The Lazy Bar was loud as Tiffany walked in later that evening. Things had gone somewhat well at dinner. Thankfully, Jonathan sat at a different table, so she’d been able to keep her thoughts somewhat focused on the conversation around their table.
But now, at the bar, there was less structure, which meant the likelihood of Jonathan talking to other women was going to be that much greater. And if the feelings that rose up inside of her during Jonathan and Beatrice’s exchange in the limo was indicative of how she was going to react to seeing him with other girls, then this was going to be a crappy evening.
Yay for her.
Slipping onto a bar stool, she ordered a beer. The bartender grabbed a bottle and slid it over to her. She took a sip and studied the countertop. Maybe if she just stayed here with her head down, she could pretend that everything was okay.
That her heart wasn’t breaking inside of her.
“Everything okay?” Trent’s low voice drew her attention up.
She glanced over at him and tried hard not to roll her eyes. She pinched her lips together and turned back to the counter. This was not the conversation she wanted to have, and Trent was certainly not the person she wanted to have it with.
“I heard about your breakup,” Trent said, sitting down on the stool next to her.
Her shoulders tensed at his closeness and his words. “Really? From whom?” She couldn’t help herself, she needed to know if Jonathan was talking about it.
Trent waved down the bartender and order a round of shots. He glanced over at her with a small smile. “The loser who dumped you.”
Tiffany’s stomach soured. He was already telling people they were done. Good. That had been the plan, and she hated that it bothered her so much. Grabbing her beer, she chugged it. When it was half gone, she set the bottle back down onto the counter and turned to him.
Anger, hurt, and betrayal rose up inside of her. She knew it was ridiculous to feel that way, but she couldn’t help it. It was killing her that Jonathan was this okay with her calling things off. Why wasn’t he more upset?
Suddenly, Trent’s hand fell on hers, and she jumped, whipping her gaze up to see him peering down at her. She furrowed her brow as she stared at him.
“Wha—”
“I was an idiot to let you go. I should have fought to keep you.”
Confusion plagued her mind as she stared down at his hand and then back up at him. She wanted to process how she felt about this, but the only thing that was rushing through her mind was a bright neon sign telling her to run.
“I dumped you. End of story.” She moved to pull her hand away, but Trent just held it tighter.
“It was a mistake. All of it. I should have always been with you. Beatrice was just a placeholder.” He leaned closer, the smell of alcohol on his breath made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. “Why are you fighting it?”
Tiffany attempted to pull her hand away again, but Trent wouldn’t relent. She glanced up at him to give him a piece of her mind, but before she could say anything, his arm was flung to the side, breaking his hold on her. She turned to see Cody, the bartender from earlier, his face contorted into a look of anger.
“What…” Her brain was trying to catch up to what was going on.
“If the lady wants to get away, you let her,” Cody said as he stepped forward.
“What’s the matter with you?” Trent asked as he pushed away from the counter.
Cody glanced from Tiffany to Trent. “She looked as if she wanted you to let her go. If a woman wants you to stop touching her, you stop touching her.”
Trent smiled, a slow and sadistic grin. “I think we were just fine, right, Tiffany?”
Tiffany stood next to Cody as she faced Trent. “I think you should go. We’re…done. Leave me alone.”
Trent raised his eyebrows, and as he moved to approach her, Cody’s hand shot out and squeezed Trent’s shoulder. “She said you should go.”
Trent glanced between them and then growled. “You’re making a mistake,” he said as he stomped off.
Tiffany’s hands shook as she wrapped her arms around her chest and sat back on the stool. Cody joined her, sitting on Trent’s now vacant one.
He glanced over at her and smiled. Not sure what to do, Tiffany let out a sigh. “Thanks for that,” she said.
Cody shrugged. “I’ve been around my share of drunk men. I can spot a lady in distress a mile away.”
Tiffany glanced over at him and nodded. “That’s an awesome superpower.”
Cody put his fists on his hips and straightened. “Captain Lady Saver, at your service.”
“Lady Saver?”
Cody glanced down at her and then chuckled. “Yeah, kind of lame. It’s the best I could come up with on such short notice.”
Tiffany twisted her bottle around on the counter. She liked Cody. Maybe she shouldn’t have written him off so fast. He did just come to her rescue. Maybe he was the perfect antidote to her feelings for Jonathan.
