“We’re going to have to work on your begging skills,” I laugh.
As I refill her glass I spot a guy who just walked in: dress shirt, suit, slicked back hair, and loafers. He’s looking around at the controlled chaos in the bar with a slight sneer. Attitude for days. He spots Savannah, and starts to make his way towards us.
That girl has no taste. “You need to work on your selection skills,” I sigh, nodding to the new arrival. Savannah waves at him. “What is he, an accountant?”
“Banker,” she corrects me.
I snort. “Sounds stimulating.”
“How would you know? He could be more than just a pretty face, Cash. Because unlike some people, I’d actually like to find something…more. Like Cassie and Ryder,” she adds with a wistful sigh.
Our friends are currently snuggled in the corner booth, too caught up in each other to notice the world around them. Ryder cracks himself up in the middle of some story he’s telling, and Cassie places a hand on his chest, throwing her head back in an unselfconscious giggle that more than a few men around them notice. They’re happy together. Really happy.
“Sickening,” I say cheerfully. “But hey, if Ryder wants to take himself off the market, I’m more than happy to pick up the slack.”
“Ass.” Savannah gives me a playful shove and hops down from her stool. “Well, how do I look?”
“Bun,” I say, pointing to her head. She pulls out the few pins holding up her blonde curls and gives them a good fluff, looking like she just rolled out of bed after a night of great sex.
She takes a final sip of her drink and pushes it toward me. “Thanks for the liquid courage, but I think you need it more.”
I’m thrown. “Me? Why?”
“You need to lose this fuck ’n run attitude. Settle down, find a girl to annoy fulltime. Who knows, you might like it.”
I roll my eyes. “Sure. And that banker over there’s going to turn out to be the best screw of your life. I don’t think so.”
“At least I’m trying,” Savannah shrugs, and goes to meet him.
The crowd parts for her. Her date immediately goes for the kiss—wrong move, dude. Savannah turns at the last second and gives him her cheek. She meets my eyes, and I can read her so well by now that I catch the meaning behind her gaze right away: it’s going to be a long night.
I head for the pass, ready to step in—no reason she needs to keep up with the bottom feeder for the next few hours. But Ryder steps in front of me when I try to get out.
“Hey,” Ryder says, blocking my path.
“Finally. Your girlfriend let you out by yourself?”
Ryder just grins. “Gunner just let in a bachelorette party, so you can find a new skirt to chase.”
“I need no help in that department,” I say. There are at least four numbers in my pocket from tonight’s shift alone.
“Cassie told me to tell you, hands off Savannah.”
On instinct, I scan the crowd and find Savannah and Loose Lips. She’s got that cool smile on that says she’s got it all under control. Something tells me I’ll be getting one hell of a story when she comes in for the next date.
“Now why would I be looking at Savannah when there’s a bachelorette party headed my way?”
I head over to the party. These girls are ready for a good time. They’re a flutter of pastels, flowy fabric, and pearls, but I’m willing to bet there’s more than one wild woman under all that polish. I step up to the front and begin the show.
“Ladies, who’s eloping with me tomorrow?” A collective cheer goes up from the group. I take drink orders and am just starting to shake my first drink when a woman pushes her way to the front.
“Cash? Cash Gardner?” A salon-made blonde who’s stepped off the pages of my memories is standing there in front of me. The shaker freezes mid-air.
Her eyes widen. “Oh my god, it is you! Don’t you remember? It’s me, Morgan! We went to school together, back at Landsbury Prep. I can’t believe I’m running in to you here!”
I stare back, numb. There’s a weird ringing in my ears, and I fight to focus on Morgan. She’s going on about how she just talked to my mom last week, and some charity gala they’re all planning at the country club, but it’s like she’s talking a foreign language.
I thought I’d left this all behind.