we should go say hi, see if it’s her or not? I reckon she looks just like Chase’s type.”
Nate spun around to look, his face like thunder when he turned back to him. “Back off,” he demanded.
“Hey,I’mjust looking, it’s Chase you need to worry about.”
Nate turned his glare on Chase, who just held his hands up in the air. Chase’s wink in Ryder’s direction didn’t help the situation, both he and Ryder howling with laughter at how easy their brother was to rattle. Ryder had no idea what had gone down with Nate and Sam’s sister, or maybe it was whathadn’thappened, but Nate went into serious protective mode just talking about her.
“So you don’t want her, but you don’t want anyone else to have her either?” Ryder asked. “Sound about right?”
Nate made a noise that sounded like a growl. “Back off. Just back the hell off, okay? I don’t want you guys near her. Don’t push me on this, just leave her the hell alone.”
Chase shrugged and Ryder laughed again. He’d missed this when he’d lived away, the hours spent hanging out with his brothers and talking shit. He reached for the shot he’d forgotten about and raised the tiny glass in the air. Nate might be fun to tease, but Ryder had no intention of riling him up any more—he had his hands full just trying to figure out what the hell was going on between him and Chloe, without worrying about an itch that Nate hadn’t been able to scratch.
“To chasing different women,” he toasted.
Nate knocked their glasses, waiting for Chase to lift his and banging theirs together a little too hard. “Too damn right.”
“Hey, how did Sam get on with that colt?” Chase asked. “I saw him working him in the round pen the other day. He looked good.”
Nate’s big shoulders relaxed, happy to talk about his best friend so long as it didn’t involve that friend’s little sister.
Ryder tuned out the conversation around them when Chloe caught his eye, although he did see Nate disappear through the crowd.
“What time do you get off tonight?”
He frowned when the big smile she’d been flashing him wiped from her face. Ryder went to reach for her, then froze when she shook her head, eyes wide. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw what’d she’d seen. Parker was standing at a table near the entrance.Fuck.They hadn’t expected him to show until Saturday.
Chloe came closer and leaned over the bar toward him, her hand on his shoulder. “You need to go.”
Ryder stared into her eyes, wished to hell things weren’t so damn complicated.
“If he says something things are gonna turn nasty,” he muttered. “For me and for him.”
“Just tell them,” she murmured in his ear so only he could hear. “Get the hell out of here and tell them before he does. He’s gonna be furious you haven’t already handed over the place.”
“You think he’s here to play tonight? That something changed?” Ryder asked.
She shrugged as she pulled back. “Don’t know. But if he is, then tonight’s the night. I’m prepped either way so we can pull it off whenever we need to. Shelly can cover my shift, I’ve told her what’s going on.”
Ryder nodded, knowing he could count on her. She’d planned everything, what she was going to say and how she was going to join the game once they started playing, and it was just a matter of setting the ball in motion. Their plan was as simple as her teasing them, making them think she didn’t know what she was doing, then winning the lot out from under an unsuspecting Parker. “If I come crawling back in here on my hands and knees after telling them, will you still want me?”
Chloe leaned forward again and placed her hand on his cheek. “Even if you’re black and blue, I’ll still want you.” She kissed him, her mouth warm as it covered his. There was something familiar about her touch now and he was starting to crave it, liking the fact that he knew the feel of her lips against his, the softness of her palm across his skin. “I’ll win it back, just keep reminding yourself of that. It’ll all be over soon.”
