A Night With Knox
us.
    That girl has no taste. “You need
to work on your selection skills,” I sigh, nodding to the new
arrival. Savannah waves at him. “What is he, an accountant?”
    “Banker,” she corrects me.
    I snort. “Sounds stimulating.”
    “How would you know? He could be
more than just a pretty face, Cash. Because unlike some people, I’d
actually like to find something…more. Like Cassie and Ryder,”
she adds with a wistful sigh.
    Our friends are currently snuggled in
the corner booth, too caught up in each other to notice the world
around them. Ryder cracks himself up in the middle of some story he’s
telling, and Cassie places a hand on his chest, throwing her head
back in an unselfconscious giggle that more than a few men around
them notice. They’re happy together. Really happy.
    “Sickening,” I say
cheerfully. “But hey, if Ryder wants to take himself off the
market, I’m more than happy to pick up the slack.”
    “Ass.” Savannah gives me a
playful shove and hops down from her stool. “Well, how do I
look?”
    “Bun,”
I say, pointing to her head. She pulls out the few pins holding up
her blonde curls and gives them a good fluff, looking like she just
rolled out of bed after a night of great sex.
    She takes a final sip of her drink and
pushes it toward me. “Thanks for the liquid courage, but I
think you need it more.”
    I’m thrown. “Me? Why?”
    “You need to lose this fuck ’n
run attitude. Settle down, find a girl to annoy fulltime. Who knows,
you might like it.”
    I roll my eyes. “Sure.
And that banker over there’s going to turn out to be the best
screw of your life. I don’t think so.”
    “At
least I’m trying,” Savannah shrugs, and goes to meet him.
    The crowd parts for her. Her date
immediately goes for the kiss—wrong move, dude. Savannah turns
at the last second and gives him her cheek. She meets my eyes, and I
can read her so well by now that I catch the meaning behind her gaze
right away: it’s going to be a long night.
    I head for the pass, ready to step
in—no reason she needs to keep up with the bottom feeder for
the next few hours. But Ryder steps in front of me when I try to get
out.
    “Hey,” Ryder says, blocking
my path.
    “Finally. Your girlfriend let you
out by yourself?”
    Ryder just grins. “Gunner just
let in a bachelorette party, so you can find a new skirt to chase.”
    “I need no help in that
department,” I say. There are at least four numbers in my
pocket from tonight’s shift alone.
    “Cassie told me to tell you,
hands off Savannah.”
    On instinct, I scan the crowd and find
Savannah and Loose Lips. She’s got that cool smile on that says
she’s got it all under control. Something tells me I’ll
be getting one hell of a story when she comes in for the next date.
    “Now why would I be looking at
Savannah when there’s a bachelorette party headed my way?”
    I head over to the party. These girls
are ready for a good time. They’re a flutter of pastels, flowy
fabric, and pearls, but I’m willing to bet there’s more
than one wild woman under all that polish. I step up to the front and
begin the show.
    “Ladies, who’s eloping with
me tomorrow?” A collective cheer goes up from the group. I take
drink orders and am just starting to shake my first drink when a
woman pushes her way to the front.
    “Cash? Cash
Gardner?” A salon-made blonde who’s stepped off
the pages of my memories is standing there in front of me. The shaker
freezes mid-air.
    Her eyes widen. “Oh my god, it is
you! Don’t you remember? It’s me, Morgan! We went to
school together, back at Landsbury Prep. I can’t believe I’m
running in to you here!”
    I stare back, numb. There’s a
weird ringing in my ears, and I fight to focus on Morgan. She’s
going on about how she just talked to my mom last week, and some
charity gala they’re all planning at the country club, but it’s
like she’s talking a foreign language.
    I thought I’d left this all
behind.
    I

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