Always With You - Part Two(15)

I smile.

"So do I," Ginger pipes up from beside him, finally regaining her wits. "Like the hard stuff, I mean. I'm taken, though. Bummer."

"Yes, bummer," he repeats. "But it's probably for the best. I'd hate to ruin you for other men." His grin is all cocky male and Ginger falters again.

I slide the drinks out, one to Ginger, one to the stranger. "On the house," I tell him when he reaches into his pocket for money. "I've never seen someone strike this one speechless," I say, nodding toward the still-gaping Ginger. "If we had a wall of fame, I'd add you to it."

"If you had a wall of fame, I'd give you a better reason than that to add me to it."

"I'm taken, too," I confess mildly.

"Bummer," he repeats a second time, glancing down at where I'm fiddling with my wedding ring. It's a comforting circle around my finger. It feels warm against my skin, as though Cash was actually touching me.

The stranger opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, Gavin appears behind him and to the left. He goes to clap his hand down on the guy's shoulder, but never makes contact. The stranger reaches back and grabs Gavin's wrist, stopping him in midair. He's on his feet and facing Gavin in one smooth movement. His reaction is so fast it's almost blurry. I watch the two face off for three tense seconds before Gavin's lips twitch into a small smile. "Thanks for coming, mate."

The men shake hands and Gavin leans around to tell me, "Send Cash to the office when he gets in."

"You got it, Principal Gibson," I reply with a mock salute. Gavin gives me a look that's the expressive equivalent of flipping me the bird.

He turns to move off toward the back of the club, tipping his head for his friend to follow. The dark stranger turns back to me before he walks off. "I'm Jason by the way. Jason King."

"Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Olivia. And this is Ginger."

He nods to me then to Ginger, winking at her before he takes his club soda and follows Gavin. When they disappear into the office, I hear Ginger's loud exhalation. It swishes through the air, even above the sounds of the crowd and the music.

"Good God! He was … he was just … holy mother of reproductive organs, that man is just made for sex, isn't he?" She turns her surprised eyes back to me. "I feel like I've been roofied!"

I laugh again, mostly because I can sort of see what she means. Even I feel a little dazed. Not as much, though. Cash is the love of my life, my soulmate, my forever. No other man will ever affect me the way he does. But I have to give Jason King props for turning my head when so little can these days. There is only one Cash Davenport, but if he didn't have my heart, Jason King would be trouble. For me and for every other woman on the planet.





CHAPTER EIGHT



Cash



Something slightly different is vibrating in the air of Dual when I walk in. It's like the buzz of electricity, humming just beneath the surface of the normal club atmosphere. I look left and right. Nothing appears amiss, but something is just … off.

I dropped Isabella off at the garage entrance, not wanting to bring her in through the mob of clubbers. I didn't want to go in and have to talk to Sophie, so I waited until Isabella was safely inside before I drove around to park out front.

That little girl …



       
         
       
        

I sigh. She's something else! So smart and funny when she loosens up. Cute as hell. I'm really starting to see how she could be a fixture in my life. And how I could be a fixture in hers. She even asked me questions about Olivia tonight, what she likes and how she feels about Isabella, which I thought was so sweet. She was acting so grown up, trying not to let it show that she's a little insecure about my wife. But she doesn't know Olivia well enough yet to realize that she'll be the warmest, most welcoming female in her life, even above her own mother. It gives me a weird tightness in my chest just thinking about Olivia reading her bedtime stories or something maternal like that. Of course, Isabella is too old for bedtime stories, I'm sure, but I can also picture them laughing as Olivia paints her toenails or both of them in aprons as Olivia shows her how to cook macaroni. We were meant to be a family, Olivia and I. And now I'm seeing Isabella as a part of that, too.

My eyes go straight to the bar and I spot Olivia immediately. Tension leaves me, like it always does when I see her or hear her voice or spend time with her. To me, she's like life's Valium. Or a cosmic shot of Jack. She calms me. Stills my soul. Fills my heart.