Henry paused long enough to give the brunette next to him an appreciative glance before raising a finger to catch the bartender’s eye. “Long Island iced tea, strongest you’ve got.”

Drake whistled. “That bad, huh?”

“If you find a drink with more alcohol in it, I’ll order it.”

“She taking her mad out on you?” Noah asked sympathetically.

Henry gave him a rueful look. “No, man. Cat’s not like that. She just doubles down harder. You piss her off, and she’s going to work her ass off to make you look like a twat. Pardon my British. She’s going to run herself into the ground if I can’t get a decent meal in her and six or seven hours of sleep.”

The bartender set the tall glass in front of him, and Noah watched Henry down half of it. He felt every female eye in the bar was zeroed in on them.

“You set him straight yet?” Henry asked Drake.

“We haven’t gotten past the ‘are you dating’ portion of the evening.”

“Set me straight about what?”

“We’ve all picked up on the fact that you don’t like Cat,” Henry began.

“It’s not that I don’t like Cat,” Noah argued. But it was. He didn’t like what she stood for. And he didn’t like how often he found himself thinking of her. And he really didn’t like how every time he saw her, his focus zeroed in on her like she was the only colorful thing in a world of grayscale.

“Yes, it is,” Drake countered. “But the thing is, you don’t know her.”

“You got the wrong impression,” Henry joined in. “And you don’t like to be wrong so you’re ignoring all evidence to the contrary.”

“I like to think that I’m open-minded.”

Drake gave him a sideways glance. “You do realize that your nickname in town is Mr. No, right?”

“You try managing the annual budget for a town that thinks installing a six-figure ice skating rink in the middle of town for six weeks of use would be a great investment,” Noah argued. It was tough being the voice of reason, but that’s what they’d hired him for. It was his job to protect his town whether they liked his methods or not.

Drake held up his palms. “I’m not saying you are Mr. No. I’m saying that’s how you’re perceived, and perceptions can be wrong. Including your own.”

“She plays for the camera.”