I blushed and somehow tripped over my own feet, bumping into Maddie.
“Oh my God, he was flirting with you!” she said as she steadied me.
“I think they do that with everyone to increase their tips.” I frowned a little as I said it. The only person who should be flirting with me was Clint, although he didn’t usually bother with that kind of thing. He was a very practical man—romance wasn’t high on his list of things to do.
Actually, when I thought about it, romance wasn’t on his list at all. But that was okay. Clint was the man I was going to marry. The man I was supposed to love. I mean, I did love him. Sure, it wasn’t like the kind of love in a romance novel, but I’d moved here for him. We were starting a life together.
Careful not to spill the drink that cute bartender had made me, I followed Maddie, moving slowly because of my unfamiliar—and uncomfortable—high-heeled sandals. I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t completely steady on my feet. In the back of the room, several young women had climbed up on the tables, presumably to get a better look at the twins. Even though the act was over, some of the women were still up there, balancing precariously in their high heels. One woman even seemed to be doing a striptease of her own—she was twirling her bra around her head.
Not for long, though. A mountain of a man who could only be a bouncer strode toward her and, without hesitating, lifted her off the table and deposited her in a nearby chair. Then he turned his fierce scowl to the women on the other tables. They got the message and climbed down immediately. I didn’t blame them. The man was intimidating for more reasons than his size. He had closely cropped reddish-brown hair, a short, non-nonsense beard, and a stern look in his blue eyes. There was no doubt he was a bodybuilder—even his muscles had muscles.
“Wow. I wish people listened to me as well as they do that bouncer.”
Maddie tilted her head to the side. “Do you mean Clint?”
“Just people in general.” But yeah, I meant Clint.
Sonia looked irritated by the time we got back. “Jesus, where have you been?” It wasn’t clear whether she meant me, Maddie, or both of us.
“I wanted to buy Emma a drink, but—” Maddie started to explain but Sonia’s other friend cut her off.
“You missed the rest of the twins’ act,” the woman said.
“We caught the highlights,” Maddie assured her.
A new man was on stage now. I felt a little sorry for him—Austin and Denver had to be the very definition of a tough act to follow. In fact, it looked like some women were getting ready to leave.
Sonia noticed, too, and looked a little relieved. “How about one more number and then we head out?”
I was more than ready to go. Despite being mesmerized by the twins’ dancing, I still didn’t feel very comfortable here. It was too loud and too crowded. “Sounds good. Thank you for bringing me tonight.”
She was scrolling through her phone, but she nodded distractedly. I glanced at Maddie, but she was looking toward the stage.
Absentmindedly, I watched the new guy’s act, too, but it wasn’t anywhere near as compelling as the twins’ had been. They’d both been really good dancers in addition to being super hot. I still couldn’t quite believe how caught up I’d been. It made me wonder why I didn't get that excited when I was with Clint. Hell, even that cute bartender’s smile had been enough to make me flush. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t blame it all on the alcohol, though I’d nearly drained my drink.
“Holy shit!” Sonia suddenly exclaimed. All three of us swiveled our heads to look at her, but she was staring down at her phone. “No fucking way.”
I caught Maddie’s eye, but Maddie shrugged, as clueless as I was at Sonia’s outburst.
Sonia leaned toward her tall friend and showed her the screen. The other woman’s eyes widened. She took a quick glance at me before her eyes returned to Sonia’s phone. “Is she the one he dated in high school?”
“Yeah,” Sonia said. Both women looked up at me this time.
“What’s going on?” Maddie asked. When Sonia didn’t answer, she added, “Is something wrong?”
The alcohol that had been warming my veins a minute ago now seemed to chill me. Why were they looking at me like that?
Half-hearted applause met the end of the new guy’s act, and more women were getting up to leave. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my future sister-in-law’s face, however. Something had happened, and it clearly wasn’t good.
But then the room plunged into darkness, and an announcer said, “Ladies and gentlewomen, back by popular demand, I give you… Austin and Denver!”