Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
EDEN
By the time we made it to The Tap Room, I was comfortably full from an incredible dinner, and nice and floaty from the wine.
I’d chosen a wrap dress with three-quarter-inch sleeves in a deep plum color that worked perfectly with my skin tone.
I’d decked myself out in gold jewelry—stacked thin-chained necklaces that dipped from my collarbone to the hint of cleavage the dress revealed, two bangles at my wrist, and chandelier earrings with pressed gold disks in different sizes that hung nearly all the way to my shoulders—and finished the outfit with a kickass pair of strappy gold high-heeled sandals.
My makeup was done in shimmery pale pinks, and I’d taken the time to style my hair in big fat curls that hung down my back.
The look worked for Marcello’s, though it was a bit over the top for The Tap Room.
But I didn’t care. I was having the best time.
I felt beautiful, and if Lincoln’s face when I opened my front door earlier that evening was any indication, he sure as hell thought so too.
The place was just as packed as always when we pushed inside and bellied up to the bar.
There were two vacant barstools, but when I hopped up on one, instead of taking the other, Lincoln stood at an angle behind and to the side of me, keeping one arm slung haphazardly over the back of my seat and resting the other on the bar top, effectively caging me in in a manner that was both protective and intimate at the same time.
“Well damn, babe. Look at you!” At the enthusiastic exclamation, my eyes went from Lincoln to the other side of the bar.
“Hey, Rory,” I greeted with a dorky grin. The bubble of happy I’d been floating in all night grew even bigger. I hadn’t seen her since my first night at The Tap Room, so running into her again was a pleasant addition to an already incredible night.
“Hey right back. Girl, I’m gonna have to take you shopping with me. You’ve got the best taste. That dress is killer.”
“Have to agree with her on that one, baby,” Lincoln added, leaning in close to speak into my ear. “I’ve been imaginin’ unwrapping you all goddamn night.”
My cheeks flushed pink, and I nearly lifted a hand to fan myself as I listed to the side, pressing closer to him.
Rory’s smile stretched even wider as she looked between the two of us. “Date night?”
I gave her a short nod. “Yeah.”
“Good. So what can I get you two to drink?”
“Bud in a bottle,” Lincoln answered, and then I replied, “After last time, I trust your judgment. Surprise me again.”
She drummed her fingers on the bar and chirped, “You got it,” and went about getting our drinks.
There wasn’t a live band playing tonight, so the music filtering through the bar was from the jukebox near the stage, but the songs were good, and the atmosphere was just as awesome as it had been the last time I was there.
When Rory dropped off our beer, I immediately lifted mine to my lips and sipped. She waited patiently for my reaction, and I quickly gave her a thumbs-up. “Another winner, Rory. From here on out, I’m never ordering. I’ll just leave it up to you.”
She giggled and her face lit up, taking her from pretty to stunning. “I might not have the first clue about clothes, but when it comes to beer, I’m a genius.”
I looked down at her stylish jeans and the badass cowboy boots on her feet.
She was wearing another awesome formfitting tee, this one saying “Tap That” in buttery yellow letters against the burnt orange material.
Through the belt loops of her jeans, she’d laced a gorgeous scarf in different shades of orange, yellow, teal, and red.
Her hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun that showed off the delicate curve of her slender neck, and her makeup, done to accentuate, made her naturally feminine features stand out.
I thought she looked amazing. The whole outfit totally worked in a “rocker meets curvy mountain chick” kind of way.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you look cute.”
She gave me another smile. “And I think you’re awesome.
I’ll let you get back to your date, just wave if you need anything.
” Then she skipped off to fill more drinks and chat up the other patrons surrounding the bar.
From the looks of it, Rory was popular with men and women alike, but there was no missing the way more than a few of the guys stared after her with stark appreciation in their eyes.
“I really like her,” I told Linc when we were alone again.
“Yeah, Rory’s good people. Sweet as hell and loyal as all get out. You’re lookin’ to expand your circle, you could definitely do worse than Rory Hightower, but I’m not sure you’ll get much better.”
Well that just solidified it. I had Nona and Gypsy, but you could never have too many good people in your corner, and Rory was someone I wanted to get to know better.
Lincoln and I hung out at the bar for a while longer, speaking in close, hushed conversation. As we talked, I silently counted the times he threw his head back in laughter at something I said. Now that I knew the truth, I cherished each one like the gifts I knew them to be.
We were on our second round when another familiar voice cut in. “Brother. Didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
I spun around on my stool as Lincoln did that manly chin lift thing before clapping Cord on the shoulder. “Good to see you.”
I gave him a wave and greeted, “Hey, Cord.”
“Hey, darlin’. You still mad at me?” he asked, then winked good-naturedly.
The blissed-out high I was riding made it impossible to hold on to any kind of grudge, not that I intended to.
Cord was a great guy. Sure, he’d agitated the hell out of me for two whole weeks, but he’d only done it as a way to have his friend’s back, and if I thought of it like that, I realized his loyalty made him even better.
“No,” I answered, letting him off the hook. “All is forgiven. As long as you promise not to annoy me ever again.”