So, putting on her best flirty smile, she turned to face him. “Are you following me, or do you just frequent all the bars in search of damsels in distress.”
Cody’s bright blue eyes danced as he studied her. “You’d think since I’m around this stuff all the time, I’d be sick of it.”
Tiffany nodded. “Yeah. Like for me, I answer phones at work. When I get home, the last thing I want to do is talk on one for fun.”
Cody tapped the counter with his fingers. “Yeah. I’m not a huge drinker, so it doesn’t bother me much.” He waved down the bartender and ordered a Coke. “Besides, there are not a whole lot of places to meet eligible women,” he said as he took the glass that the bartender had set down. He glanced at her over the rim as he took a sip.
“Eligible? Who said I was eligible?”
Cody glanced around. “I’m just guessing from the lack of guys around you and the fact that Trent was creeping. But if you’re not…”
Tiffany’s gaze found its way over to Jonathan, who was talking to a tall, very busty blonde. He was staring at her while she talked and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Sadness crept up inside of her as she dropped her gaze.
Get over it, Tiffany. He’s moved on.
When she glanced back at Cody, she gave him a smile. “Well, you are correct. I am recently single.”
Cody raised his fist and pumped the air. “Looks like it’s my lucky night.”
A song started up, and the crowds began to form on the dance floor. Cody stood and held out his hand. “Can I have this dance?”
Tiffany hesitated, sneaking another peek over at Jonathan. Her gaze met his, and for a moment, he held it. She wanted to interpret his expression as one of sadness, but she couldn’t allow herself to hope. Instead, she pointed to Cody’s back and shot Jonathan a thumbs-up.
He furrowed his brow as he pinched his lips and nodded. Even though she couldn’t hear him, Tiffany could tell that he was inviting the blonde bombshell to dance. The woman squealed and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the dance floor.
Forcing her feelings to the darkest parts of her mind, Tiffany forced a smile and turned back to Cody, who had just extended his hand.
“Shall we?” he asked.
Tiffany nodded. She needed a distraction more than anything.
Cody led her out onto the dance floor. After bringing her hand up, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Even though he was warm and inviting, it didn’t feel quite right. Not like when Jonathan had been fake dating her. Or when he’d wrapped his arms around her and made her feel like everything was right in the world. That, with him, she could conquer anything.
Tiffany muffled a groan and mentally slapped herself. Was she serious? That’s what she was thinking about while in the arms of another man?
Get a hold of yourself.
Cody began to lead her around the dance floor to some upbeat pop song. She tried to keep step with him, but it was hard with all the bodies around them.
Suddenly, she was rammed into what felt like a brick wall.
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered. Then she turned to see Jonathan staring down at her.
Heat raced to her cheeks as she dropped her gaze. She could feel him still staring at her as she just stood there like an idiot.
“Hey, sorry,” Cody said, reaching his hand out to shake Jonathan’s.
Jonathan glanced over at Cody and then back down to Tiffany. “It’s okay, man,” he said, reaching over to clasp Cody’s hand.
They shook for what felt like an eternity. When they finally let go, Tiffany stepped up next to Cody. “We’ll try to be more careful,” she muttered as she grabbed Cody’s hand and silently begged for him to take her away.
Away from Jonathan who was staring down at her like she’d just abandoned him. Away from the tall blonde who was giggling and grabbing onto Jonathan’s arm.
She just needed some space and time with Cody, and then her ridiculous feelings for Jonathan would go away. That was all she needed.
Time.
She half-pushed, half-danced with Cody until they were on the other side of the dance floor. Once she could no longer see Jonathan through the throng of people, she let out her breath, the stress of her feelings lessened in his absence.
Thankfully, Cody didn’t seem too keen on promenading her around, so they stayed in the corner, swaying to the music. Just as the song stopped, Cody pulled away from her and smiled down. “Hey, I gotta go run to the bathroom. Wait for me?“
Tiffany wrapped her arms around her chest and nodded. “Sure.”
He disappeared into the crowd as the next song—a slow one—started up. Glancing around, Tiffany made her way over to the wall and leaned against it. It was fortuitous that Cody needed a bathroom break right now. She wasn’t sure how she would feel about him pulling her that close and holding her.
She closed her eyes and let the soft ballad wash over her. She began to sway a bit, relaxing as the rhythm flowed through her body. This was what she needed. She hadn’t thought about Jonathan in the last minute. Which was the longest she’d gone since her feelings had decided to suddenly change on her.
