Come to think of it, thatwouldexplain the glass of water, ibuprofen, and the trash can. All sweet, thoughtful gestures that made her fall for the man even more.
Damn you, King.
“Be right back.” Megan walked away to help her manager, Kate, fill a particularly large order.
A second later, Brody tugged on the sleeve of Ro’s hoodie, leading her to the end of the counter. Away from the other customers in line.
“You really don’t remember?” he asked as soon as they were out of earshot from anyone else.
“I really don’t.” Ro glanced around and then leaned in close before asking, “And why are we whispering?”
His dark lashes lifted and fell with three long, confused blinks, his throat bobbing with a swallow that shouldnotbe sexy.
“What exactlydoyou remember about last night?”
Setting her lidded to-go cup onto the counter to her left, she released a breathy laugh and shoved her hands into the hoodie’s large center pocket.
“Not a lot, as it turns out. I remember riding to the bar with Christian and Meg…hanging out at the bar with them, and you, and the others…” Ro frowned. “Wait. Did we sing Happy Birthday to Cade?”
“We did.” A curt, too-serious nod. “What else do you remember?”
She thought back some more. Her gut clenched, her chest tightening with regret as she thought maybe, “Did you and I…” Brody’s stare widened only slightly just before she finished with, “Argue?” Ro searched his guarded gaze for the answer. “For some reason, I feel like you and I got into some sort of fight. Did we?”
She couldn’t imagine ever yelling at Brody like the blips and flashes her muddled mind were showing her. But—
“We butted heads over a client of yours,” he offered. “You remember seeing Clayton Yorke last night?”
“Clayton?” Now Ro reallywasstarting to panic. Looking away, she desperately tried to pull from her memory bank. If she’d done something to humiliate herself in front of a client as big as him… “Blue,” she blurted the word as it came to her.
“I’m sorry?”
Her eyes flew back to his, her heart giving a hard kick to her ribs at his search for clarification. But she had no idea why.
Returning to her previous efforts, she concentrated on why the color blue had unexpectedly shot to the forefront of her mind. What was it about that color?
Blue. Blue. Blue…
“I-I think…” She paused. “Did I order a drink that was blue? I want to say I had something sweet, but I can’t quite put my finger on the flavor.”
“Blue raspberry.” Brody swallowed. “And cocounts.”
The man’s confident answer had Ro’s focus sliding back up to him. Licking her lips, it was almost as if she expected the taste to still be there.
“Blue raspberry,” she mused. “It could have been that. Whatever it was, it must have packed quite a wallop. I’m just sorry you had to deal with me in that condition.” Something else struck her then, another thought that left her cheeks burning with disgrace. “Did I at least wait until after you were asleep to take off my shirt?”
With his gaze still locked with hers, Brody had just started to lean a hand onto the counter next to him when she asked the embarrassing question. Misjudging the distance between his hand and the smooth surface, he missed his intended target and instead, knocked into a plastic straw holder nearby.
The container started to tip. Almost immediately, she and Brody sprang into action, their hands shooting out lightning fast to keep the container upright.
At first, Ro thought they’d moved just in time. But when their fingers inadvertently met in the frenzied chaos, Brody yanked his hands back, sending the trove of paper covered straws went flying.
“Oh, my gosh!” She bent over to start picking up the ones that had fallen to the floor.
Brody moved to do the same, and their heads hit.
“Ouch!” Ro’s palm immediately went to the source of her pain.
“Shit.” Brody straightened his spine and scratched a small spot on the top of his head. “Sorry.”