Wild Tendy (IceCats 2)

I grin. “I think I’d love your mom.”

He scoffs. “Don’t play. My mom would love you. She likes strong women who work for what they want. Know how they want things.”

I feel a little light-headed, but in a good way. “You think that about me?”

He nods. “Fuck yeah. I’ve never met anyone like you.” He takes a long pull of his beer. “The last girl I was with came from money. She never knew what hard times were. Don’t get me wrong, she was strong as all shit and badass. She was smart and awesome, but she wasn’t self-made, in my opinion. You are.” He laughs. “I could be being an asshole about her. She chose some other guy over me.”

I can’t help but think she isn’t that smart, but to each their own. I notice Nico watching Jaylin, and when he looks back to me, he grins. Before I can ask about the girl from the past, he says, “Based on how she’s dressed, I would say she doesn’t look like your type of friend, but I’ve never had the privilege of seeing you like this.”

I hold out my hands. “Get your fill because tomorrow it’s back to shorts and tees.”

“Will the shorts be short?” Nico asks with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

“I’ll pull them up when you come in.” Whelp, it’s possible I’ve had too much wine.

“Such a tease,” he says, waggling his brows at me, and I laugh.

“That’s the wine talking.”

“Well, please keep drinking,” he jokes before ordering another beer and a glass of wine for me. “How’s your night going? I know you don’t like coming out. Since I’ve asked, and you’ve turned me down.”

I giggle as I glance over at Jaylin to see her getting to know Kirby. Nothing is holding her back. She’s having a blast, and I want that. I meet Nico’s gaze again, and it’s nice to see him somewhere else. Callie isn’t here…I’m not running my livelihood. I’m just a girl in a bar, in a skirt that is making it real hard to breathe.

Or maybe it’s all Nico.

“It’s okay. I don’t know how to be out. I’m used to being home and running shit.”

“Well, for someone who doesn’t know how, you’re doing a damn fine job,” he says, glancing around. He looks nervous, which is funny to me. He’s gorgeous, and all the girls in here are checking him out. While he does stand out in his elegant suit, it’s also that he is just so big. Shoulders thicker than boulders and a body that is a dream. I bet he looks real good naked. Wow, I do need to slow down on the wine. “Have I told you how hot you are?”

I try not to grin as my face heats up. “It’s the dress—”

“Nope, it’s you.” I hide behind my wineglass, and he laughs. “I’d say dress like this all the time, but then when I come in for a sub, I’ll be fighting off all the guys. That would be bad for business, and then you’d hate me for running off your profits. So, I’m gonna need you to wear a bodysuit at work, a loose one, maybe one of those baggy onesies, and then this when you’re with me.”

I snort with laughter. “With you?”

He shrugs. “Yup. Don’t know if you are aware, but this moment? It’s ours.”

My heart is pounding in my chest, and I’m sure the wetness in my palm isn’t from my wine. “How so?”

“Things are about to change for us,” he says, and those eyes are so dangerous. They travel along my body as he takes a long pull of his beer.

“Change?”

“Yeah. This is the moment we decide if we want more.”

Lord, he makes me breathless. “Or we could just be hanging out.”

He nods. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. Getting to know each other so that you can decide if you want to pursue me. Which I’m all for since I really want to pursue you.”

I can’t fight my grin. “Is that right?”

“You know it’s right. You knew from the moment you ran your car into mine.”

“I was concussed.”

He flashes me a devastating grin. “Or completely overwhelmed by my sexiness.”

I can’t help it. I snort with laughter, like, from my soul. I am laughing as I shake my head. “You’re crazy.”

“I try,” he says, leaning on his elbow as he finishes off his beer.

He signals for another one, and when the bartender brings it over, he says, “I’ll add it to your tab, Nico.”

“Thanks,” he says as he takes a swig, yet his eyes stay on me.

My eyes travel along Nico’s face, and I sense he’s doing the same to me. Maybe this is our moment. That sounds so silly, though. “Do you come here often?”

He curves his lips. “Only when I know there is a gorgeous girl here.”