“Yes!” Keegan stated. “Why don’t you do one with us, Annabelle. It will help loosen you up.”
I shot her a look. She knew most of my issues, and I had a feeling I wasn’t hiding my mood very well with her. Not wanting to dampen her evening, I agreed to take one shot. It was her night, and frankly one little drink wasn’t going to cause me to lose my inhibitions. Jordan squeezed her slight frame in between several people squished together at the bar, and placed our order. Once the drinks were made and we all held one in our hands, Keegan grinned at me, letting me know I had made her happy. She knew I wasn’t going to get trashed tonight, but she liked seeing me let loose.
This time, Keegan stepped up and said, “My turn to toast.” We raised our glasses. “To good friends, lasting relationships, hot future husbands, and a lifetime of love.” Clinking glasses, I was just about to tip my head back when something . . . or should I say, someone caught my eye. The other girls had yet to notice me staring, but it didn’t take long for Macie to catch my line of vision.
“Well, what are the odds? Looks like a Brooks brother can be found in every little corner of this God forsaken town,” she said with clear disdain.
Jordan, Erin, and Keegan all turned their heads to see what she was glowering at. About twenty feet away stood a very tall, and exceptionally well dressed, Turner. He was wearing black slacks and a slate gray button down shirt. His eyes were looking down at the woman in front of him that was all but dry humping his leg as she danced. Personally, I wouldn’t call it dancing, it looked more like she was convulsing while standing upright. His features were smooth as I took in the square line of his jaw, and the way he absently nodded at her. He wasn’t listening to a word she was saying. Couldn’t she see his blank expression? Despite my disinterest, I felt a pull, preventing me from taking my eyes off of him. Like an invisible tether that drew me closer even though my feet never left the spot they were standing in.
“Oh look . . . another one.” Macie’s disgust was palpable. For whatever reason, she wasn’t a fan of the four brothers that everyone in this town seemed to know, or want to have some part of. We all stood and watched as two more barely dressed women approached. “It’s like flies on shit. They just can’t get enough of it.”
Erin busted out laughing. “Girl, I know you didn’t just refer to that man as shit. He is anything but. I’ve seen him around the hospital and I’ll tell ya right now, if I ever had a chance with that man, I sure as hell wouldn’t say no.”
I glanced at her, as a pang of jealously shot through me. Oh, I just bet you would. I silently thought. I bet every woman in this bar would take a ride on the “Dr. Turner Brooks train.” Everybody but me, that is. Just as the thought came and went, he lifted his head. Ice blue eyes that almost seemed to glow in the flashing strobe lights zeroed in on mine and everything around me stopped. I heard no music, I saw no woman grinding on him. In fact, I didn’t even see people. In those short seconds before Keegan stole my attention, it seemed as if I were standing alone in a room with Turner and I was seeing him for the first time after seven and a half months. But who’s counting? He held me there, unmoving and unable to turn away. What happened to my indifference? There certainly was something about him, wasn’t there. Tilting my head to the side, I watched him as his eyes stayed glued to mine. I wish I understood men more. I wonder what he’s thinking, I thought curiously.
“Earth to Annabelle.” Keegan spoke loudly into my ear. I cut the invisible line that entranced me and looked over to her. “I’m going to go say hi. Do you want to come with?”
Of course she would want to say hi. It was her future brother in law. I thought about it but decided to remain where I was. “No, I’m good. I think I’ll keep an eye on Macie.” It may have been an excuse, but at least it was a believable one.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She pushed her way through the crowd and approached Turner.
I watched their interaction from where I stood. She hugged him lovingly, and he responded back with a smile that was actually real. Not like the ones I saw him give the people around him that vied for his attention. He kept his hand on her lower back as he spoke closely to her ear. Their conversation seemed easy and not forced. I wondered how well Keegan actually knew Turner. Did they hang out on the weekends? Did they chat outside of family gatherings? I’d grown curious about him as the months passed. Not enough to go talk to him, obviously. But I did find myself occasionally thinking about him. What was it that drew so many to him? Money could certainly be one reason, but I knew in his case it was more than that. The Brooks brothers were a force to be reckoned with. I suppose I never really paid enough attention, but now when I heard their names, I perked up and listened. Women were dying to get their hands on them, and others mourned the loss of Camden to the single world as if he had died. It really did make me want to roll my eyes. But it also plagued me with intrigue.
Just as I was about to pry my inquisitive eyes away from Turner, Keegan pointed in the direction I was standing. Oh for the love of God, I wanted to hide. What was she doing? I started to twist around to look at the other three girls. Maybe she was pointing at them. But then I saw a small tilt of Turner’s mouth rise. There was no denying that he was looking directly at me. He gave me one sharp nod and then looked down at Keegan without waiting for me to nod back. That small acknowledgement was enough to cause a case of butterflies to rise up in my tummy.
Feeling frustrated by my reaction, I decided to make my way over to the others to see if they could distract me. Macie was hanging all over some guy that looked like he just came from the beach and . . . oh my God is he really wearing a Hawaiian shirt? Ugh, she must be really trashed if she thought this one was a winner. As I approached Erin and Jordan they grinned at me and asked if I was having a good time. I gave them an overly enthusiastic thumbs up. They must have either believed me or didn’t know me well enough to realize I was feeling out of place. I awkwardly stood with the three of them and the beach bum for about ten minutes when I felt a light tapping on my shoulder. I twisted around and saw a cute waitress with a tray in her hand a vibrant blue drink sitting in the middle of it.