That wasn’t a good idea, but she wouldn’t hurt him by refusing him outright. “Okay, but no—”
“Booty calls,” he interjected with a chuckle. “I promise, no more. But I’m gonna miss you, Violet, for long years to come.”
“Sweet talker,” she murmured shakily, glad they had an understanding. “Give me a hug. You have a long drive ahead of you.”
His hug good-bye was sweet, and he didn’t try anything, for which she was grateful.
At the front door, he put his cowboy hat back on and grasped her gently by the shoulders. “I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry for the harm Victor caused you. I know it’s hard to believe because of everything you heard him say, but I believe he was sorry, too. And you’re right. You do deserve better.” He chastely pecked her cheek.
Bodie was good in that he knew when the moment to leave came and didn’t linger. He waved one final time as he started his truck and drove off, leaving her standing on her stoop, deciding what to do next.
Chapter Seventeen
“So there was no tequila at home, huh?” Ethan asked as he leaned against the bar while one of his bartenders mixed her margarita.
“Yup. I mean nope,” Violet replied as she took the last sip from her empty margarita glass and chased a bit of the salt on the rim with the tip of her tongue. Ethan’s kickass Divine Margaritas were the best.
Ethan leaned into her field of vision and murmured, “That will be your second one. You sure you want it full strength?”
Violet rested her chin in the palm of her hand, missed the edge of the bar, and nearly face-planted onto it. “Oops,” she said with a giggle.
Ethan smiled good-naturedly at her as he held out his hand and said, “Hand ’em over, sweetie.”
“Can I still have my margarita?” she bargained as she rifled through her purse with clumsy fingers, finally finding her car keys and handing them to him.
“On one condition. When you’re ready to leave, I’ll call you a cab. If you tried to drive home and something happened to you, I would be devastated, and Gracie would never get over it.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet, Ethan! But don’t worry, I don’t mind if you call me a cab. Shoot, but how will I get my car in the morning? I have to work.”
“I’ll see what I can do, sweetie. But I feel sorry for you if you have to work in the morning.”
“I’ll be okay. I just really wanted a margarita.” And once the house had been quiet, she’d realized she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts. And she’d told her men they’d hear from her in the morning, and she didn’t want to look like a ditz who didn’t know her own mind by calling them tonight, either. So she’d showered to remove the body paint and had gotten ready to go to the Pony, thinking maybe some of her girlfriends might be there, but no luck. So she’d decided to sit at the bar alone. Ethan had struck up a conversation with her about the Emporium, so it was all good.
“Were you celebrating?”
She blinked at Ethan, with her chin resting firmly in both palms, concentrating this time to keep her elbows from slipping off the bar. What a klutz. That’s why he thinks you’re drunk. She tapped her fingertips against her cheeks in a contemplative gesture, noticing something was numb. She wasn’t sure if it was her fingers or her cheeks, and she giggled. “What?”
Ethan patted the bar in front of her and said, “You enjoy your drink.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and said, “I have to make a call.”
“Okeedokee Pokie.”
He grinned at her and walked to an unoccupied corner of the bar with the phone to his ear.
Everyone nearby was involved in conversations with their friends, and all the bartenders were busy, so she took out her phone to check for any messages. Her call history popped up, and she recognized Josh’s phone number at the top. Probably from when he’d called while she’d been driving home.
Poor guys, they’d been awfully defensive about Bodie showing up. She hoped they understood they didn’t have to worry about him. She stroked Josh’s profile picture on the contact screen. He and Lucas had made her fantasies come true in the best possible sense, and changed her mind about ménages in the process. There was no let-down feeling over her experiences. The only disappointment she’d had was that it had ended early.
“Violet?”
“Hmm?” she said, turning to the older man sitting next to her, wondering how he knew her name.
He smiled at her and gave a small shake of his head. “I didn’t say anything.”