“Free beer!” Cole emerged from the bar with a grin and plastic cup. “One per customer. Here, you can have mine. Not really a fan of drinking piss water.”
“Gee, how kind of you.”
The frothy, pale yellow liquid had a foul smell to it. I'd never been much of a beer drinker, usually preferring my old standby of vodka mixed with something to hide the taste.
“Let's dance a little closer, sugar. You're gonna be my husband, after all.”
“Now, hold on a minute. I never said...”
Rosa backed into Asher and ground herself against him. Okay, enough of this. I couldn't stomach watching another second.
And that's when I realized this shitty beer, though undrinkable, had a purpose.
I made my way onto the dance floor, cutting a path through the thick crowd toward them. Soon, I was close enough to hear them talk.
“Mm, I figured you'd be harder than this. What's the matter, don't you think I'm pretty?”
A man bumped into me from behind; this was my chance. I faked a cry of surprise, stumbled, and tossed the contents of my cup all over Rosa.
She shrieked as the pungent beer doused her hair and dribbled down her face, along with most of her makeup. Black streaks of mascara painted her cheeks. The beverage soaked through her sheer dress, revealing to everyone around that she was not wearing a bra.
Asher covered his mouth and tried to stifle a laugh as she whirled around to confront me. When she saw who it was, she fumed even harder.
“It's y-you! That chick from earlier,” she hissed. “Look what you've done. You've ruined everything!”
“I'm so sorry. Really.” I tried my best to act sympathetic. “Someone bumped into me. Want me to help you clean up in the ladies' room?”
She howled and pushed me aside as she ran to the restroom. Asher sighed with relief.
“That's the second time you've rescued me in the past week. Think maybe I ought to hire you as my personal bodyguard. Then I could have you around all the time.”
I dodged the beer puddle and moved closer to him. He stared at my chest without apology.
“What was up with that woman?”
“Hell if I know. I'm gonna kill my sister for hooking me up with her.” He shuddered. “I think it's safe to say I'm definitely not going through with that marriage.”
“Even if it saves both of our stores?”
“Being legally tied to a nutcase like Rosa? No thank you. I might as well sign my own death certificate, 'cause I'm fairly sure she'd bleed me dry.”
He slid his arms around my waist, and we rocked slowly to the beat. When one hand fell to my ass, I didn't stop him.
I'd resisted this, run from him and shot down his advances for years. But his touch felt so right. Had I been wrong to deny him all this time?
Even if it was just a night between the sheets. I could live with that.
“You left my office crying,” he said. “It bothered me.”
“Aw, how sweet. I didn't know you cared.” I said it sarcastically, but his words warmed me inside. “I mean, uh, I wasn't really crying. Allergies. That's what it was.”
He chuckled softly. “In winter, huh?”
“Yeah. I was allergic to Rosa's cloying perfume.”
I put my head on his chest and listened to his heart. Such a shame we had these annoying clothes between us. All I wanted was to feel his skin against mine...
“Well, well. Looks like someone's gotten awfully close all of a sudden.”
Lana stood on the sideline, swirling her fruity drink and looking at the two of us very suspiciously. She'd always thought Asher was bad news – and honestly, she was right.
Didn't matter to me. He could be as bad as he liked, so long as he gave me a good time in the bedroom.
Asher did not remove his hands from me. He gave Lana a polite smile.
“Nothing wrong with a little dancing, is there? If you'd like, I'll dance with you next.”
She sputtered and backed up into a bar stool. “W-what? No way. I'd rather dance with someone who isn't a total jerk. Right, Sarah?”
For years, Lana had taken it upon herself to “protect” me from Asher's charms. I never quite understood why she seemed to loathe him so.
“Where's Cole?” I asked, hoping to distract her. “You can't leave him alone. You know how his mouth always gets him in trouble.”
Oh, she knew. Last time we brought him to a bar, he got beaten up for yelling at some asshole who'd shoved his girlfriend and called her names.
“I'll go look for him.” She eyed me. “Be careful.”
“Y'know, my mouth gets me into trouble a lot, too,” Asher whispered once she was gone, his breath tickling my ear. “If you get my meaning.”
“Yeah, because you don't know when to shut up.”
Not far away, a gaggle of girls danced and loudly flirted with some men they'd cornered. One of them was Macy, Asher's sister. The few times we'd interacted, she'd seemed about as unpleasant as his mother was.
“She sure seems to be having a fun time.”
“I can't believe she hooked me up with Rosa. Last time I ever take relationship advice from her.”
“But to be fair, you just needed someone to marry. She did fit the bill.”
“If I'm gonna get hitched – even if it's a fake marriage – I'd like it to be with someone normal, at least. Someone I can respect.”
His warm eyes met mine, and a little shiver of electricity went down my spine. In that instant, one thought came to
