To Professor, with Love (Forbidden Men #2)(83)

The woman moved to follow him, but I growled, “Don’t even think about it.”

“Dude.” Ten appeared at Aspen’s side. “Doesn’t he have a girlfriend he moved all the way from Florida to be with?”

I sent my roommate a shut-it scowl and turned back to Mason’s...problem, who wouldn’t stop glaring at me. “Well, you heard the man,” I told her. “He said to say your piece and get out, so...time to go, lady.”

I had tried being polite with her, but that hadn’t worked. So I didn’t mind being direct. Hell, I was eager to get downright rude to this...person. She left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth for some reason. Maybe it was because she looked at me as everyone from my hometown had always looked at me. Like I was trash.

“Did you not hear what I just told him? We need to discuss this...together.”

I chuckled. “Honey, if he’d wanted to discuss anything with you, he would have. But he didn’t. So go.”

When she didn’t budge, I stared her hard in the eye and called out to Ham, “Yo, Quinn. Escort this fine lady to the door, would you?” The virgin needed a nasty task for his first night on the job.

Lowe’s problem was too busy killing me with her glare to notice the way Ham jumped and widened his eyes as if he wanted to piss his pants rather than go anywhere near her. But he calmed himself just in time to scare the shit out of the bitch. She spun around when he approached and yelped out a sound as the six-foot-six, two-hundred-forty-five-pound tight end made eye contact with her. She didn’t need to know he was as harmless as a kitten. His size was as intimidating as his gravelly voice when he said, “This way.”

She hopped into gear without complaint and was out of the club in moments.

After the door closed and silence descended in the bar, I glanced toward Aspen. She lifted her face, and we shared a look as if to say—

“Well, shit,” Ten exploded. “Guess Lowe isn’t as devoted to that girlfriend of his as he pretended to be.”

I sighed and shook my head. “I wouldn’t go making assumptions about something we know nothing about.”

“Was it just me, or did that woman creep anyone else out?” Quinn asked, appearing on the other side of Aspen at the bar. Shivering, he rubbed his arms and glanced back toward the front door as if to make sure all the evil was gone.

“I thought she was kind of hot,” Ten said and wiggled his brows. “Don’t blame Lowe for bumping uglies with a cougar like that. I’d certainly bang her.”

At the word cougar, I explicitly remembered Lowe saying he didn’t like cougars. At all. Eyebrows furrowing, I frowned, utterly confused about what had just happened.

“Well, he’s puking his guts out,” Pick announced, strolling out of the back hall. I guess he’d gone back to check on Lowe. “Impending fatherhood must not suit him.”

Aspen let out a breath and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then she closed her lips and remained silent. I sliced her a glance. “What?”

With a small shake of her head, she sent me a tight smile. “Nothing.”

I knew it wasn’t nothing and studied her a second longer, but a ringing by the cash register interrupted the quiet room.

“Is that Lowe’s phone?” Ten asked.

The five of us in the bar shared a glance. I think we all knew the ringing of his cell phone couldn’t be good news. Since no one else was budging, I stepped forward and glanced at the lit screen as it continued to chime. The picture of a girl with long, silky brown hair and a nose ring peered up at me with a cute, carefree smile. The name under her picture read Reese.

“It’s Reese,” I said, wondering if—

“That’s his girlfriend’s name,” Pick answered, confirming my suspicions.

Shit.

“Should we answer it for him?” Quinn was the first to ask.

I spread my arms. “And say what? Sorry, but your man can’t come to the phone right now; he just found out he’s going to be a daddy...to another woman.”

Ham winced and shut his mouth. I glanced at Aspen. She lifted her brows as if telling me she’d support any decision I made. But I didn’t answer the phone, and it finally fell silent. The room exhaled a collective breath of relief.

Until the phone started ringing again.

“I have a feeling she’s going to keep calling,” Pick said. “She must know something’s up.”

Damn it. I glanced toward Aspen again. Her steady green gaze gave me the boost I needed to pick up the phone. I pushed Accept, still wondering what to say to Lowe’s woman, when Ten shouted, “Shit! Are you really going to tell her some old chick just came in, claiming Lowe knocked her up?”

“Say what?” a girl’s voice screeched from the other end of the line.

Double shit. Panicking, I punched the End Call button and glared at my roommate.

“You moron,” Pick exploded, slapping Ten on the back of the head. “He’d already answered the phone; she probably heard everything you said.”

“Oh...f*ck.” Ten hunkered his shoulders and sent me an apologetic cringe. “My bad.”

“You mean, Lowe’s bad,” I muttered. “Damn it.” I shouldn’t have tried to answer the phone.

When it rang again, I jumped, set it back where I’d found it, then lifted my hands and backed away slowly. Lowe was going to kill me for this.