Breaking Bro Code (The Line Up #4) - Misti Murphy Page 0,41

look for it anyway.” She nudges me in the ribs as the bartender finally reaches us.

He asks us what we want with a small smirk and a long gaze that takes me in from the top of my teased hair to the point where the glossy wooden surface blocks his view.

Kiki grins at me slyly while I order Panty Droppers and tequila with lemon and salt. Only one shot each since I’m meeting the Cap soon.

“You should get under someone new,” she tells me as close to my ear as possible in the lowest voice she can manage in this overly loud venue. “Him for instance. He’s super-hot. Those arms…”

“They’re pretty spectacular.” Biceps for days. Pretty ink runs over the smooth surfaces. But they’re not as pretty as Vale’s roses. They don’t make my mouth water or my brain replay the fantasy of having them wrapped around me.

“He’d be a great dickstraction,” she says.

I shake my head. That’s not me. Besides the guy works for my brother’s friends. I might be able to have fun here, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if I tried to hook up with one of the bartenders Hud would find out. It wouldn’t surprise me if everyone who works for the Line ‘Em Up brand doesn’t know to keep an eye out for Hudson Kelly’s little sister. “I tried that and now I have a new friend I’m meeting tonight. I’m just going to stick with the plan. Wait out the awkwardness with Vale and concentrate on my career.”

“Are you sure?” she asks as the bartender places our drinks in front of us. The usual mandatory condom is attached to the bottom of the glass, because my Line ‘Em Up boys are nothing if not thoughtful and have carried on the tradition in every venue.

The bartender’s eyes are the darkest shade of hazel I’ve ever seen. Orange and green flecks turn them amber. As he adds our tequila shots and salt and lemon, he gives me that look, like he knows we’re talking about him and he doesn’t mind at all.

He maintains contact longer than is necessary when I hand him my card so he can charge it. Normally, I’d pay cash, but I want to see if he reacts. He double checks the name on the card twice as he rings me up. Glances at me for a second and then nods. I can visibly see him internally distancing himself in the way he angles his body away from me.

“That is one of the many reasons I can’t,” I tell Kiki. The funny thing is my brother is a freaking teeny bopping girl. He’s not scary. He’s a little crazy when he wants to be. While I blurt out my thoughts, he runs with his ideas and some of those ideas should never make it free from the synapse on which it was firing. But he’s hardly terrifying enough to cause grown men to back the truck up and leave me alone.

“I want to have a drink and a dance before the Cap gets here.” Because whether I like it or not, I’m nervous about meeting him and I need to burn off some of the energy that is making me practically bounce out of my skin. I lick the back of my hand and lay down a line of salt before handing the shaker to Kiki.

At least it isn’t a date-like meeting. Like going out to dinner or to the movies, or meeting at a dog park, or rollerblading on the pier. We are just two friends who met through an app and are now meeting in person for the first time. There’s no guarantee that when we find ourselves face to face that we’ll get along. Although he swore there would be no macadamia nuts so that’s promising.

And I have no clue what he looks like. Only that he’s bringing a box of our favorite cereal so I’ll be able to spot him. Um, somehow, in this crowd. Perhaps we didn’t think this thing through.

But it was last minute. We both decided to hell with it since we’re not going to get caught up in each other and we get along so well. Why shouldn’t we meet and be friends?

Yep, just two people meeting under the watchful eye of my closest gal pal and a half-dozen bartenders I don’t know who will all be aware that Lily Kelly is in the house within the next ten minutes. Licking the