Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
E ric watched Drew converse with Bailey on the far side of the bar.
The bartender leaned over. “You want another, or are you ready to close out?”
He glanced over at Drew again, and at Bailey, who seemed to be leading the charge to leave. Where was Willow? He didn’t see her, but she’d no doubt be leaving with her sister.
“I’ll close out.”
The bartender went off to get his tab just as Drew returned to tell him what he’d already guessed. “I’m gonna drive the ladies back.”
Eric nodded as Drew spoke. Bailey was hovering a few feet behind Drew, like she was afraid if she got too close, she might get Spencer cooties.
The thought made him smirk.
“It was cool to hang, though, man,” Drew was saying.
“Yeah. It’s been a minute.” Eric sounded as distracted as he felt. He was busy watching the ladies emerge from the back room, one by one, pulling on their coats and ready to file out into the cold night.
Drew clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll have to do it again soon.”
Eric nodded but found himself saying, “Where’s Willow?”
“What’s it to you?” Bailey snapped.
He looked over to see her frowning at him in suspicion. He just barely held back a sigh. He was tired, and so not in the mood for Bailey King.
But her point was valid.
Luckily for Eric, the newest member of the King clan came up.
Giselle. Her name suddenly popped into his head as he remembered Willow going on about her new nephew and how she would love his mother forever.
A grudging smile tugged at his lips at the memory of Willow’s smitten expression when she talked about Baby Nate.
She must have caught his question, because Giselle provided the answer. “Willow’s sticking around.”
His eyes snapped to Bailey’s, irrationally annoyed with her for not looking after Willow better. “Is that wise?”
Bailey straightened, her gaze bright with fiery intensity. “What do you care?”
And Eric realized his mistake. Blame it on the one bourbon he’d nursed, but he’d said too much.
“I don’t care,” he muttered.
Or…he shouldn’t care, but he couldn’t exactly say that now, could he?
Willow was none of his business.
But as much as he told himself that, he still found himself seeking her out in the crowded bar.
And the second he spotted her tottering out from the back room, his emotions flared, bright colors bursting in his chest as he tried to counter the swell of frustration, desire and…
whatever other emotions he didn’t want to identify.
Drew, forever the peacemaker, was standing up for Eric, soothing Bailey by telling her he was just trying to annoy her. She should ignore him, and blah blah blah.
Eric could argue that was all wrong. He couldn’t care less about annoying Bailey.
Not when he wanted to tell her off for acting so irresponsibly.
The words were on Eric’s tongue. He could be snide as heck when he wanted to, and right now he had some choice insults for the big sister who was about to leave her clearly tipsy, vulnerable, too-sweet-for-her-own-good baby sister behind.
But instead, he let Drew deal with her while he sought out Willow again.
When he found her and two other women sidling up to the bar, the knot in his chest eased just a little.
At least she was here where he could keep an eye on her.
“See you, man,” Drew called back as he led Bailey and the others out.
“Yeah. See ya.” Eric turned back to the bar just as the bartender set down his tab. “Actually, change of plans…”
Eric settled onto the stool again, watching with fascination as Willow started to bop her head from side to side, that messy bun dangerously close to unraveling. Then her hips started to sway, and the air was sucked straight from his lungs.
“Sir?” the bartender prompted.
Eric tore his eyes away. Was staying wise? No. But dang it, someone had to make sure she got home safe.
He forced a smile. “I’ll take one more round.”