Loving You (Love Wanted in Texas) (6 page)

Glancing around the bar, I took in the new place. Rick was right; it was bigger and for sure catered to the young crowd. I took a drink and looked back at her.

“Went to Paris, then pretty much started working full time for my father. Went to Montana for a bit, other than that, haven’t been up to much. You?”

“Well, I met someone in college. We got engaged and he decided he liked sticking his dick in other girls. By the time I found out, I’d already moved to Seattle with him and we had rented a house. I had a great job at a great school district that I had to walk away from.”

“Why did you have to walk away from it?”

Her lips parted as she stared at me like I had just grown two heads. “Well, I couldn’t very well move out and get my own place on my salary. New teachers don’t make that much, ya know. Daddy said I could come home and stay with them until I could afford to buy myself a nice little house. That’s my plan.”

Bringing the Coke bottle up to my lips, I nodded and said, “Good plan.”

“I think so,” she said as she squared off her shoulders. “What about you? You still a partying guy or are you ready to settle down? Rick mentioned you had some land that you got from your daddy.”

Good lord. This girl was on the hunt for her next keeper. “Nah, I’ve got a few years before I want to settle down with anyone.”

Her hand came up and landed on my chest as she laughed and shook her head. “Jase, you always did know how to make me smile.”

I lifted my eyebrows and finished off my Coke, motioning to the bartender for another. “Not sure what I said to warrant a smile on your face, but glad to be of help.”

We sat there and talked for a few more minutes before Jill busted out and said, “So are you going to ask me to dance or not?”

Setting my drink down, I held my hand out for hers. As we walked out to the dance floor, Rick smiled and slapped my back.

“She’s in a dress . . . easy access.”

I gave him a push and said, “Shut the fuck up, asshole. It’s nothing like that.” The last thing I wanted to do was hook up with Jill. Especially when every waking moment was consumed by thoughts of Taylor.

With a smirk, he replied, “If you say so, Morris. If you say so.”

Pulling Jill into my arms, I cursed under my breath when the song changed to a slow one.

“Great,” I mumbled.

Jill looked up at me and smiled. “I know. Perfect timing.”

Forcing a smile, I pulled her closer to me so I didn’t have to talk to her.
The sooner this night was over the better.

Taylor

“It’s packed in here!” Lauren shouted as Colt held her close to him. The moment Lauren told Colt she was pregnant, I thought he was going to jump through the roof he was so happy. I had been sworn to secrecy until she got further along. I don’t think I have ever seen them both so happy.

“Wow, this place is huge. It’s deceiving from the outside,” I said looking around.

“Come on, let’s get some drinks,” Lauren said pulling Colt and me toward the bar. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Well, I’ll take water, y’all can drink.”

Colt ordered a Coke since he was driving. I went ahead and ordered a beer. I hardly ever drank and couldn’t really hold my alcohol, so I always played it safe by ordering a beer and sipping on it all night.

Lauren took a drink of her water and turned to Colt. “Let’s dance!”

Jumping up, she pulled him out to the dance floor as I chuckled and continued my people watching.

The song changed from a fast song to a slower one.
Oh, it’s Dan and Shay. I love that group.
Scanning the dance floor, my eyes came to a halt.

“Jase,” I whispered as I watched him dancing with some girl. All of sudden the lyrics to the song played loudly in my ears.

He wasn’t talking at all to her, but he held her close to him. “Bastard,” I said out loud as the guy standing next to me at the bar looked at me shocked.

“Oh shit, did I cut in front of you?”

Pulling my eyes off of Jase and the girl, I took in the sight in front of me.

Cowboy. Tight jeans, nice body, boots, and a smile that would knock any girl off her feet. Any girl . . . but me.

“Nope, sorry that wasn’t directed at you. The guy who asked me to dance is dancing with someone else.”

I pouted as he smiled bigger.
Good lord . . . when did I learn how to flirt?

Reaching his hand out for mine, he winked and said, “His mistake just became my gain.”

With a flirty grin, I set my drink down and placed my hand in his and let him lead me to the dance floor. The last place Jase would ever expect me to be is a bar in Llano. I had to admit when Lauren mentioned this place, my heart began to race at the idea of maybe seeing Jase. I just hadn’t planned on seeing him with another girl.

Lucking out, the next song was another slow one. Spinning me around, the guy pulled me closer and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Taylor. Yours?”

“Brad.”

Oh yuck.
Why did he have to have the same name as my dad?
Crap.

“Nice to meet you . . . um . . . Brad.”

“Pleasure is all mine, Taylor. I can promise you that.”

Ugh. Men.

He pulled me closer and I was praying to God this guy had something in his pocket and it wasn’t what I thought it was poking my stomach.

Blah.

For a few seconds I totally forgot why I had agreed to dance with him. I quickly looked around until I spotted Jase. He looked miserable and somehow that comforted me.

“So, you couldn’t possibly be from around here.”

Turning my attention back to the cowboy, I smiled. “No. Fredericksburg originally, but I live in Austin now.”

His brows lifted. “Austin? What do you do?”

“I’m a financial analyst.”

“Fancy.”

With a slight chuckle, I shook my head. “Not really.”

His smile was nice, warm almost. I’d give anything to have it affect me in some way.

