Sugar on the Edge (Last Call #3)(9)
I blink at him dumbly, unsure of what he just said. Just to clarify, I ask, “Are you serious?”
“Nope, completely kidding. I think he has allergies or something, but it was worth it to see that look on your face,” he says, laughing.
Who would have thought it? Brody Markham, only out of prison for just over nine months, having been completely broken and withdrawn from life, was now sitting here throwing out jokes at me. I freakin’ loved it.
It never fails to bring a smile to my face when I see how easily he’s now reintegrating to life. Much of that has to do with him falling in love with Alyssa, but it also has to do with the incredible support system he has. His identical twin, Hunter, and his fiancée, Gabby, and of course, his little sister and my roommate, Casey, as well as his parents and myself. He has a close cocoon of people around him that share his secret… that he took the fall for a drunk driving accident where his ex-girlfriend, Stacy, was actually the one driving. Tragically, a man was killed and Brody became a felon, forever losing his charmed life in one blink of an eye.
But he’s back now, and as he told me last week when we were bathing the dogs at The Haven, he has never been happier in his life. Of course, he said that while staring sappily over at Alyssa, who was clipping one of the dog’s nails. It made my heart seize up in joy over the love they share. I’m not sure I’m ever destined for something like that, but there is enough of a romantic in me that I have to hope it will happen to me one day.
“The girls are out on the back deck,” Brody says as he inclines his head toward the door. “You’re the last to arrive.”
“Work and duty first,” I quip. “Can I get a Screwdriver while you’re at it?”
“Sure,” he tells me as he passes the draft beer he poured across the bar to the guy sitting to my right. After he takes the guy’s money and makes change, he starts making my drink. “Doing work with the photographer tonight?”
“Yup, but I might have lost my job,” I tell him sadly.
“Why’s that?” he asks as puts some ice in a glass and turns briefly to grab the Ketel One from the back shelf.
“I sort of snapped at Eric after he put his hands on me. He apologized, but I could tell he was a little taken aback that I finally called him on it.”
“It’s about damn time you did so,” Brody growls. “You’ve been taking too much shit from him.”
“Yeah, well… I need that damn job so I was willing to put up with a lot of crap from him to keep said stupid job.”
Brody’s hand freezes just before he tips the vodka over the glass. His eyes narrow at me, and his voice is dangerous. “What exactly did he do to you that made you finally speak up?”
I give Brody an easy smile of reassurance. “Nothing bad, so don’t go all Rambo on me. He just put his hands on my shoulders after making some lame comment about me being sexy. I just sort of lost it and couldn’t help myself when I told him to back off.”
Brody resumes finishing my drink. “You are totally sexy, Savannah, and one day, you’ll find a guy that is deserving of that sexiness.”
I snort out loud, and Brody has no trouble hearing it over the music. His eyebrows rise up in surprise. “What? I’m serious… you’re totally a babe. Sexy hot,” he says with an attempt at a lecherous wink, but it fails miserably because one, I’m so not sexy, and two, Brody is just one of those guys that is so nice, he likes to make everyone feel good about themselves.
Sliding the drink across the bar, Brody says, “This one’s on the house. Now go hang with your girls, you sexy thing you.”
“No way,” I protest as my hand dives into my purse for money, but he’s already turned away from me to see to another customer.
Jerk!
Lovable jerk!
Grabbing my drink, I take a quick sip and my eyes water. Damn, Brody made that strong and I know he did it because he just gave me a double shot for free basically, knowing that my budget is limited. He’s trying to make sure my girls’ night out is fun.
Sweet man!
I head out to the back deck, which Hunter closes off in the winter with drop-down walls and portable heaters. I immediately see Gabby, Casey, and Alyssa sitting at a table with Hunter. He’s identical to Brody in almost every way, especially now since Brody cut his long hair and shaved the beard he’d accumulated in prison. He’s sitting next to Gabby, his arm around her shoulders and his fingers playing with her long hair. They make quite a beautiful couple with his sunny, surfer good looks and her exotic beauty born of having some Cherokee Indian in her bloodlines. Her slanted, hazel eyes pop against her dark hair, and her high cheekbones make her almost look like royalty of some sort.
As I approach, they all turn to look at me with happy, slightly buzzed smiles. They have about an hour head start on me with the drinking. When I reach the table, I look pointedly down at Hunter. “You’re in my seat,” I tell him sternly.
“Grab another chair and pull it up,” he says with a grin.
“Nope,” I tell him. “In case you missed the bulletin, this is a girls’ night out, and you Mr. Testes Between The Legs, are most definitely not a girl.”
“I can vouch for that,” Gabby says with a giggle. “So scram, baby.”
Hunter takes it all in good nature, because he knew without a doubt he wasn’t allowed to hang with us tonight. Leaning over, he gives Gabby a kiss. It starts out sweet and light, but before you know it, he grips her firmly behind the head and dives in for something that borders on pornographic.