Page 82 of Boyfriend of the Hour

“You know what?” I snapped. “Fuck you. You’re just the same as you always were. An asshole.”

Nathan’s knuckles turned white around his glass as he glared at Shawn.

“An asshole who tells it like it is. Which is how you know I’m still telling the truth when I say you’re as beautiful as ever, and I miss you. There’s no one like you, Sunshine.” He leaned across the bar and drifted a hand across my cheek. “I don’t care if you’re a little slow, sweetie. I like you just the way you are. Always did.”

And that, in a nutshell, was every conversation I had ever had with Shawn Vamos. One part insult. Two parts compliment. A snakelike ability to twist every insecurity I had around his fingers so he could tug, and I’d do his bidding.

I hated that it was working. That I was sliding back into this give-and-take so easily.

“Besides,” Shawn said as he sat back onto his stool, looking satisfied. “I was just looking at Diamonds, not touching. And any man who doesn’t do that every now and then either has his balls cut off or he’s lying. There’s no in-between.”

Beside him, Nathan grunted. Or growled. It was hard to tell which.

But it was enough to yank me out of this cycle.

“I don’t know,” I replied as I went back to wiping the bar. “Nathan, do you enjoy visiting strip clubs?”

In a blink, Nathan erased the scowl he’d been wearing since Shawn walked in. He glanced between us both. “I do not.”

Was it messed up that I was relieved?

Or was I stupid for believing him in the first place?

“See? Liar.” Shawn seemed to echo my thoughts as he pointed a thumb toward Nathan. “Or gay, maybe. Whatever spins your wheels, my man.”

“I’m neither,” Nathan said through his teeth. “I’ve just never needed to pay women to put their bodies on display for me.”

“Nathan’s a doctor,” I added, though I couldn’t have said why.

Maybe it was just to make Shawn feel less than since he was so good at doing the same thing to me. You want to call me stupid? Well, here’s a smart-as-fuck guy who thinks I’m smart too.

Shawn gave Nathan another once-over, then turned back to me. “Whatever. Besides, it didn’t mean nothing. You know that.”

“It meant something to me,” I snapped back. “We said we were exclusive. Pawing girls named after cocktails is not included in that arrangement.Thatis why we had to break up for the thousandth time.”

At that, the cocky smile on Shawn’s face finally disappeared as he leaned across the bar, clearly wanting me to come closer. Or maybe run far, far away. I could never decide which when it came to him.

I stepped back again, and when I did, he smiled like he’d planned it all the time. Dammit.

It didn’t help that Nathan was looking at Shawn like he wanted to flat-out murder him. Or that I found the expression annoyingly hot. What was wrong with me?

“I don’t remember no break up, Sunshine,” Shawn said in a low voice meant only for me. “I don’t remember a single fucking word about it.”

I couldn’t help the way the hair on the back of my neck stood up at the sound of that low growl. Or the way that nickname, Sunshine, called to me while at the same time made me want to leave this city and never look back.

How could one person make me feel so many things at once? One look from Shawn, and suddenly, I was at war with myself all over again.

“That’s only because you wouldn’t take any of my calls or texts,” I mumbled. “You disappeared, just like you always do when you screw up.”

“But that’s just how we roll, baby. We’re free spirits, you and me. We never could be tied down, and that’s why we worked. It’s why I’m always gonna be your man, too. Isn’t that right?”

I chewed on my lower lip.Say no, I told myself. Tell him he’s wrong. Tell him to leave. Tell him he’s not your man.

Nathan was still watching us carefully. Mostly me now. Mostly like he was waiting for something too.

“Can I get a Tito’s and tonic?”

I welcomed the distraction of another customer. Even welcomed her, pointing out when I poured Sprite instead of tonic. Twice. It kept me from looking at Shawn’s leering face. Or seeing the disappointment that must have been scrawled all over Nathan’s.