not trying to steal your girl. Just hadn’t seen her since high school.”
“I’m not his girl,” I said forcefully, shoving Cooper’s hand off my shoulder. Joel raised a brow.
“Cooper, what are you doing?” Talia demanded, pushing between us. She slid her hand through his arm possessively, and I wondered how something as simple as a night out dancing could get so complicated so fast.
“Nothing,” Cooper replied shortly, eyes snapping between me and Joel, who took a step closer.
“You wanna grab a beer, Tinker?” he asked me, ignoring the big, pissy biker standing next to us. Cooper’s jaw tightened. I turned my back on him and Talia, offering Joel my best smile.
“Sure. I’d love to catch up with you.”
“Marsh wants to talk,” Talia said to Cooper. Catching Joel’s arm, I tugged him toward the bar, leaving Cooper and Talia behind us, because whatever drama might be in Cooper’s future, I wanted nothing to do with it.
“Interesting dynamic,” Joel said as we found a couple of stools at the far end of the bar. I rolled my eyes.
“You could say that.”
“So, is that Cooper guy a factor or not?”
“Definitely not,” I told him. “Not even a little bit.”
He cocked his head at me, raising a brow. I shrugged and smiled.
“Okay, it’s complicated. But he’s also trouble and I’ve got no time or patience for that. We’re not in high school anymore and I’m well and truly over relationship drama. What about you? What’s going on in your life?”
“Well, I got divorced about three years ago,” he said. “Kaci and I got married a couple years after high school and things were good for a long time. Then they weren’t. I’ve got no regrets, though. We had two great kids together—and I wouldn’t trade them for anything—but by the time it was over, we both just wanted to move on. She lives in Wenatchee now, and we share custody of the kids. How about you?”
This was always the awkward question.
“I’m mid-divorce, no children,” I told him. “I’m living at home with my dad right now. Mom passed earlier this year. Wow, on paper that sort of makes me sound like a loser.”
Joel smiled, and I swear—the man really was rather beautiful. Tousled brown hair with a hint of light from the sun, blue eyes. He had a nice build, too. Not as big as Cooper, but he gave off very good vibes.
“You don’t look like a loser,” he said, taking in my low-cut top and tight pencil skirt. I crossed my legs self-consciously, then felt even more self-conscious because it felt like an obvious ploy to draw attention to them.
But what the hell? I had great legs.
“So what do you do?”
“High school band teacher,” he said, grinning at me. “Gigs like this help me keep my sanity on the weekends. You?”
“Gourmet chocolates,” I said. “I started out as a private chef, but then I started making caramels and things just sort of took off. Now I have clients all over the region.”
“And you do all that from Hallies Falls?”
“Yup,” I said, reaching for the drink the bartender had set in front of me. Joel frowned.
“Did you order that?” I paused, confused. “No . . . I didn’t.”
“And I didn’t order mine,” he said, eyes narrowing at the beer in front of him. Looking up, I saw Margarita and Carrie across the bar, waving at us maniacally. I sighed.
“I think I should warn you right now—the three of us don’t get out very much, and both of them are married. They like to live through me vicariously, which means they’re trying to get me drunk and laid tonight. Please ignore them.”
Joel’s eyes widened, and he burst out laughing.
“Jesus, you don’t fuck around, do you?”
I took a delicate sip of my drink and shrugged.
“We’re in our late thirties, Joel. This isn’t high school and there’s something to be said for direct communication. But you should know that just because they want me to have sex doesn’t mean that’s my goal for the night. I’m planning on having a few drinks, dancing for a while, and then going to bed by myself at the end of the night.”
Joel laughed again. “Well, I’m always up for getting laid, but seeing as I’ll be spending most of the night playing, maybe we could have a few more drinks between sets and catch up.”
“I’d like that.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
GAGE
Talia threw her leg over my lap, grinding against me in time to the music. The band wasn’t half bad, but that piece