Page 790 of One More Kiss

And last but not least, there’s Mark.

As if reading my thoughts, Anita asks, “Ooh, is it Mark?”

Heat flares up my neck. “Mark,” I scoff. “Mark hates me.”

“He does not.”

“He even gave me that stupid nickname.”

She coos at me. “It’s adorable.”

My palm is affronted before I am. It flies in her face. “Don’t even.”

Her hands raise in surrender as she smartly backs up a step. “Okay, okay. Just saying, he’s not terrible on the eyes.” She sighs. I gag. She grabs a ticket and pulls a highball from the shelf to work on her next drink.

All I can think is…Mark? Really?

I mean, to look at, yes. Agreed. If Mark spent his life on mute, he’d be the perfect man. The problem with Mark—or rather, the biggest problem with Mark—is looks far out-shadow his tiny, little pea-brain ant his two-sizes, too small heart.

Have you ever seen a man too beautiful to exist? Sure, in and of itself, it’s not a reason to hate the man. What I hate is that he wields it like a weapon. Whenever he walks in a room, I feel the need to dispense chastity belts with reckless abandon.

Again, I’m not talking your garden variety looks great in a pair of jeans with an insta-swoon dimple that could launch a thousand ships. I’m talking about legs locked, knees-weak, heart-stopping level of damn-ness that would stand out in a sea of Hemsworths. The problem with Mark is, he’s too…cold.

Anita pops the cork on a bottle of Moscato and works on a Bellini. “Well, if your heart’s set on Tyler or Josh, you’re SOL. I just remembered, Tyler isn’t here. He and Josh went fishing with their dad before Josh returns to school.”

I nibble my lower lip, worry twisting my gut.

“Nope. Don’t do that,” Anita chastises.

“Huh? Do what?”

She waves an accusatory strawberry-margarita painted fingernail in my face. “That thing, where your brows pinch so hard, they nearly touch. Trust me, you’re too young to start with the permanent angry line.” She wipes down the bar. “You worried about Brian leaving?”

“No,” I lie, lifting a defiant chin. “Brian has been here long enough. Having him take care of me since my parents—” My mouth goes dry before I can say the words. I breathe through it and clear my throat. “Anyway, the military gave him all the leave they could. I’m an adult. I’ve graduated. I’m a big girl and my brother’s a big boy. We can take care of ourselves.” I say this out loud at least a dozen times a day, because one day soon, I’ll believe it.

She places some mixed nuts between us and pops a few in her mouth. “Then what is it?”

Deflated, I sign. “I have five days to get Brian his gift before his deployment.”

“That should be plenty of time.”

“I needed to be able to afford it first. It costs my entire paycheck.”

She lifts a brow. “All of your paycheck?”

I nod. “Along with the engraving, yes. I caught him drooling at the jewelers over some stupid expensive tactical watch. After an insane amount of searching, I found a pre-owned one, but I have to pick it up today. The owner already has other buyers.” I’m about to show her on my phone, but my battery’s already low and I still need to find this guy. “Pull up your phone.”

She hands it to me, and I pull up the Laney Jewelers website. With a two-toned whistle, she approves.

I smile. “And then hopefully I’ll have time to get it engraved before Brian leaves.”

“You mean Brian and Mark. What, no gift for his bestie?” she teases.

My lips quirk. “Definitely not.”

“Hey, if push comes to shove, girl, I’ve got you.” She holds up a paring knife. “Seriously, how hard can it be to scratch two B’s on some metal?”

“What I had in mind is a little more than his initials, and this watch is worth weeks of my life,” I say indignantly and lower her knife-wielding hand. “As skilled as you are with slicing and dicing, how about we leave the pretty letter carving to the experts.” I tap the counter, not sure what to do. “Who can I get my check from?”

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