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Behind me, the door opens and closes, bringing in a cool swirl of night air. I don’t bother turning around to see who it is. It’s unlikely I know them, anyway.
A guy walks up to the counter. Tall, but not as tall as Jigsaw. Lean and fit but not as muscled as—stop it. His head’s covered with shockingly orange spiky hair. He glances down the hallway, taps his fingers against the bar.
“Remy should be right back,” I say.
He turns and his eyes widen for a second. Then a broad smile spreads over his face. “Hello,” he says smoothly. “You look familiar.”
I take a sip of my water and flash a quick, polite smile. “Do I?”
He arches an eyebrow, his grin broadening. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you around.”
“Margot.”
“Torch,” he introduces, his voice smooth. “I’m a friend of Remy’s.” He glances down the hallway briefly before his focus returns to me, a playful glint in his eyes. “You here alone tonight?”
“Just grabbing something to eat.” I aim for a casual tone, but I’m still anxious talking to this stranger.
Torch leans his elbow on the bar, his posture relaxed. “Mind if I keep you company while you wait?”
“Not at all.” Why not? Jigsaw isn’t interested in me. I wanted experience so I’d be comfortable dating someone else, right? He gave me what I asked for. Now it’s time to move on. I glance at Torch again. He’s shorter than Jigsaw. Isn’t that what Jigsaw suggested, that I find someone shorter to try kitchen-counter sex with?
My stomach turns. That one had really hurt.
Remy returns with my sandwich, his attention shifting between Torch and me. “Here you go, Margot.” He sets the plate down, then reaches over the counter to shake Torch’s hand. “What’s up, brother?”
The door behind us opens again, excited female voices chattering away.
“Hey, girls,” Remy greets, and gestures toward the booths.
Torch turns and points at one of the women. “Ella, you owe me another race.”
“In your dreams.” A tiny pixie of a woman runs over and gives Torch a quick hug. “I’ll smoke your ass every day of the week and you know it. What’re you doing over here?”
Torch reaches over and touches my sleeve. “Talking to Margot. Margot, this is my cousin-in-law, Ella.”
“Hi.” She sweeps her hand in a quick wave. “Is the Thunderbird out there yours?”
“Uh, yeah.”
At my confused face, she touches her hand to her chest. “Oh, sorry! That probably sounded creepy, huh?”
“No, no,” I protest. Odd, yes, not quite creepy.
“I recognized all the other cars but that one. It’s sweet.”
“Thanks.”
She lifts her hand and waves to someone behind me. “My man’s getting impatient over there.” She laughs and punches Torch’s arm. “Are you joining us?”
“I’ll be over.”
The girls cross the bar, squealing and hugging two of the guys at the table. The third stands to make room and our eyes meet. I know him. Griff smiles and nods at me. He leans over and says something to his friends, then crosses the bar, coming straight toward me.
Good grief, this is a small town.
“Hey, Margot,” Griff’s warm, rich voice greets me. “What’re you doing here?”
“A friend brought me by the other day. I fell in love with Lynette’s dark chocolate chip cookies, so I thought I’d stop in again.”