“Can I have this dance?”
Shivers rushed down her body as Jonathan’s deep, sexy voice washed over her. She stiffened. Great, now she was daydreaming about him. What was wrong with her?
“Tiffany?”
She peeked through her eyelashes to see Jonathan standing in front of her. He had an uneasy look on his face. When their eyes met, he pushed his hands through his hair, his shoulders slumping forward.
“Cody’s in the bathroom,” she blurted out.
Jonathan glanced toward the restrooms and then back to her. “Okay?”
“He’ll be back,” she breathed. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she was telling Jonathan or herself. Like she’d needed to remind herself of the man who would help her forget the one standing in front of her.
“I think he’ll be okay with me stealing a dance with my best friend,” Jonathan said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. Tiffany wanted to pull back, to refuse him.
But as soon as the warmth of his hand met hers, it carried up her arm to her heart, and she was paralyzed. The only thing she wanted right now was to feel Jonathan next to her. To have him tell her everything was going to be okay.
She nodded.
A relieved expression passed over Jonathan’s face as he pulled her off the wall and out onto the floor—all the while holding onto her hand like a lifeline.
When they got to the center of the dance floor, he turned to face her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. Their bodies touched and Tiffany’s head spun.
She swallowed as she glanced up at him. He was definitely not holding her like a guy would hold his best friend. And when she met his gaze, her breath caught in her throat. He was staring at her in an open and unabashed way. Like he wanted her to know exactly how he felt.
Fear coursed through her as she glanced down at his chest, where her other hand was resting. Every point of contact felt warm against her body.
She swallowed as they began swaying to the music. Why was she acting like such an idiot? They’d danced together before. He’d held her close before.
But right now, it felt like the first time ever. Like she was finally awake after a long sleep and Jonathan was the man who’d woken her up.
Because from the way he felt, pressed against her, he was a man. The man.
And she was in trouble.
“I should go find Cody,” she rasped as she tried to pull back.
Jonathan’s gaze dropped down to her, and he looked worried.
She didn’t want him to pick up on the fact that she was literally falling for him in a way that she would only ruin, so she forced a smile. “I don’t want him thinking I ditched him.”
Jonathan glanced around at the crowd and then back to her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s survived this long without you. Besides, it’s not like you’ve known each other for—oh. I don’t know—since you were kids?”
Tiffany turned to stare at him. “Excuse me?”
Jonathan’s jaw flexed as he held her gaze. “What are you doing?”
The desire to protect herself won out and she forced a shocked look. “What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m moving on from Sean. Isn’t that what we agreed on?”
She stopped moving so she could focus on him. Why was he acting like this? It was sheer torture to stand there, watching Jonathan flirt with other women when all she wanted was to wrap her arms around him and kiss him.
But she was such a failure at relationships, and failing at one with Jonathan would probably kill her. That was something she could never come back from. It was for the safety of their friendship that she pulled away. She couldn’t allow herself to get too wrapped up in what was happening inside of her.
Jonathan was off-limits, and she had to keep telling herself that if her heart was going to survive.
Jonathan leaned in, bringing his body inches from hers. He studied her gaze as if he were hoping to see the truth she was so desperate to hide. Her heart pounded in her chest as she held her breath.
He couldn’t see her secret. It would ruin her.
“Tiffany…” he said. His hand on her back tightened, as if he thought she’d pull away—which she did want to do but couldn’t find the strength.
If she was going to keep her feelings a secret, she couldn’t run. If she did, he’d know.
“Yes?” Good, at least she sounded confident, even if she didn’t feel that way.
His sway slowly subsided as he paused, standing there on the dance floor. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. She shivered as his fingertips brushed the skin behind her ear and then ran the length of her neck.
“I, um…” He brought his gaze up to meet hers. He held it with a questioning look in his eyes.
“Jonathan,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper, “I’m so happy with our friendship. It’s exactly what I need. I know I can always depend on you when everything else in my life is falling apart.” She needed to stop him from saying the things she was starting to suspect he felt.
If he confessed his feelings for her, she wouldn’t be able to find the strength to walk away. Being with him was the only thing she really wanted. And if she got it, she’d ruin it.
She just knew it.
It was better to pretend that they couldn’t be anything more than friends, than to try something she knew would fail. She couldn’t lose Jonathan. Not like that.