“Hello, ladies,” Brett’s drawl was the first to cut through the tension I felt building around me. “Nora, good to see you again,” he added with a shit-eating grin. “Who is your lovely friend here?”
I couldn’t be sure if Georgia was waiting for me to introduce her or not, because at the exact moment I required my brain to fire instructions to my tongue, lips, and vocal cords, Reid scooted into the booth next to me. Being twice my size, he easily pushed against my body with his until my ass slid across the torn vinyl of the weathered seat. The casualty of his choice of seats only added to my frustration.
“Before you get any ideas,” he advised Brett. “This is not Nora’s friend. This is her baby sister, Georgia. And she’s off limits to you.” After giving his pal a warning, he greeted my sister. “Not so little anymore are you, Georgie-Pordgie? You look good.”
“Thanks,” she said, blushing like she was still back in junior high school getting attention from her big sister’s boyfriend.
“Nice to see you,” Hoyt said to Georgia, who scooted over in her seat—willingly—to make room for him. Brett was still standing there a bit dumbstruck by Reid’s hands-off admonition.
“Good looks run in the family,” Reid added, nudging his shoulder against mine. What in the great-wide-world was happening right now? Was my ex-boyfriend literally cozied up next to me in a booth and flirting with me like nothing had ever happened between us? Like he hadn’t been gone for the past seven years without so much as sending a Hallmark card on my birthday?
“You’re right about her looking good, RT,” Brett finally said, when he pulled up a chair to the end of the table. He didn’t even bother turning it around. Instead, he straddled it and folded his arms on the back rest. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was equally as tattooed as the man sitting next to me at the moment. “But I think it’s up to her, a grown-ass woman,” he added with a wink, “on whether or not she’s off limits,” he smirked. “Brett Sallinger,” he extended his hand, “nice to meet you.”
“You know,” Georgia contemplated her words and I could tell by the look in her eyes it wasn’t going to be the response that Brett was looking for. He waited for my sister to accept his handshake, but she gave him the once over and tilted her head curiously. “I’ve managed to make it a whole twenty-two years without contracting an STD. I think I’ll hold off on pressing my luck with you.” The laughter that broke free from Reid and Hoyt was enough to have at least half of the bar patrons looking in our direction. “Nice to meet you all the same,” Georgia added, firing a wink back in the same fashion he’d offered earlier.
“Oh, this is going to be a fun night after all,” Reid proclaimed, tossing an arm over my shoulders and leaning back into the booth to wait for Brett’s response. As funny as my sister’s declaration was, I couldn’t muster up a laugh. I could barely muster up the courage to speak, afraid that I might cry if I did. Concern was coursing through my veins with just how comfortable it actually felt to have Reid’s arm around me.
Too comfortable. He was too close.
It was irritating that he was sitting there, I knew that if I leaned into him, my body would fit perfectly in that little nook under his arm. My head could easily rest on his shoulder. The scent of him would wrap around me just like his arm would and I would feel like all was right in the world. At least that’s what I remembered. That was the way I used to feel when he held me. It was even more irritating that I had the desire to do just that—to lean into him and let his larger body engulf my much smaller one.
No. No, no, hell no. He could not pick me up and put me down and then waltz back into town and do it all over again for his own amusement.