“What brings you to Llano?”

I glanced around for Lauren and Colt. “My best friends live in Mason. They wanted to check out the band playing here tonight.”

With a nod of his head, he accepted my answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jase walking by. Turning my head in his direction, I watched him as he walked up to another guy. They talked for a few moments when the girl he had been dancing with walked up and stood by his side. My chest tightened as I watched them.

“It’s actually kind of cool you live in Austin.”

Without taking my eyes off of Jase, I asked, “Why’s that?”

“I live there too. That means if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to talk you into dinner one night maybe.”

Trying not to be rude, I glanced up at him and grinned. “What brought
you
to Llano?”

“Hometown. Visiting the parents.”

I pressed my lips together to keep my smile back. For some reason I thought it was kind of sweet he was home visiting his parents. Why, I had no idea.

“Well, if we both live in Austin, I guess that means never say never,” I offered.

Brad’s eyes lit up while I quickly moved my attention back to Jase. The girl was talking to him and placed her hand on his arm. I couldn’t help but notice his reaction when he stepped back, shook his head and said something to her. The look of disappointment on her face was evident.

The song ended as Brad and I stepped apart. “Thank you for the dance,” I said with a grin.

“I hope it won’t be our last for tonight.”

Glancing over Brad’s shoulder, I watched as Jase headed out of the bar . . . alone. It was time for me to do a little bit of research. Putting my attention back to Brad, I nodded. “Same here. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get a drink.”

Before he had a chance to offer, I quickly walked away and headed straight to the girl who Jase had been dancing with. Not having a clue as to where I was getting my courage from, I made a mental note to let Meagan and Grace know. The two of them wouldn’t believe what I was about to do, even if I told them.

As I stepped up to the bar next to her, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation.

“Jesus, Rick. You told me he was in a funk, but you didn’t tell me he was in that big of a funk. He barely even looked at me.”

I turned to see her talking to a guy my age. He was tall with blond hair and looked to have been raised on a ranch with the way he was built.

“I told you, Jill, he’s hung up on some girl. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some fun to make up for.”

Rick walked away as Jill turned and stared straight ahead. I motioned to the bartender and sat down next to her. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was I wanted to know who this girl was.

“Is anyone sitting here?” I asked.

Turning to look at me, she shook her head. “No.”

After placing my drink order, I glanced around for Colt and Lauren. Smiling, I watched the two of them dance. I wanted a love like theirs so desperately.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand men.”

My attention was drawn back to Jill. My head was spinning with different reasons why Jase left alone. I only allowed myself one brief second to think it might have had something to do with me. “Join the club,” I said with a chuckle.

She shook her head and took a drink. “I practically threw myself at an old boyfriend tonight only to be turned down flat.”

The feeling of relief swept across my body when she said Jase had turned her advances down. I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I had been holding when she started talking. “Did he give you a reason why?”

With a sour expression, she replied, “No, but I’m guessing it has something to do with some girl he spent the summer with.”

“Are they a couple?” I asked, even though I regretted it the moment the words were out of my mouth. There was no reason for me to play at this game like I was.

Pinching her brows together, she slowly shook her head. “No. Well, honestly I have no idea. It’s hard being turned down though, ya know?”

With a curt laugh, I agreed. “Tell me about it.” Taking a small sip of beer, I set it down on the counter. “Will you keep after him?”

With an evil smile, she looked directly at me. “Oh, hell yes. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like him. He’s handsome, funny, a great kisser.”

Squirming in my seat to ward off the jealousy, I looked away briefly before turning back. “Well, good luck.”

Jill lifted her drink and said, “I’ll take all the luck I can get.”

Spinning around on the stool, I stood. “It was nice chatting with you.”

Without really looking at me, she said, “You too.”

As I made my way over toward Colt and Lauren, I saw Brad.

Shit
.

Taking a quick detour, I finally made my way over to the lovebirds. “So . . . this is . . . fun. The band is great!” I shouted as Colt and Lauren looked at each other.

“You’re ready to go?” Lauren asked.

With a shrug, I leaned closer so I didn’t have to shout. “It’s just hard being the third wheel and all.”

Lauren flashed me that smile of hers. “I’m feeling tired anyway. Let’s head home!”

The faster we got out of the bar and out of Llano, the better. Seeing Jase had bothered me more than I ever dreamed it would. The only good thing that came out of this was he didn’t see me . . . and Brad never got my number.

Jase

“You sure are far away.”

My eyes lifted from the pasture as I turned to my mother. “A lot on my mind I guess.”

“Courtney called and said Ava was staying in Montana for a bit longer.”

With a frown, I replied, “I bet that doesn’t make Reed very happy.”

She laughed and shook her head. Turning to look at her, I couldn’t help but smile. My mother was beautiful. Her dark hair was piled up on her head and her blue eyes were staring into mine.

“Want to talk about her?”

With a slight smile, I asked, “How do you know it’s a girl?”

She gave me a smirk. “Please, I know you like I know the back of my hand. You haven’t been the same since you got back from France. I can only assume you met someone while you were over there that you’re smitten with.”

With a hard laugh, I looked back over the pasture. “I’m more than smitten with her, Mom. I love her.”