I sighed.

“I bet that was good,” she muttered.

It was scary as shit.

And it was hot as fuck.

“I need to go to work,” I told her.

“But you don’t have to leave for half an hour,” she told me.

Shit, fuck, shit.

Should I tell her?

I had to tell her. She was probably going to find out anyway.

“Merry’s takin’ me to Swank’s and I don’t have anything to wear, so I’m goin’ in early to look through some stuff Feb and Vi are bringin’.”

Her eyes got huge at the word “Swank’s,” and her face lit with so much glee, it was a wonder the dark didn’t flee the night.

“Mom, cautiously happy,” I warned.

“Right, right, cautiously happy about tall, handsome, last-good-one-standing Garrett Merrick takin’ my baby to Swank’s. I’ll be cautiously happy about that, Cheryl.”

“Whatever,” I mumbled.

She smiled.

Huge.

I pulled my hands from hers. “Gotta go.”

“Have fun,” she called as I headed to my car and she headed to my door.

“You too,” I called back.

She went into my house.

I got into my car and drove to the bar.

Wednesday night, with most of the other businesses on Main Street closed, the bar might be busy but not packed. I found a parking spot on the street two doors down.

I parked, hoofed it in, and saw the place was busy.

Good news.

Meaning good tips.

I also knew I was in trouble because Morrie was behind the bar, Colt was on his stool, and Cal was standing at the bar next to Colt.

This wasn’t the trouble.

The trouble was, all their eyes came to me when I opened the door and Morrie grinned a my-girl’s-gonna-get-herself-some grin. Colt looked like he wanted someone to tear his own fingernails out by the roots. And Cal looked like he was having trouble not busting a gut laughing.

Feb and Vi were nowhere to be seen, which meant they were in the office.

And the men knew about my date and what was going to happen in the office.

I made my way to that end of the bar and shoved aside the stool Cal was not sitting on so I could put my body there.

I looked up to him.

“How many shots do I need before I go in there?” I asked.

Very slowly, he grinned.

Staring up at him, those sky-blue eyes, the scars that perfectly marred what was once pure male beauty making a badass more badass, serious as shit, it was not the first time I wanted to walk direct from him to my girl Violet and high-five her for her score.

But I didn’t do that because I heard a glass slam on the bar beside me and Morrie was there, pouring tequila.

“Feb isn’t a big fan of drinkin’ on the job,” he stated. “You know I don’t give a shit. But, officially, you aren’t on the job yet, so I’m thinkin’ what’s in that office, you need about three a’ those.”