Page 3 of Distress Signal
“Sooooo…” she began when I slid the glasses onto the round high top. Stepping close to me, she leaned in so she could speak directly into my ear to be heard over the crowd. “I’m leaving.”
Over her shoulder, I took a moment to study the guy. His back was to us, and he was giving high fives to the two guys seated with him—clearly in celebration that he’d managed to bag my sister. There wasn’t much to say about his appearance since I couldn’t see his face, but he stood no taller than six feet. His hair was a nondescript shade of brown, and his shoulders weren’tbroad exactly, but wide enough to suggest he did some sort of hard labor for work.
Arguing with Lainey wouldn’t do any good, only drive her out the door faster, so I didn’t waste my breath. I simply pulled her into a hug, whispered, “Be safe,” and sent her on her way.
“I love you too!” she yelled over her shoulder as she allowed the man to lead her through the crush of people toward the exit.
“Well, fuck,” I muttered.
There was no way in hell I was staying here alone. Leaving the drinks untouched on the table, I started working my way through the crowd in the same direction Lainey and her flavor of the evening had disappeared.
With my head down, I unashamedly elbowed my way toward the door—until a large hand caught me around the upper arm and pulled me to a stop.
Not again.
“Look, pal,” I started, whirling around, guns blazing, ready to lay into this asshole.
Only to find myself staring up into those gorgeous blue eyes belonging to Mr. Tall and Tatted.
He let me go, raising his hands. “Sorry. I saw you on a mission and couldn’t let you leave.”
I quirked a brow. “Oh?”
“I wanted to buy you a drink, remember?”
“And you did…”
“Then where is it?”
“Oh, I…”Damn. Why was I so flustered? Something about his eyes had knocked me off balance, clearly. “Look, my sister ditched me for a hookup, and I don’t really want to be here alone.”
One side of his mouth ticked up in a half grin. “You’re not alone.”
“You mean you?”
He shrugged. “Why not?”
Why not, indeed?
Other than the fact that I had no idea what this man’s name was, I didn’t have a good reasonnotto stick around.
You know, for science.
Deciding it was time to fix our lack of proper introduction, I stuck my hand out. “Reagan,” I offered.
He accepted my handshake, his large palm entirely engulfing mine. An electrical current zinged up my arm and spread through the rest of my body, illuminating my nerve endings in a way I’d never experienced before.
Chemistry.
Was it possible? Could I be experiencing that elusive lust-at-first-sight with the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on?
“Finn,” he supplied, his voice a low rasp that sparked across my skin and settled deep in my belly, pooling heat in my core.
“Suits you.”
The answer to the question I’d asked myself earlier was a resoundingyes. I wasabsolutelyflirting.
“How so?”
