Page 6

Luke chuckled. “And that surprises you? I would have thought you’d get it – some people can hide a broken heart better than others.”

While the two of them smiled at each other, Tanner checked on Everly again. She’d gotten rid of the guy who was trying to talk to her, but now there was another one trying his luck.

“I’ll be back, guys.”

When he reached Everly, all he needed to do was glare at the tourist who was trying to make conversation with her. It didn’t take long for him to get the idea. He looked from Tanner to Everly and back again a couple of times before saying, “Anyway, it was nice to meet you,” and sinking back into the crowd.

Everly grinned at Tanner. “Thanks. You’re good at that.”

He chuckled. “I’m happy to add it to the list of my many talents. It’s not something I’ve had much practice with.”

She gave him a puzzled look.

“What can I say? I don’t normally stake my claim. I can’t expect a girl to wait for me until the end of the night if she gets a better offer in the meantime.”

She laughed. “I bet you don’t even need to ask them to wait for you, do you?”

He shrugged. “I’d ask you, but you already had a better offer before you even arrived.”

She waved a hand at him. “It’s okay, you don’t need to give me the spiel. We’ve already established that we’re friends, right? And I’m grateful to wait for you to give me a ride back.”

He met her gaze and held it. “We’re only friends because you already established that you’re waiting for the love of your life.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she sat back in her stool. “Are you saying…?”

He nodded happily. “I sure am, darlin’.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Damn, with your looks you already have them eating out of your hand. I bet throwing in the odddarlin’andhoneyhas the girls dragging you back to their rooms with them.”

He shrugged. He wouldn’t try to deny who he was and how he worked, but looking into her light, hazel eyes, he didn’t exactly feel proud of himself.

“Hey, I’m not criticizing. Like I told you earlier, I’m amused by just how well you work it.”

Amused? That wasn’t a reaction he was used to. Not that he minded it – in fact, he kind of liked the way she laughed at him. That was what his friends did, what his family did – his siblings and their partners. He stared at her for a long moment. Laney was right – she could be one of them.

She tilted her head to the side. “I can see the wheels turning inside that beautiful head of yours. What are you thinking?”

“Beautiful?” he asked with a smile.

She laughed again. “Yeah, you heard me. And don’t try to tell me that you’ve never heard it before.”

~ ~ ~

Instead of answering her, Tanner frowned as he looked past her, over her shoulder. She turned to see what the problem was. The blonde cowgirl who had called him over earlier was standing behind her.

“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Laney. I’m Tanner’s sister.”

A rush of relief swept over Everly when she heard that last part. Laney didn’t look like someone she’d want to get on the wrong side of. And even apart from that, she’d be mortified if this were Tanner’s girlfriend.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Everly.”

“So I heard. Listen, there’s a whole bunch of us hanging out over there. You want to come and sit with us? I mean, it seems to me that you’re fine by yourself, but it’ll make life easier for this guy if he doesn’t have to keep running up and down the bar to split his time between you and us.”

Everly turned back to Tanner, and he smiled. “She’s right, and if you sit with them, there won’t be so many guys hitting on you.”

Laney laughed. “Hey, if you want to keep your options open, I won’t get in the way.”

Everly shook her head. “I’m really not looking for options.”