He chuckled and made an X over his chest. “Cross my heart.” Then he hooked his arm around the neck of the pretty blonde girl at his side and pulled her into him. “Eden, I’d like you to meet Laurie. Laurie, you’ve met Linc, and his girl, Eden.”
Over the past couple weeks, Cord had told me a lot about Laurie.
The way he spoke of her, it was clear to see he cared a great deal for her.
He was sweet and funny, and just like all the other men who worked for Lincoln, hot as hell, so I was interested to finally get to meet the woman who he’d chosen.
I extended my hand her way. “Nice to meet you, Laurie.”
But instead of returning my offer of a handshake, she dismissed it and gave me a bland, watered-down version of a smile that wasn’t sincere in the slightest.
“Yeah, you too,” she muttered before turning to Cord and stating, “I think I’m starting to get a headache. Can we get outta here?”
With how I grew up, I learned not to judge a person based off a first impression, but something about her just didn’t sit right with me.
It wasn’t just her disregard for me and Lincoln that pissed me off.
It was also the fact that it was abundantly clear she didn’t want Cord to talk to or associate with anyone other than her.
He deserved better than that. Hell, I would have bet good money that at least three-quarters of the women in the bar would have sold a kidney on the black market to be in Laurie’s place right then.
I took an instant dislike to the woman, and my heart ached for the man I’d come to know and respect. I hadn’t thought it was possible for a man as perceptive as Cord not to notice he was dating a raging bitch, but he looked down at her and grinned, replying, “Sure thing, baby. Let’s get you home.”
However, when he turned back to say his goodbyes I could see something in his eyes that made my stomach twist. He wasn’t oblivious to Laurie and her bitchiness, he was just too respectful to call her on it in the middle of a crowded bar.
But he was not happy. I watched with pain for him and annoyance for Laurie as they exited the bar.
Then I spun my stool back around to Lincoln and declared, “I do not like that woman.”
“Not much about her to like,” he grumbled, lifting the bottle and taking a pull of his beer. “Only met her a handful of times, but each one leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“I don’t get it. He could have any woman he wants. Why would he tie himself to a woman like that?”
Lincoln gave me a serious look. “There’s a history there that’s not for us to question, baby. He’s got his reasons for stickin’ it out, and it isn’t our place to interfere.”
“But—”
“Like you said, he’s smart. But there’s always more to a person’s story. And it’s none of our business what Cord does with his life.”
I wanted to argue more, but I knew it was pointless, mainly because he was right. It wasn’t our business, whether I liked it or not. And I certainly didn’t.
“Get you two another round?”
Lincoln and I shifted our focus back to Rory at the bar, and what I saw in her eyes made my inner meddler come screaming to the surface.
Rory might have been talking to us, but her attention was firmly planted on the door Cord and Laurie had just disappeared through, and the longing written all over her face was strong enough that it nearly knocked me off my stool.
Lincoln pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and slapped a few bills on the bar top. “Nah, sweetheart. We’re good. Gonna call it a night.”
I whipped my head around and tried to communicate silently with Lincoln by bugging my eyes out and tipping my head in Rory’s direction.
He read my meaning loud and clear, but instead of doing as I’d hoped, he gave me an almost indiscernible shake of his head and squinted in a way that said, stay out of it. It’s none of our business.
“All right, you guys. Enjoy the rest of your night, then.” She was still smiling and pretending to be her usual perky self, but I could see she was struggling to keep up the act.
“You too, honey,” I replied, knowing it would be pointless to push Lincoln. If I tried to brush him off, no doubt he’d just throw me over his shoulder and carry my me out of the bar. “See you soon.”
“Soon, babe,” she replied with a smile, but the light in her eyes had gone out.
As Lincoln guided his big truck through town toward our neighborhood, I sat in silence, staring out the windshield.
Our entwined hands were resting on his center console, and his fingers flexed, giving mine a squeeze to call my attention as he spoke. “You’re quiet, Edie. What’s on your mind?”
“You saw Rory’s face when Cord left,” I stated plainly.
“I did, but it’s not our place.”
I hated that he was making perfectly rational sense. “Rory’d be a much better fit for him than Laurie,” I grumbled, flopping back in the seat petulantly.
“Maybe, but if it’s meant to be, it’ll work itself out.”
My brow furrowed as I turned my head back in his direction. “I never took you for the type to believe in fate.”
“I wasn’t.” He looked over at me, the corner of his mouth hooking up. “Then this tiny little thing moved in two doors down, and suddenly my perspective changed.”
Oh damn, I liked that.
He pulled into my driveway a couple minutes later, but when he reached to turn the key, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and stopped him.
“Before you shut the truck off, I have to ask you a question.”
“And what’s that?”
I bit my lower lip as I worked up my courage. “If I invite you in again, are you gonna turn me down or take me up on the offer?”
With a chuckle, he hooked a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a quick kiss. “Darlin’, I planned on comin’ in whether you invited me or not. And I have no intention of leaving ’til well after the sun comes up. That work for you?”
That worked for me in many ways.
A quiver made its way through my body and settled between my legs. “Then you better go over and get Rocky. I’d hate for him to be stuck in your house alone all night.”