Page 77 of Betting on the Bad Boy

Jess’s voice took on the whiny tone, meaning she wouldn’t give up without a major fight. Easier to just give in. One drink. I’d still be home long before midnight. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

“How about Tapped?”

“No. Pick somewhere else.”

“What’s wrong with that place? We drive right by it on the way home.”

“It’s just...I don’t know. I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like the bar, or you don’t like him?” Jess asked.

I fiddled with the radio, searching for something besides Christmas music. The holiday was over. Couldn’t they move on? “It’ll probably be crowded.”

“Yeah, right. Most people aren’t even coming back until the day after tomorrow.” Jess pointed her finger at the window. “The turn is just up there.”

“Fine.” I figured I’d left Dante at the library less than an hour ago. Odds were, he probably had the night off and would be nowhere near the bar tonight. I took the turn and pulled into the lot. “Just one drink though, okay?”

Jess cast a sly glance at me. “I think maybe you like him.”

“I don’t. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but that’s it.”

“Are you sure, Faith? When the two of you are together, I don’t know, it’s like static electricity or something.”

I put the car in park and glanced over at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think your little one-night stand didn’t get it all out of your system. There’s something going on between you whether you like it or not.”

“I changed my mind. Let’s go somewhere else.” Before I could start the engine again, Jess grabbed my keys and climbed out of the car.

“Meet you inside.”

I sat in the parking lot until the heat seeped out and my toes went numb. “Dammit!” I slammed my hands down on the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare. Better get this over with. I climbed out of the car and followed Jess’s footsteps through the snowy parking lot and into the bar.

Jess was right.It wasn’t crowded, especially for New Year’s Eve. In fact, only a handful of people milled around inside. I passed a couple of guys playing pool and a trio of girls shooting darts.

I made my way back toward the bar and found Jess sitting on a barstool talking to... aw, hell... Dante stood behind the bar. He was laughing and talking to Jess. As I approached, his mouth quirked up in a half-smile, and he winked.

“Oh, hey Faith,” he said.

I sat down on the stool next to Jess and stuck out my hand. Jess tossed me the keys as a shit-eating grin spread across her sun-kissed face.

“Glad you could join me, Faith. Dante here was just telling me about his break.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked, “What fun things did you do over Christmas?”

As soon as I sat down, he’d grabbed a pint glass and filled it up with my favorite brew. He set it down in front of me.

“Actually, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. My grandmother had a fall.”

My hand went to my chest. “Meemaw? Oh my gosh. Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? Is she okay?”

Dante lifted an eyebrow at my concern. “We didn’t do much talking earlier. Besides, she’s fine now. She hit her head pretty hard, and they had to sedate her for a couple of days. She’s back to bossing me around, though.”

“Thank goodness.” I took a long sip of my beer.

The group of guys playing pool yelled for Dante from across the room.

“Excuse me, will you? I’m on my own here tonight and need to get those guys another round.”