“Sugar.” Barrett stopped at our table, his eyes narrowed on Barry’s hand. “You okay?”
I pulled my hand away and stood up. “I was just leaving, actually.”
Barry glared up at me. “We’re not through here.”
Barrett rested his hand on my bare back again and smiled a smile so cold it caused Barry to physically retreat back into his own space. “You’re through. How about you join us for a drink, Sugar?”
I nodded, grateful to him for saving me from a scene with Barry. “Sounds great. I just need to pay my half of the check first.”
Casting a disgusted look at Barry, Barrett shook his head and eased me away from the table. “I took care of it.”
I didn’t look back as he led me over to his table, the one that every woman in the place couldn’t help themselves from glancing at. Out of the plastic kid’s oven and into the fire.
3
***SJ***
Barrettpulledoutachair for me and settled next to me with a low chuckle. “He didn’t put up a fight. You owe me a twenty, Holden.”
I looked across the table at Holden and watched as two dimples appeared in his cheeks as he grinned. Swallowing down my natural reaction to seeing a man with dimples, I licked my lips and smiled back at him. “Was there a wager made about my date?”
“I was confident that any man would’ve tried to fight to keep you at his side.” His pale eyes moved over my face before settling on my gaze, where I was fighting a laugh. He grinned wider, deepening those dimples. “What?”
I laughed easily and held up my hands. “You were wrong about my allure, it seems.”
Barrett stretched his arm along the back of my chair and nodded his head toward the table I’d just abandoned. “Maybe not. Looks like the kid is working up his nerve.”
“Oh god.” I glanced over at where Barry was practically puffing his chest out and flexing his nonexistent muscles. “I’m going to crawl under this table if he even walks in this direction.”
Dominic slowly stood up and raised an eyebrow at me as he straightened his tie and adjusted his suit jacket. The suit was doubtlessly tailored to fit his body perfectly and he exuded raw power that drew gazes even when he was just standing still. “Promise?”
My mouth dropped open, flustered at the idea that maybe he’d just flirted with me. I lost track of that thought, though, as I watched his large frame move across the room. I couldn’t help leaning in and gripping Barrett’s knee as Dominic sat across from Barry.
“What’s he doing?”
Barrett grunted. “I’d guess he’s threatening to bury him where no one will ever find him.”
Holden nodded. “That’s what I’d be doing. Dominic is usually a little more in control than me, though.”
I looked from the two men near me to Dominic sitting calmly across from Barry. Then I realized I was still gripping Barrett’s leg and snatched my hand away, embarrassed. “He’s not really threatening Barry, is he?”
Holden suddenly let out a laugh that drifted around the room like music. It was a good sound, him laughing. “His name is not Barry.”
Barrett reached for his glass and took a pull from it. “You’re not funny, Holden.”
“I mean, it’s a little funny that you, Barrett, stole the date of a man named Barry.” Holden shifted his gaze back to me. “And yeah, Dom is probably threatening Barry. He doesn’t take too kindly to women being treated poorly around him.”
I looked back over in time to see Barry hurrying away from the table and out the front door of the restaurant. Dominic pulled out his wallet and left a few bills on the table before glancing up and meeting my eyes. My pulse quickened and I did everything I could to pretend like I wasn’t a giddy wreck.
Once Dominic was seated at our table again, Barrett motioned to another waiter who practically vaulted over a table to get to his side faster. “Another round for us. And whatever the lady wants.”
I met the waiter’s eyes, and it was like he could sense that I was in over my head. When he listed off the bar specials for the night and added in his favorites, I could’ve hugged him. I picked something that sounded fruity and then leaned back in my chair. I was equal parts exhausted from listening to Barry and exhilarated from sitting with three beautiful men.
“Thank you for the drink. It’s honestly first aid after that date.”
“What were you doing with that idiot?” Holden ran his fingers over the rim of his glass as he spoke, the movement slow and tantalizing.
The focus to stay polite and friendly allowed my mouth to move freely. “Uh. That was my first date since I was dumped and kicked out of my apartment by my fiancé. I joined a dating app, thinking it would be a good idea to get back out there, but Barry was the best option I found. You saw how that went.”