Halftime Husband (Sassy in the City 5)

“Probably,” she agreed. She raised her glass. “Here’s to my mother, who must have said, ‘Dakota, stop screwing around, you’ll get hurt!’ at least one million times in my childhood. I should have listened more.”

“To your mother.” I tapped my glass against hers. “And your complete inability to listen.”

“Why would that be a good thing?” she asked, with a flirtatious smile.

“Because if you obeyed, I wouldn’t have run into you tonight.”

“Or me you.”

A lean man wearing a pocket square approached Dakota. “I see you’ve recovered,” he said. “I’m leaving. I can’t take this.”

The smile fell off her face. “Why? Are you okay?”

The guy was definitely upset. He actually looked like he might cry those angry tears of frustration. His nostrils were flaring. “Kai is here. He didn’t mention that when he gave me these tickets. He had a guy with him. I’m just going to leave. I’m not feeling this.”

“Sure, okay, I’m sorry, Elijah.” Dakota turned to me. “I’m sorry, I need to go.”

That sucked. “Sure, of course. But can I have your number?” I reached to pull my phone out. I wasn’t letting her walk away this time.

“You don’t have to leave,” her friend said. He turned to me. “I’m Elijah, by the way. Dakota’s friend who has the absolute worst taste in men and who is far too nice.”

I noticed Dakota rolled her eyes a little at the last bit.

“I’m Brandon.” I held my hand out. “Sorry you’re having a rough night.”

Elijah shook my hand. “Have you ever looked at a person and wondered how someone you once loved is now so irritating on every single level?”

That hit too close to home. My ex-wife made me feel that way. But I wasn’t about to reveal that, or slam Bridget that way. We’d both been responsible for ruining our marriage, though she’d made divorce and custody arrangements way harder than they had needed to be. All that was too personal though, so I made a joke out of it. “I think you’ve nailed my ex-wife’s feelings about me perfectly,” I said lightly.

Elijah laughed. “So how do you and Dakota know each other and can you please stop her from doing insane things like riding a banister at a classy charity event?”

“Hey!” Dakota said. “I don’t need an animal tamer.”

The thought of trying to control her with a whip got me instantly hard. I cleared my throat. “We met on the elevator a couple of months ago.”

“This is carriage rescue guy,” Dakota said to Elijah.

Carriage rescue guy? Hell, I’d take it. It meant she’d talked to her friends about me.

Elijah’s expression changed. “Ooooh, I see. You’re the big strong hero who kept our fair Dakota from the clutches of the evil Dante.”

That seemed a little dramatic. A lot dramatic. “I’m one hundred percent certain she could have saved herself, but I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

He turned to Dakota and spoke as if I wasn’t standing right there. “Humble too. That’s hot.”

I took a sip of my martini, welcoming the burn of the vodka.

Dakota made a sound that seemed to indicate agreement, but then she sipped her champagne. I didn’t know what to say since suggesting she ditch her friend and hang out with me wasn’t really a polite option.

Elijah had no such problem finding words. “I insist you stay with Brandon and have some fun,” he said. “Or I’ll never speak to you again.”

That seemed harsh but I appreciated his efforts.

Dakota didn’t look concerned. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay and have some fun yourself?”

“Oh, yeah, this would be a great time for me. Third-wheeling to you and carriage rescue man while my ex canoodles with his hot Latin lover. That would be amazing for me.” Elijah put his hand up. “Bye. Call me tomorrow. Love you.” He turned to me. “Nice to meet you. Make sure she gets home okay and wear a condom.”

I hoped his confidence had some truth behind it. “Nice to meet you too. And yes, I will make sure she gets home safely.”