which gets a genuine giggle out of me. I haven’t been able to fathom dating again, but maybe she’s right. Maybe hooking up with some random dude for a casual one-night stand is exactly what I need right now.
“Is he still there?” I nod toward the window. I’m too anxious to get up and look. Even seeing him makes my heart hurt.
Macy returns to the window. “Yep, but if we go out the back stairwell, he won’t see us, and the bar’s only four blocks away, right? We can walk it.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Icy sidewalks in stilettos? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
She waves off my concerns. “I’ll just grab onto you if I start to go down.”
Another giggle escapes me. “You know what, you’re right. Get those boots on, babe, cause we’re going out!”
Macy whoops and bounces off the bed. “Let’s get a move on, girl. My red-eye is in five hours, which means we can tear it up for a few hours before I have to leave.”
I laugh. “Do you think they’ll let you on the plane if you’re drunk?”
“Only one way to find out.”
I shake my head and rummage through my closet for something to wear. When I grab jeans and a sweater, Macy tsks and pulls out a tight skirt and sequined top.
“If we’re going out, we’re going out.”
I roll my eyes but oblige her.
Thirty minutes later, we’re dressed to the nines with styled hair and skillfully applied makeup—thanks to Macy, that’s totally her department.
“Ready?” Macy’s standing at the door. She’s wearing skin-tight leather pants, stiletto boots, and a thin cotton sweater that clings to her round curves. Even though she’s six inches shorter than me, the boots give her extra height. She’s almost at eye-level with me. Almost.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
∞ ∞ ∞
We manage to slide our way down the sidewalk as snow falls around us. Macy shrieks a few times when we hit patches of ice, but after many giggles and close-calls, we make it to the bar.
A blast of warm air runs over us when we step inside. The bar isn’t overly crowded since it’s a Sunday night, but at least a dozen guys stand around drinking beer while half a dozen women idle in small groups around them. Being a pack town, everyone’s tall and built, and everyone knows everyone as I’ve come to learn in the past few weeks.
A few of the women and men nod in my direction, and I incline my head in greeting. I’m still learning who’s who, but I know that everybody knows my story. How couldn’t they? The Drummond granddaughter who only just learned she’s a wolf after falling in love with a rogue who was sent away to supernatural prison.
Yep, you can’t make that shit up.
I was the talk of the town when I first arrived, and that talk had only just started to die down, but then Collin shows up. Now, of course, it’s back in full swing.
Thanks mate, I think sarcastically.
Macy lets out a low whistle as she appraises the guys. She grabs my hand and hisses under her breath, “Girl, look at this meat! These guys are freakin’ built!”
Joel, an early twenty-something wolf is standing near the bar’s corner. His lips curve up after Macy’s admission, but he doesn’t look at us. I work frantically to keep my blush under control. Of course he heard her, but Macy doesn’t know that werewolf hearing is a gazillion times better than human hearing is.
I clear my throat and pull my puffy jacket closer around me. Most of the wolves in here are wearing ranching wear versus the city stuff Macy and I are dressed in. We’re going to stick out like a sore thumb that’s for sure.
But when I try to hide myself, Macy grabs my jacket and basically forces it off. “Nuh-uh. That is not how tonight is going to go. We’re flaunting what we got and hopefully finding some hot dudes who will buy us drinks all night. And I’m telling you that covering that bod of yours isn’t going to get us free shots.”
She’s already flung her coat on the bench in the empty corner table. A second later, mine lands on top of hers.
I do my best to stand tall, but when half the guys—the ones without dates—all turn in my direction, the blush I’ve been working frantically to control comes roaring back.
Their gazes rake us up and down, and their sly smiles follow.