“Like I said, just a suggestion,” she said, giving me a look that said she’d back off. Thank goodness. I’d talked enough about Reid to last me a lifetime.
Sweet Georgia. Her intentions were always well meaning and I could understand her motivation. She’d lost the man she loved at a very young age. I know she had a list of should-haves—things she’d wished she’d said to him or experience with him—but my history with Reid was different. When Georgia took my hand as I was driving, I felt lucky to have a sister that cared about me and my happiness as much as Georgia did.
“Fine,” I breathed out before looking at her. “If I see him and he asks to talk, I will hear him out. Happy?”
With a giddy smile and nod of her head, she leaned over and turned the radio up. Well, I made my sister happy today. I just really hoped that I didn’t have to make good on my promise to Georgia in the foreseeable future.
*
Georgia and I ended up murdering a pizza at Carlino’s before we settled in at The Pub for drinks. We’d discussed the possibility of Vera’s first, but I recognized the black Expedition parked out front when we drove by. I neglected to tell Georgia that I’d seen it parked at Reid’s earlier on the chance that she’d push her talk-to-Reid agenda. Not that she would have to, he walked through the door not an hour after we’d started to enjoy ourselves.
“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding,” Georgia gave me a wide-eyed grin when she saw him in the flesh. “He looks good,” she said, drawing out her last word like her stare as he, Hoyt and Brett found three empty barstools. Thankfully, they didn’t see us.
“I never said—”
“Hey!” Georgia yelled out over the band that was playing on the small stage. The bar was loud—a typical Friday night filled with live music and people ready to unwind from a long week. I was just trying to unwind from a long day. When no one from Reid’s group seemed to notice my sister, I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d make it the rest of the evening with him not noticing I was there. But then Georgia stood up and waved her hand in their direction as she called out again. “Hey! Travers!”
So much for that.
“What are you doing?” I kicked her under the table. “I... I’m not—”
“Hush,” she warned. “I just want to say hi.”
Hoyt was the first to see us and waved back before tapping his brother on the shoulder to point out my semi-flailing sister. I took a drink. Actually, I took at long drink from my Jack and Coke as they ordered their drinks and proceeded to make their way over to where we were sitting. I was going to kill my sister when this was all said and done.
Hoyt and Brett led the charge, but all I could see was Reid getting closer and closer. As he moved through the crowd of people, I could feel my body starting to react to his presence. The fitted polo shirt he was wearing was nice, but I couldn’t seem to focus on that when he was wearing the hell out of his jeans. Each and every inch of him seemed to be sending a signal straight to my libido, from the top of his perfectly chaotic head of hair to his insanely handsome face and down his body that had already stoked the fire that only he seemed to light inside of me. My heart picked up its pace as I tried to steady my breathing. I’d caught myself holding it in when we made eye contact. His gaze hit me like darts and I had to force myself to look away.
What in the actual fuck is wrong with me?
I put my glass to my lips and drank back the tiny bit that remained in my glass. None of this made sense. I had honestly thought that I was over him. I had a boyfriend. Not to mention, I hated Reid for breaking my heart and leaving me alone to deal with so much. Apparently, I only mentally hated him. My body, on the other hand, was a big fan. My physical reaction to him was apparently out of my damn control.