He got out, and his eyes flicked ever so briefly—and disdainfully—over Dan. “Evening,” he said in a tight voice.
She bared her teeth in a smile. “Miller time again?”
He only shrugged, and she told herself it wasn’t hurt that’d furrowed his brow.
The contrast between him and Dan was pronounced. Her old friend looked like he belonged in some grungy, ultrahip LA nightclub, while there went Eddie, seeming like something out of a Levi’s ad. As he walked into the tavern, she had to look away.
But that brought her attention to the back of his pickup instead. Yet again, he had ten tons of gear in the back. Did he ever clean the thing out?
A small slash of color caught her eye. Stepping closer, she registered what she was looking at and felt it like a punch in the gut. It was a small red sneaker.
A child’s sneaker.
Did he have a kid? She glared at the door he’d just walked through, as if that might offer some clue. Did this explain where he was always off to? Was he paying regular visits to his mistress and secret love child?
She smothered her extreme response. Why should she care?
The film crew was here. She knew the producer. Her world was taking off. She wouldn’t let Eddie ruin her moment—she’d been looking forward to this for weeks. More than that, she’d worked her butt off to make it happen.
“Come on. ” She tucked Dan’s arm firmly in hers and led him inside, headed toward his friends who were settling noisily into a booth.
“I’ve had my fill of the crew for the moment,” he said, steering her away. “I’ve spent the past two hours forced to listen to their arguing. ”
“Here, then. ” She pointed him to a seat by the window and dashed behind the bar for two bottles of beer. She wasn’t normally a drinker, but right then, she was in the mood for a change. “Arguing, huh?” she asked as she returned to the table.
“Oh, yeah. ” He cracked open both bottles, then handed Laura hers. “The only time they shut up was to tweet. ”
She laughed. “Were they arguing about the shoot?”
“Nah, not that. ” He shook his head as he took a healthy swig.
“Then what?”
He put the beer on the table with a contented sigh. “You name it. Why vegetarians should be allowed to eat bacon. Why the valley isn’t really LA. Why Battlestar Galactica is superior to Star Trek. ”
“Duh,” she said distractedly. She forced herself to focus on Dan instead of watching Eddie stand and lean against the bar. The guy really did have a great ass. Did he do regular squats or was that all from skiing and hiking? Too bad it was attached to him—total waste.
Focus. She’d been saying something. Gathering her wits, she took a long pull of that beer, not really tasting it. “Though I have to agree about the other thing. Who doesn’t want to be a baconatarian?” She laughed at her own comment, but it came out too brightly, even to her own ears.
Then Eddie’s laugh rose above the tavern din. His energy seemed to pull at the entire room, till her chest felt tight from it. She rubbed her arms, wiping away the memory of his touch.
She felt him make his way to the end of the bar, chat with Bear, grab his own beer. Generally making himself at home—in her workplace. Why did she feel him like this? Feel him move through the room as though they were tied together by an invisible string?
It made her want to flirt—with Dan. She reached across the table and tugged at his sleeve. “Tell me what you’ve been up to. ”
Dan met her eyes and held them a second longer than average. “Me? What about you? Is this temporary?” He glanced around the bar, lingering on the deer head over the fireplace. “Some sort of punishment, maybe?”
She gave him a playful shove. “Shut up. ”
“She tells you to shut up, too, huh?” Eddie had come over, practically casting a shadow over the entire table.
Dan grinned and asked her, “You’ve had this habit since childhood?”
Eddie pulled up a chair. “Since kindergarten, to be exact. Mind if I join you?” He’d directed the question to Dan, not her.
She glowered up at him. “Sorry, we’re busy—”
“Not at all,” Dan said eagerly. He introduced himself and scooted over to make room at the table. “Sorry, Laura, but I’ve got to hear the dirt. ” He turned his full attention to Eddie. “So she was a little hellion even as a five-year-old?”