He touched her face. "I think I'm not taking any chances with you."
Chapter Five
"How?" Mina asked, tossing her head back and moaning dramatically. "How did we finish off an entire pitcher of margaritas?" She flopped back on the bed and sighed. "I'm going to be so ridiculously hung over tomorrow."
"I'll be right there with you," Taylor admitted.
"But it was worth it, right?"
"Oh, yeah," Taylor agreed. They'd gone into the evening intending to watch something silly and fun and girly, like Bridesmaids or Girls Trip. They'd ended up watching Magic Mike, because Mina had said it was like a theme, what with the Man of the Month contest, and since Taylor had missed tonight's contest...
"Are you saying I missed that level of strutting?" Taylor had teased.
"Funny. Now pass the remote and the chips."
Now, hours later, they were both paying the price for their evening of debauchery, and as they stretched out on the bed in a margarita haze, Mina sighed, rolled onto her side, and said, "Okay, spill."
"What?" Taylor was pretty sure she knew, but was willing to feign innocence as long as it took.
"Don't give me that. Detective Hottie. Landon. What's the deal?"
"No deal," Taylor said. She opened her eyes, noticed that the ceiling was moving counterclockwise, and shut them again.
"Oh, please. I've known you since high school."
"Only since senior year." Nobody knew her before senior year. She'd been a long way from Austin in more ways than one.
An unexpected shiver cut through her. One person knew her before senior year--Beau. But surely he wasn't here.
Please, let him not be here.
Mina continued on, unaware of Taylor's shift in mood. "Senior year or not, the point is, I know you. And I've seen you watching him every time we've seen him at The Fix."
"Why wouldn't I? He's gorgeous."
"Agreed," Mina said. "But so are a lot of the guys who hang out there, and you don't slap your eagle eye onto them."
"I don't do that!" Did she? The possibility was positively mortifying.
"You do. But there's good news, too." Mina pressed her lips together, looking smug. And obviously staying quiet until Taylor begged.
"Okay. I give up. What's the good news?"
Mina shifted sideways on the bed so that she could shoulder bump Taylor, and when she spoke, it was in a low, secretive whisper. "I've seen him watching you, too."
The statement awakened a flurry of butterflies inside Taylor. "Really?"
She could hear the hope in her voice and wanted to kick herself. Not only for revealing too much to Mina, but also because she was being ridiculous to even think about something with Landon.
Mina nodded, looking pleased with herself.
"Not that it matters," Taylor said, hoping that saying it out loud would drill that reality into her. "Nothing's going to happen."
"It might," Mina chirped as she sat up. "What? That would be a bad thing?" She frowned as she studied Taylor's face, her brow crumpled in confusion. "I mean, it's not like you have to marry the guy. But why not see where it leads?"
"Maybe," Taylor said, wishing that she could. Wondering if it would work. But how could it? Him being a cop, and her being, well, her. "I'm just--"
"What?"