I decide to take it as a sign. A divine calling to drown my troubles at twelve-thirty in the afternoon, if you will.
I circle back around to the truck to covertly change into some fresher clothes. Then it’s off to Pritchard’s.
I blink in the sudden darkness when I walk in from the daylight. The place smells a little stale inside, and it’s a little divey. But that’s perfect. For my wallet, at least. As my eyes adjust, I take two steps towards the bar, when suddenly my eyes focus on the figure sitting there already. He looks up with a frown, and I groan.
“Of all the gin joints, huh?” Colt sits back in his stool and eyes me with those cool, dark eyes.
I blush heatedly. Instantly, all of the filthy thoughts I had about him last night come rushing back. But I try and cover it all with a sarcastic roll of my eyes and a big healthy dose of sass.
“Getting wasted again?”
He smirks. “Funny. I’m hiding, actually.”
“From sobriety?”
Colt rakes a hand over the stubble on his jaw as he shakes his head. “You do comedy, city girl?”
I blush when he cracks that gorgeous, heart-racing smile at me.
“How about you, doc? What are you doing in a bar at this bright and sunny hour?”
I frown, trying to figure out a way to phrase “getting wasted to avoid my troubles” in a way that doesn’t paint me as a complete fuck up.
Colt sighs when I don’t answer immediately. “Honestly, I’m surprised your head doesn’t hurt.”
I wrinkle my brow. “From?”
“From banging it on the ceiling in here. What with the high horse you like riding around on.”
I grin. I try not to, but I can’t help it.
Damn.
“I was…” I shrug. “Exploring.”
“Taking a poll for the best white wine spritzer with a splash of grenadine in town?”
I laugh as I shake my head. “Who’s got jokes now?”
“Oh I’m just getting started, darlin’.”
My face heats at that “darlin’. My heart beats a little faster, even if I want to slap myself for it.
“For the record, I drink grown-up drinks, thank you very much.”
He smirks again and glances down the bar at the bartender who looks like he’s swiping up a storm on Tinder.
“Well, if it’s a no to the white wine spritzer, what are you drinking?”
I chew on my lip. Colt nods at the seat next to him. “Or sit wherever. But I’m buying. My way of apologizing.”
I can feel my face practically radiating heat. “You… I mean...” I frown. “It’s your house, Mr. Patton.”
“Could we maybe skip the Mr. Patton shit? It’s just Colt. I’m not your high school math teacher.”
I giggle as I step over to the bar and take a seat on the stool next to him.
“Apology accepted.”
He chuckles. “I mean it is my house. A man has a right to—”
When I groan and roll my eyes, he laughs. “I’m just fucking with you, don’t worry, doc.” He turns to eye me. I shift and squirm in my seat under his eyes.
“What?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Who says I’m not taking that white wine spritzer poll?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I mean here in Cherry Falls. What’d they do, fill up on vets in New York City?”
I frown as I look down and shrug. “Needed a change.”
“Yeah?” He frowns. “What was his name?”
My head whips up to stare at him. “Uh, what?”
“The guy you’re here in Cherry Falls running from.”
I frown. “Who says this has anything to do with a guy?”
“Every pretty girl in the history of pretty girls who’s said ‘I just need a change,’” Colt chuckles. “That’s who.”
The bartender final puts Tinder down and notices the new face. He strolls over and nods at me. “Yeah?”
“Uh… I need a second.”
He shrugs and walks back down the bar.
“Jeff,” I mutter. “His name is Jeff.”
“Sounds like a dick.”
I giggle. “Basically.” I turn to let myself really look at Colt. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What are you doing in here at this hour?”
He looks like he’s about to make a joke. But instead, his face hardens a little, and he frowns into his drink.
“Hiding.”
I snort. “Yeah, okay.”
When he doesn’t answer, I turn back to him. My brow furrows. “Wait, seriously?”
“Yep.”
“From who?”
“My ex-wife, Deirdre.”
A stabbing feeling takes my breath away. But when it passes just as quickly as it came on, I shake my head in confusion. Why the ever-loving fuck did hearing that Colt has an ex-wife make me violently jealous?
Jesus, I do need a drink.
Both of us sit in silence for another half minute or so before Colt grunts. He nods at the glass in front of him. “You know, this is soda water, and I don’t actually typically make a habit of getting fucked up like that. For the record. But…” he turns to eye me, sending a shiver down my back. “I think we both need a real drink right now. And I do mean right now.”
I laugh quietly as he turns and flags down the bartender.
“Two…” he glances at me. “If it’s not gonna be white wine spritzers—”
“Whiskey works.”
Colt smiles curiously and raises a brow. But he nods. “Well, you heard the lady. Thanks, Mike.”
A couple seconds later, we’ve each got glasses of decent whiskey in front of us.
“Cheers,” Colt grunts and knocks his glass to mine.
“A real pair we make, huh?”
He chuckles. “So what’d he do?”
I swallow a sip and turn. “Hmm?”
“This asshole Jeff. What’d he do to piss you off and send you hauling out here to Cherry Falls?”
I glare at my drink. “He slept with my best—” I frown. “My former best friend. Plus, about ten other girls, I guess. Oh, and then he threatened to break my nose when I told him we were done.”
Colt’s charming grin evaporates. His lips curl in a snarl as he shakes his head and frowns. “Christ. Sounds like a fucking prize.”
I shrug. “What’d she do?”
“Who?”
“Your ex.”
“Do to what?”
“To be your ex.”
He chuckles deeply
