Page 63 of You Know You Wanna

“You,” he said smoothly. “I’ve never seen anyone move around the back of a bar so gracefully.”

I groaned, tilting my head toward Remington’s so Declan wouldn’t overhear me. “If that’s his idea of a line, it’s no wonder she’s not biting.”

He laughed. “That was bad, but it must mean that nothing else has worked. We were gone for a couple days and he’s usually got good game. I’m assuming he used it all up while we were camping.”

My friend took off to help another customer and Declan stared longingly after her for a long beat before he turned to Remington. “You’re supposed to be helping me.”

“You told her she moves around the bar gracefully,” he replied. “I’m not sure even I can help you recover after that one, man. What were you thinking?”

Declan sighed, his pretty face twisting as he shook his head at himself. “That was solid.”

“That was bad,” I said, looking right into his stormy gray eyes. “If it helps, Gracie won’t respond to lines. Just talk to her. You’ll have more luck that way.”

“Talk to her about what?” he asked, cocking his head as though he was about to start taking notes.

I frowned. “Anything? I don’t know about the girls where y’all are from, but around here, we like to be spoken to like normal human beings instead of airheads you can ply with compliments all the way to your bed.”

Remington chuckled, shifting a little closer to me. “She might be onto something there, Dec. I don’t know what you were telling that girl while we were gone, but whenever I’ve been around, you’ve been laying lines on her one after the other. She knows you’re interested. Maybe it’s time to ease up.”

“I don’t give up.” He scoffed.

“I said ease up, not give up,” Remington said. “Stop acting like all you want is to get into her pants.”

Dec gave him a blank look. “What else would I want?”

I chuckled. “I don’t think she’s opposed to it. I suspect she simply doesn’t appreciate the way you’re trying to get there.”

Looking perplexed, he sat back down on his stool and picked up his drink. As he brought it to his lips, he gave us a long look. “I’ll take your advice, but only if you tell me about her. I won’t know what to talk about otherwise.”

“That’s the whole point, though,” Remington said. “You have to talk to her to find out more about her, so that you’ll know what to talk to her about. It’s not rocket science.”

“What’s not rocket science?” Gracie asked, rejoining our conversation from the other side of the bar.

I glanced at her. “Figuring out what to talk to you about.”

Her eyes widened a fraction, and she smirked as amusement lit behind them. “I’m easy to talk to. That’s definitely not rocket science. I agree.”

Declan turned to face her, his gaze roaming over her features, but he still seemed to be at a loss. Gosh, he’s really not used to just talking to women.

I had no doubt that he was a smooth operator back in the city. He was gorgeous, confident, and not shy at all, but Gracie had seen him coming from a mile away. Smalltown girl or not, she was savvy when it came to men. She’d had enough of them chasing her in her day.

“When we were in high school, Gracie was the it girl,” I said, deciding to throw the poor guy a bone. My friend could handle herself, but if I could help her open up by sharing a few stories about her, then why not?

I knew she’d been interested in pursuing something with him based on looks alone, but it seemed like she’d decided to play hard to get, a game she was infinitely experienced in. She enjoyed the chase.

Soon enough, she’d grow bored of his overt flirting and she’d bitch about not just going for it once he left. I was doing us all a favor by trying to level the playing field just a little bit.

“The it girl?” Remington glanced at her, looking her over like he was trying to find that quality inside her. “You’re too nice to have been the it girl.”

She laughed and pumped her eyebrows at him. “That just shows how much you know. I’m not that nice. Ask him.”

She jerked her head at Declan, who nodded enthusiastically. “That’s true. She’s really not that nice.”

He peered at her over the top of his whiskey glass, finally recognizing that there might be more to her than he’d obviously thought. “So you were the popular girl. The one all the guys wanted.”

She shrugged, a hint of a smile lifting the corners of her lips. “It was a long time ago.”

I made a face at her. “You’re still the it girl.”