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He led her back to where the others were sitting; most of them were still out on the dance floor, but he was relieved to see that he wouldn’t have to leave her by herself.

“Hey, guys. This is Everly. Everly, this is my sister, Janey, and her husband, Rocket.”

After they’d all greeted each other, he rested his hands on Everly’s shoulders and looked down into her eyes. “Promise me you’re not going anywhere.”

She laughed. “I can’t do that; I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t leave.” His heart pounded as he said those last two words.

She nodded slowly, no doubt thinking that he was nuts. He didn’t understand it himself, but the thought that she might walk out of the bar while he was working, and that he’d never see her again, filled him with a panicky feeling that he couldn’t explain.

“Tanner!” Brody, the bar manager, called to him. “Get your ass back here, would ya? We’re slammed.”

“You’d better get back to it,” said Everly.

It was only when she spoke that he realized that his hands were still on her shoulders, and she was still looking up at him.

“Yeah. Sorry. I …”

She gave him a reassuring smile and patted his arm as she stepped back from him. “Go on, go do your job. I’m not going anywhere – I still need a ride, remember?”

Chapter Three

As the evening wore on, Everly realized that she was having the best time she’d had in ages – years. And that wasn’t an exaggeration. She knew exactly how many years, too. She hadn’t had a night out with a bunch of friends like this in over six years. She looked around at them all, wondering what they’d think of her if they knew that.

They were a great group. A mixed bunch, but that tended to be the way with families. At least, that was her understanding. It wasn’t as though she had much first-hand experience of how families worked. No, she wasn’t going to go feeling sorry for herself. It was just how it was. And for tonight at least, she got to enjoy hanging out with these guys and seeing how their big, loving family worked.

She turned when she sensed Tanner on the other side of the bar. He’d been working his ass off – it was crazy busy in here – but he kept coming back to check in with them. Well, she had to be honest, he was coming to check in with her. She didn’t understand it, but she absolutely loved it.

Over the course of the evening, she discovered that there was so much more to him than there first appeared. His siblings and friends might tease him and give him a hard time, but it was obvious that they thought the world of him. He really was a good guy.

He braced his hands on the bar and leaned toward her. “Are you doing okay? Do you want another drink?”

“I’m good, thanks. How are you doing? It’s busy back there.”

“I’m good. It’s not too bad tonight.” He winked at her. “When you come back tomorrow, you’ll see what busy is like.”

She didn’t get the chance to answer – not that she knew what to say. Laney leaned in next to her. “Awesome! You’re coming back tomorrow?” She looked around at the others. “Are we all up for that?”

Everly leaned back in her seat. She’d had no intention of coming in again tomorrow.

Shayna smiled at her. “I’d love to!”

Ty laughed beside her and looked around at the others. “Can’t you tell that Shay’s on a break from her classes? But I’m not complaining; I’ll be happy to cram in as many nights out as we can get before my busy bee’s too busy again.”

Callie looked at Kolby and nodded. “I’m up for that.”

Kolby nodded his agreement. “Yeah, count us in.”

Laney raised an eyebrow at Everly. “What about you? I didn’t give you the chance to say a word.”

Everly looked around at their eager faces, then turned to Tanner, who was grinning at her.

She let out a short laugh. “I can’t exactly say no now, can I?”

“Nope,” Tanner agreed happily.

“Okay, then it looks like I’m coming, too.”