Cecily slid out of her coat and took a seat, reaching immediately for the drink one of them held out.
It should be after the disaster at the lake. Reed forced his attention back to his friends. “Two months. Long enough to have talked and gotten to know each other and decided to date.”
A few button clicks later and Leo gave the phone back to his brother. “You are officially off the market.”
“I wonder how long it’ll take to kick in.” Before Reed even finished the question, his phone was buzzing. He tugged it out of his pocket and read the incoming text.
Hey, Tiger. What are you up to tonight?
“Well, I guess that answers that question.”
“What’d she say?” Zach asked, craning his head to see.
Ignoring him, Reed thumbed a reply. Mexican out with the guys. You?
The answer came back a few moments later. Up to my eyeballs in dissertation and wishing we were watching a movie and eating popcorn. Extra butter, naturally.
Jumping into the middle of a conversation with a complete stranger who was supposed to be not a stranger was totally weird. Well, in for a penny, he thought, and typed in a response.
Chapter 3
By the time Cecily arrived at Los Pantalones, the parking lot was packed. She had to circle twice before finally snagging a space vacated by a pickup truck that’d been polished to a gleam for Friday night out on the town. Starving and tired, she was looking forward to the margarita the girls had ordered her when she’d texted she was leaving work.
Beth was delighted with Cecily’s ideas on how to effectively launch The Dixieland Biscuit Company. Norah was pleased, and that was always a nice ego stroke. As Norah got more and more tied up with other aspects of being city planner, more of the straight marketing work for local business owners was falling to Cecily. And
that suited her just fine. She enjoyed putting together campaigns for ways to market on a shoestring…creating something from almost nothing. Which was about the budget that most business owners in this economically-challenged town had to work with.
Cecily was still floating on a professional high as she stepped into the busy cantina and began searching for her friends’ table. That high shifted to something a lot hotter as she caught sight of Reed Campbell watching her from across the room. She went still, as if by not moving, she’d somehow blend into her surroundings. How could his eyes feel like a caress from thirty feet away? She felt her skin heat, her body pull tight with wanting.
He blinked and whatever strange hold he’d had on her was broken. More than a little unnerved, she sucked in a steadying breath and hurried across to her friends.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Avery Cahill held out a margarita with a sympathetic look. “We can go, if you want.”
Of course they hadn’t missed that little show.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Cecily shrugged out of her coat and took the margarita, drinking a tad deeper than she normally would. He’d been on her mind far too much since her foray to the bookstore last week.
“Are you sure?” Jessie Applewhite reached out to stroke a hand down her arm. “I know things have been weird between you and Reed since that weekend at the lake.”
“You’re making far too much of that.” No, she really wasn’t. “Reed and I are fine. Wishful is a small town. We run into each other all the time.” And every single time, Cecily had to remind herself why she’d walked away. She reached for the chip basket. “So, what are we talking about?”
“Men,” Avery said.
Of course they were. “Shouldn’t four adult women be capable of passing the Bechdel test and talking about something else on a Friday night out?”
“Not when Jessie’s looking all googly-eyed at her guy like we’re at some kind of middle school dance.” Brooke Redding rolled her eyes and sipped at a margarita. “Way better punch than they had in junior high, though.”
Jessie turned back to them, feigning insult. “I’m allowed to be googly-eyed.”
“According to the Girl Code, she is,” Avery declared. “She gets a full three months by default, plus an extra month due to his level of exceptional hotness.”
“I cannot argue with his hotness,” Brooke admitted. “Who knew working with trees did that for a man?”
“Mostly it’s just genetics. See exhibit A, the still very single Leo, who shares his DNA.” Jessie gestured toward Eli’s twin brother.
They all turned to look at Leo, distinguishable from his brother only by dint of shorter hair and a slightly leaner build. But Cecily’s gaze skimmed past him to Reed’s rangy frame. Tall, with swimmer’s shoulders, his brown hair curled a bit at his collar. She didn’t think he’d had it cut since summer. As she watched, he leaned forward, apparently in intense debate with Zach about something.