No Weddings (No Weddings #1)(51)

When I looked down at Hannah, she smiled wide. She also vibrated, bouncing on the booth between me and Kendall.

“Having a good time?” I leaned toward her.

She gave me one of those megawatt smiles, crushing into my side. “The best!”

I laughed. “Are you plastered?”

“Pffft. No.” She shook her head as if I’d suggested the impossible.

“How many beers have you had?”

Glancing up at the ceiling, she stared at a spot up there, biting her lip and frowning.

I looked up, wondering if she saw imaginary tally marks etched into the hammered tin ceiling tiles. “You know, if you have to carry the one, you’re plastered.”

She snorted. “I think I’ve had four. No, five.”

I’d only ever seen Hannah have a glass or two of wine. “And that doesn’t constitute plastered.” My comment flattened into more of a statement than a question. Because arguing the levels of drunkenness with the drunk brought out rare forms of smartass in me.

Hannah shook her head. “Nope. The first beer is buzzed. The second, tipsy. The third one is drunk.”

Kiki leaned around Hannah, pressing in. “The fourth one’s hammered.”

Kristen slammed down her now-empty beer mug. “The fifth is plastered!”

I barked out a laugh. “Which, clearly, you are. Have another beer, O Reserved One.”

Hannah nodded once, as if an oracle had spoken through the mouths of beer-laced babes. “And shitfaced would be beer number six.” She hiccupped. It was adorable.

Sitting in a booth surrounded by my sisters with Hannah by my side, I felt like the night couldn’t get any better. Although Hannah had let loose with the guys and had settled in with my sisters like one of their own, I’d never seen her…filterless. The complete transformation was refreshing.

And she looked amazing.

With disheveled hair framing pinked cheeks and with those dark hazel-green eyes sparkling, she had this great messed-up look, like she’d just been thoroughly f*cked. And damn, I wanted to give her that look. I wanted to give her the messed-up look of her life. Little Miss Ice Queen had irrevocably melted. And I loved every minute of it.

We all sang the last chorus to “I’m Shitfaced.”

Kristen no longer hesitated, belting out the words at the top of her lungs, “And I only bought her one rouuund.”

Her letting loose was golden, because I had turned on my phone’s video, capturing it all. Moments like this needed to be relived, maybe at a family gathering, like Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Again, Mom would be so proud.

“I have to pee.” Hannah made the announcement like a newsflash. It was the third such bulletin in the last two hours, but her drinking pace made it a redundant given.

Before I could slide out, she knocked into me like a bumper car. I chuckled, shaking my head. “Hold on! I’m moving.”

Of course, I’d had as many beers as the girls, plus a few shots of scotch. None of us drank this much normally, but I wasn’t feeling much more than a slight buzz. I think mine was masked by the adrenaline of the night, of having Hannah attached to me by the hip while she had the time of her life.

When she stood from the booth, her body swayed and she tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, crumpling against me and the back of the booth.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, my hands sliding up just under her breasts. “Whoa. How about I escort you to the bathroom.”

She tilted her head back against my chest, gazing up at me with half-lidded eyes. “You gonna help balance me over the toilet?”

My mouth opened. No words came out. I glanced back at the girls, but all three of them looked at me with wide-eyed expectant expressions, like the entire world’s problems would be solved by my answer. I glared at them.

“Do you need me to?” I furrowed my brow at the limp girl in my arms.

Hannah burst out laughing. “Nooo, silly. Was bein’ smartass.” Not only were her words slurring, she missed a few as she spoke. “Worst case, I’ll grab handicap bars. Did last pee.”

She pushed against my hips with her hands, righting herself by spreading her arms wide. I stood there as she took a tentative step in those high heels, fully prepared to fireman-carry her ass to the bathroom, pull down her jeans, and hold her over that toilet, if necessary.

Her next two steps were faster, and I almost thought she was falling forward until I slammed into her back, nearly knocking her over.

I threw my arms back around her, righting her.

But she didn’t need my support. Like a cement wall that had been poured and hardened instantly, she drew herself up and held there.

Some clean-cut guy stood two feet in front of her, staring at her.

And she stared back.

I shifted to her side to see her expression. She’d gone white like she’d seen a ghost.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

Cocky expression on his face, the guy shrugged. “Saw your picture in the paper for the event. Thought I’d come down and see you.”

Every ounce of protectiveness programmed into my DNA fired to life. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that was her piece-of-shit ex. I took a step forward, ready to block Hannah and body check Dumbf*ck, who had the balls to show his cowardly face now.

A hand on my shoulder held me. I growled, glancing back.