Page 159 of The Doctors Will See You Now

My mom laughed. “Scott, of course. He always brings me to the best places in the city.”

Harlow’s curious eyes shot to me before she could conceal them. Ah, yes, little Harlow. You’re not the only one who knows New York’s secrets.

Stepping close enough that the heat of her back radiated into my chest, I whispered in her ear. “That’s not my only talent.”

She turned slightly so she could body check me with her shoulder. I laughed and rubbed at the point of contact on my chest. It didn’t hurt at all, but I definitely felt something. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.

“Bill, you have got to try a Nipple Blaster!” my mom said on a near shout. Harlow’s eyes rounded to the size of saucers.

“A Nipple Blaster, huh?” Bill asked, completely unfazed. Though, if I wasn’t mistaken, there did seem to be a little carnal hunger in his wolf eyes.

“Yes! It’s Scott’s creation.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Harlow muttered under her breath, and I laughed. She wasn’t my biggest fan for whatever reason. Okay, maybe it was holding her hostage in a painful conversation about how she’d ridden her way to stitches or haranguing her in the bathroom, but whatever. Somehow, though, her dislike of me just made me like her even more.

“It’s just a twist on a Buttery Nipple.”

“What’s the twist?” Harlow asked. Her body looked like it was stiff, fighting the whole idea of actually giving me any attention whatsoever, even if just to ask a question, but her curiosity got the best of her. I’d have to make a mental note of what needing information did to her willpower.

“A Fireball chaser.”

“Let’s all do one!” my mom cheered excitedly. The tiniest hint of a smirk curled the very tip of Harlow’s lips.

“You in?” I asked her directly. She shrugged.

“I guess I can’t be the downer.”

Bill nearly shoved me out of the way to envelop her in a bear hug. “That’s it, sweetheart. Perk up! You’re the youngest one here.” He glanced to me quickly. “At least, I assume.”

“You’re right, Bill. She’s the youngest.”

Harlow’s eyes narrowed at the way I said it. That’s right, little miss columnist. I’ve been researching you.

I signaled for the bartender’s attention while Bill moved back out from in between his daughter and me and settled in to chat with my mom, and he gave me a chin lift that said I had it. “Four Nipple Blasters.” The bartender gave me a nod and pulled out eight shot glasses.

Harlow shifted uncomfortably in front of me and crossed her arms over her chest. I bit into my lip as my mind went straight to the one sexy thing she could be trying to conceal. Was Harlow Paige getting a little hot and bothered every time I said the word nipple?

I leaned close, teasing the shell of her ear with my hot breath as I tested the theory. “Do you like Buttery Nipples, Harlow?”

She shivered, her shoulder jumping up to her ear just slightly before she tightened her arms. I smiled to myself. Yep. Harlow might not like me, but her nipples seemed to be liking me just fine.

One, two, three, four, the bartender lined up the shots on the bar in front of us, stacking the Fireball chasers directly behind each glass. I pulled a hundred-dollar bill from my pocket and handed it to him before Bill could get his wallet out of his pocket.

“On me,” I told him.

“Thanks, Scott,” he said with a thump on my shoulder and a smile for his daughter.

“I like this guy, Low.”

She grumbled. “Of course you do, dad.”

I laughed as I picked up a glass and handed it to Harlow, and Bill did the same for my mom. Then we both took our own and formed a circle to clink cheers before tossing it down the hatch and grabbing for the chaser. Mine went down easily enough, but Harlow’s face was downright comical.

“Not a big drinker?” I asked as she set her empty glasses back on the bar.

“Not usually hard liquor,” she admitted.

“I like that,” I told her. And I did. I was all about a good time, but I liked the idea of someone who didn’t need alcohol to have one. And Harlow Paige might be grumpy right now, but I could tell she was a good time when she was with people she admitted to liking—probably bordering on too good.