The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,65
other doors. “Who else is with you?”
A second door opened, and out walked the Russian hockey player with the bad digestive system. “Ask wife if she want to dance.”
“Seriously?” he squawked in Mack’s direction. “You dragged him along?”
“He’s right,” Mack said. “She keeps looking at the dance floor. Ask her to dance.”
“I am doing just fine on this date without your help, thank you very much. And by the way, that hat and those glasses are the worst fucking disguise I’ve ever seen. Do you really think no one recognizes you?”
“No one has yet.”
“They’re probably just too embarrassed for you. They think you’ve gone crazy. And you know what? You are crazy. Certifiable. Don’t you have a goddamn life?”
“What about my disguise?” the Russian asked, looking down at his rival Red Wings’ shirt.
“It sucks.”
“No one recognizes you, anyway,” Mack said. “You were right about that washi tape, by the way. She kissed you!”
Gavin grabbed a handful of Mack’s shirt. “I swear to God—”
A toilet flushed. Gavin felt a blood vessel burst in his brain. A short, round man walked out of the stall at the end and stopped to stare at them. Mack began to whistle and look around. Gavin clenched his jaw so tightly he heard a bone crunch.
The man looked at Gavin. “I know you.”
Gavin let go of Mack’s shirt. “No, you don’t.”
“You’re Gavin Scott.”
“No, he is not,” the Russian supplied. “Gavin Scott much bigger man. And not so ugly as this one.”
The man snorted and washed his hands. In the mirror, he looked at Gavin. “You should ask her to dance. If she’s looking at the dance floor, she wants to.”
Great. Now he was getting advice from strangers in the goddamn bathroom?
The man dried his hands. “I heard nothing,” he said. Then he left.
Gavin pointed at Mack. “You are going to leave. Now.”
“Just listen to us,” Mack said. “You’re doing really well, but dance with her, and use it as a chance to get her to talk. It happens all the time in the manuals. Remember when Irena and Benedict danced the waltz? It brought them closer. People reveal secrets when they dance. It’s easier to talk to a shoulder than to a face.”
That made an absurd amount of sense, which pissed Gavin off.
The door opened again, and in strode a security guard in a gray uniform. He surveyed the scene. “Everything all right in here?”
“Yep,” Mack said. “Nothing to see here.”
“A woman said she was worried that her husband might be in trouble.”
Gavin extended his hand. “My name is Gavin Scott, and I’m a player for the Nashville Legends. These two men are harassing my wife and me, and I’d like you to throw them out, please.”
“Let’s go.” The security guard took Mack’s arm. He hesitated when he realized Mack was solid muscle. “Um . . .”
Mack ignored the guard. “When you get home, ask if you can kiss her in the driveway. In your car. She’ll love it. I read it in this one book, and I tried it on a girl once, and I swear, she melted on my lap like butter.”
“This man is clearly unhinged,” Gavin told the security guard.
“Have you been drinking, sir?” the security guard asked.
Mack nodded. “Yes. Good. I’ll pretend I’m drunk. Make sure Thea sees this when he throws us out. You can follow us out and be all, get the fuck out of here, and be all alpha male and shit.”
“You’re insane.”
Mack put his hat back on. “I’m telling you, she’ll open up with you after all this. You’ll be thanking us later.”
The security guard pulled on Mack’s arm. “Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on in here, and I’m not sure I want to know, but you two, out.”
He shoved Mack toward the door. The Russian followed. “My disguise does not suck.”
A small, curious crowd had formed outside the bathroom, because who isn’t curious when a security guard goes into the john at a bar? Mack turned to look over his shoulder and made as big a scene as possible. “I love you, man,” he cried, stumbling for effect. “I’m a huge fan. Huge.”
Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Yes. Huge fan,” the Russian said, inexplicably throwing his arms high in the air.
“Out you go,” the security guard said, pushing them to the door.
Gavin ignored the looks and questions from people as he walked back around the dance floor. He looked up to see Thea leaning over the railing, biting her lip. He took