Reed had trouble thinking clearly, what with the massive doses of shock and confusion spiraling through his body. He realized he hadn’t spoken to AJ at all today. And his friend had the weekend off, which was why Reed had been tending bar at Sin before he’d headed over to the Krib. Normally, he handled the business end of things, working up in his office on the club’s top floor while Gage handled security and AJ managed the bartending staff.
AJ had planned to go away with Darcy this weekend, Reed suddenly remembered.
But Darcy was here.
Picking up dudes.
“Did you dump him?” he demanded.
Her expression grew sad. “No. It was mutual.”
That summoned a groan of disbelief. “Breakups are never mutual.”
“This one was.” Her lips tightened. “Not that it’s any of your business, but AJ and I broke up with each other. We both knew it wasn’t working, and we both decided to end it.”
“Why wasn’t it working?”
She raked an exasperated hand through her wavy hair. “I’m not giving you any details, Reed. It’s between me and AJ, okay?”
Okay? There was nothing okay about any of this. In fact, he seriously needed to walk away, right frickin’ now, before the little burst of joy that Darcy’s admission had evoked in him turned into something else.
He wasn’t allowed to be happy about the breakup. No siree. He was supposed to be sad and upset on his best friend’s behalf, because no matter what Darcy said, their parting couldn’t have been mutual. The guy was crazy about her, for chrissake.
So are you.
Reed silenced the inner taunt. Nope, not going there. He couldn’t deny that he was attracted to the woman, but desire was a fickle thing. Sooner or later it would fade.
Or at least, that’s what he’d been telling himself for the past five months.
So far, the heat he felt in Darcy’s presence still hadn’t cooled, but he was certain it would happen eventually.
It had to.
“Anyway, there you have it,” Darcy finished. “I’m single again. Woo-hoo. I’m sure you’re thrilled to have me out of your BFF’s life. And now, as you so graciously put it before, get lost.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want me to go so badly?”
She blew out an irritated breath. “Because I came here to have fun! There’s zero chance of that happening when you’re around.”
Reed didn’t budge from his chair.
“I’m serious, go away,” she grumbled. “We’re not friends, okay? And no guy is going to ask me to dance when you’re sitting here scowling at everyo—”
“You want to dance?” he cut in. “Let’s dance.”
Her jaw fell open. Then slammed shut. Wariness filled her expression, and she looked at him like he’d offered to murder her and dump her body in the river.
He didn’t blame her. Truth was, she hadn’t been too far off the mark. They weren’t friends. Mostly because he’d learned early on that the only way to curb this inappropriate attraction was to keep a very cold, very polite distance around the woman.
He couldn’t do that now, though. Because if he walked away, he risked Darcy getting hit on by some horny fucker and possibly going home with him. He couldn’t, in good conscience, let that happen. Breakups weren’t set in stone, especially when they were less than twenty-four hours old, and Reed knew AJ would be devastated if he tried to win his girl back only to find out she’d already slept with another dude.
“I’m not dancing with you,” Darcy said coolly.
He smirked. “Fine, then we’ll just sit here in silence, for all I care.”
“You’re acting ridiculous.”
“And you’re acting insensitive. If you cared about AJ at all, you’d respect him enough not to screw someone else before the breakup ink is even dry.”
Annoyance marred her face. “If I choose to have a rebound, you can’t exactly stop me.”
“Oh yes, I can. As of right now? Consider me your shadow. I’m not leaving your side, baby doll. Not until I tuck you safely into a cab and watch you speed away. Alone.” Setting his jaw, Reed slid off the stool and held out his hand. “So are we dancing or what?”
…
Darcy was dumbfounded.
And frustrated.
And unbelievably peeved.
She’d purposely come to the Krib tonight because she’d known there’d be no possibility of running into AJ, and just her luck, she’d run into his best friend instead. A man who’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t like her.
Well, eff Reed. She didn’t particularly like him either. AJ always insisted that Reed was an awesome guy, singing his praises whenever Darcy said otherwise, but in all the months she’d known the guy, he’d only ever shown her a cold, grumpy side that left a sour taste in her mouth.
Oh, and he was bossy. Who could forget that annoying little trait? Certainly not her, because right now that bossiness was throwing a wrench in her plans.
Some women got dolled up for any old occasion, but Darcy wasn’t one of them. Nope, there was a reason she’d donned a short dress and punished her feet with three-inch heels—passion.