“Emory, are you all right?” Alex rubbed one palm against her back, trying to soothe her.
“I can’t believe I did that. I’m such an idiot!” She mumbled against his chest.
“I’m sorry?” He stiffened, wondering if she was referring to the kiss. As far as he was concerned, the only idiotic thing about that kiss was that he’d ever let it end.
She pulled away far enough to look up into his face. “I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about what I said to MacIntyre.”
“Captain Downtown?” Several of his waitresses had been known to stop by the Phoenix after their shifts. Alex detested the little prick. The stories MacIntyre’s staff told about him put him instantly on Alex’s biggest asshole list.
She dissolved into giggles that had him grinning like a lunatic. Her laughter was absolutely infectious. “I didn’t realize that was his official nickname. My friend Morgan and I started calling him that when he took over the chamber of commerce after becoming an alderman.”
“Morgan’s the one who got me started.”
She pulled away, moving toward the door and flipping the sign from open to closed. “Yeah, Morgan’s great.”
She seemed almost jealous. But that was crazy. Wasn’t it? “I’ve known Morgan forever. We’re good friends. She and my boss’s wife, Jessa, hang out. If you know Morgan, I’m surprised you’d never met Jessa before she dumped beer on you last night.”
Reaching out, Emory brushed her fingertips over the fronds of a potted palm. Alex’s dick was jealous of every touch, wondering if she’d be that gentle with a lover. “I think Morgan has mentioned Jessa before. I just never made the connection.” She seemed to be mulling something over. “Why did you tell me I didn’t belong in your bar?”
He was at a loss as to how he could explain away his rude behavior the night before. “You seemed lost.” He struggled to find the right words. “I wanted to put you in my pocket, but that’s not really my right. I suppose I was trying to keep you from making any mistakes you’d regret.” Like the one you probably made with Wade.
The thought of her and Wade fucking in the shadows of the bar had Alex clenching his fists and fighting for control. He couldn’t explain it, couldn’t justify it, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone else touching her. She deserved better than a casual lay.
“I didn’t have sex with Wade.”
He wasn’t certain if his brain had fabricated the words because he wanted to hear them, or if she’d really said them.
“Although I don’t know why it matters who I screw since you’re obviously in a relationship.”
“I didn’t have sex with Celeste last night.” The words tumbled out with all the charm of a hormonal teenage confession. “I mean, I have before, but things sort of ended last night.”
If he hadn’t known better, he’d think she was laughing at him. “Sort of ended? How long had the two of you been together?”
“Four months? I don’t usually keep track.”
She drifted toward the other side of the shop, moving through the plants with a watering can she’d picked up off the floor. “How long is your average relationship?”
He’d had this conversation with more women than he could remember. This was the first time he’d ever experienced something that felt strangely like shame. “A month or two, give or take a month.”
Cupping a beautiful white lily trimmed in pink, she gave him a smile that sent a jolt right to his groin. “At least I don’t have to worry about you overstaying your welcome.”
Her comment stung though he deserved it. “Speaking of welcome. Why the big show? Or was that strictly for Captain Downtown?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Why didn’t you have sex with Wade?”
She set the watering can down and turned to face him. How had he ever thought her anything but a woman? “I wanted to have sex with Wade.”
He felt as if his whole world hinged on her next statement. “But?”
“I think I was sort of stuck on you.”
Alex didn’t need to hear anything else. He closed the distance between them in three strides, sweeping her into his arms and taking her mouth in a wild kiss. She tasted sweet, like sunlight and passion.
He slid his tongue across the seam of her lips until she opened. Sliding it inside, he mated it with hers and kissed her with the same rhythm he longed to feel when he thrust his cock into her hot cunt.
“Bedroom?” He prayed she lived above her shop because while he didn’t want their first time to be on her prep table, he was willing to consider the possibility.