Brooke looked from Hannah to Shelby. "I can introduce you."
She said more after that, but those four little words had taken up all the space in Shelby's brain, and she didn't hear anything else until Hannah gave her a little shove in the direction of the men.
"Yes. Perfect. Go."
"But--"
"Go," Hannah repeated as the band playing on the stage at the othe
r side of the room ended their set and people started to shuffle toward the bar.
"We'll all go," Brooke said, beginning to thread her way through the increasing crowd. Shelby followed for a bit, but then her nerves got the better of her and she held back, despite Hannah's persistent urging.
After a moment, Brooke paused, turned around, and then headed back toward Shelby and Hannah with an amused smile playing at her lips.
"I can't believe you were going to walk right over to him," Shelby said.
"Well, I thought I was going with you," Brooke replied. She said something else, too, but a rowdy frat boy shouting at his friend blocked all but Brooke's last words. "He doesn't bite."
"At least not unless you ask him to," Hannah quipped.
"I really can't," Shelby said. "I mean isn't it..." She shook her head and drew a deep breath. "I'm not usually so bold. Are you?" she demanded, wishing she could get into Brooke's head. The other woman seemed so confident.
"Me?"
Shelby nodded. "Yeah. Would you ever throw caution to the wind like that?"
Brooke's expression turned wistful. And maybe a little sad. "I have," she said. "I did."
"Oh." Shelby and Hannah exchanged glances. "What happened?"
Brooke blinked. "I fell in love," she said, her voice thick with emotion.
"Careful," Hannah teased. "You might scare her off."
Brooke shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts, then smiled at Shel. "Go talk to him." She started to raise her hand to signal Mr. Hottie, but then she froze. For a moment, she simply stood there, and Shelby finally realized that she was staring at a good-looking bearded man holding a highball glass.
She turned back to Shelby and Hannah, her expression a little shell-shocked. "I--I forgot something in the ladies' room. Y'all go on ahead. Nolan's a really nice guy. Just introduce yourself."
"What--" Shelby began, but Brooke hurried away before she could finish the question, and Shelby was left standing beside Hannah, more than a little baffled.
"What was that about?" Hannah asked, but Shelby could only shrug.
"Come on. Celia's probably wondering what we're doing."
"Oh, no," Hannah said, grabbing Shelby's wrist. "Just because you lost your wingman does not mean you have to abandon your mission."
Shelby blinked, her mind too fuzzy to make sense of Hannah's words.
"I mean go," Hannah said. "You're a gorgeous, smart, interesting woman fueled by liquid courage. There is no reason why you can't walk up to the guy, smile at him, and ask if he wants to buy you a drink."
"But--"
Hannah put her hand on her hip and stared Shelby down. "But what?"
Shelby had intended to point out that she really didn't need another drink. Instead, she shook her head. "Nothing."
She swallowed, then glanced toward the guy. Nolan. Brooke said his name was Nolan. He'd shifted to make room for the newcomers at the bar, so he was no longer looking her direction. But as if he felt her eyes on him, he tilted his head a bit to the side. And then, very slowly, he looked over his shoulder.