Fast & Loose by Elizabeth Bevarly (the giving tree read aloud .txt) 📕

cover of the new Louisville magazine? The one who they featured in the Scene this weekend? The one who’s been on the news every night for the past few nights surrounded by incredible-looking women? That Cole Early?”

Bree didn’t even manage a nod this time. Though Lulu was pretty sure Rufus’s question was rhetorical.

“You think he’s potential Sugar Daddy material?” he asked.

Like, oh…everyone else on the planet, Rufus knew Bree’s big ambition in life was to bag herself a rich caretaker. Which was doubtless why he’d never made known his feelings for her. Well, not to anyone except any person with an IQ higher than zero who looked at him whenever he was somewhere in her zip code.

Bree did nod in response to that one—sort of—and, very softly, said, “Yes.”

Rufus grinned again, biting his lip in a way that was truly adorable and would have melted the heart of any self-respecting woman. Lulu was practically swooning, and she loved Rufus like a brother. If Bree wasn’t purring at least a little bit inside, then she needed to go see the Great and Powerful Oz for a new heart.

“Bree,” he said, “Cole Early was in here a little while ago, and—”

“He’s here?” Bree interrupted, looking panicky now.

“He left,” Rufus told her, the warmth in his voice cooling. “But while he was here, no fewer than ten women came up to him—all of them dressed way better than you, I might add,” he dropped in as if he couldn’t help himself, “and the guy wasn’t interested in any of them. Last time I saw him, he was heading for the door. Alone.”

Bree looked a little hurt after the better dressed comment—not that she hadn’t asked for it—but recovered admirably. “Of course he left alone,” she said. “He didn’t meet me.”

Rufus started to say something else, seemed to think better of it, and turned to Lulu instead. “Wanna dance?” he asked.

Lulu’s eyes went wide at the invitation. Not because it surprised her, but because the last thing she wanted to do was go out onto a dance floor and move her body in a way that might draw attention to herself. It wasn’t that she was a bad dancer. On the contrary, she loved to dance. At home. Alone. Just her and her iPod. If she went out there with all those people jostling her and looking at her, she’d immediately invent a new dance: the Pufferfish Girl Fandango.

“Uh, that’s okay, Rufus,” she said. “Thanks anyway.” She was about to say more, but something over his shoulder caught her eye, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t the same thing that had caught Bree’s a moment ago. Because a man was emerging from a poorly lit alcove. A dark-haired man in an amber-colored suit. A man she remembered all too well.

Cole Early was still here.

Something hot detonated in her belly at seeing him again—probably the burger she’d downed at Deke’s, since the place was known for its music, not its food. ’Cause it couldn’t be excitement at seeing Cole Early again. The guy was a boor, he was arrogant, and he was self-centered. Not to mention he was the kind of tourist she found most annoying, one of the ones who threw their weight around with a lot of flash, dash, and cash. Of course, he did have that smile that made a woman want to…

Um, never mind.

Then she realized that if Bree saw him, too, she’d go right over to the guy and introduce herself, and then introduce Lulu, too, and then Lulu would have to talk to him again, and she totally didn’t want to do that. Nor did she want to be with Bree when her friend was doing the feminine wiles thing she did so well. When Bree flirted, no matter the circumstances, she was dazzling. Standing beside her in such situations, Lulu invariably ended up feeling like the bedraggled street urchin selling flowers to the theater-going hoi polloi. Dead flowers, at that. From a dirty alleyway. In the rain. On a Monday night, when no one was even going to the theater to begin with.

She quickly grabbed Bree and spun her around so that she was facing Lulu and Rufus, and not Cole Early. And she said something she was certain would make Bree call it a night. “If you want to dance, Rufus, maybe you and Bree could—”

“No, we have to go, Lulu,” Bree cut her off.

Perfect, Lulu thought.

“There’s no reason to hang around here,” she added.

Not so perfect. Poor Rufus. Damn Bree.

Bree circled Lulu’s wrist with sure fingers and gave her hand a tug. Unfortunately, the direction she tried to tug her into was the same one that led to Cole Early, which was in the opposite direction of the exit.

Time to get serious about leaving.

“But we just got here,” Lulu whined. “Let’s have a beer with Rufus.”

“Suits me,” Rufus said amiably. “I’ll even buy.”

“Can’t,” Bree said succinctly, this time really turning for the exit. “We have to go. Like I said, no reason to stay.” She lifted her head as if she intended to shake it defiantly at Rufus, but the minute she caught his eye, her dark brows arrowed downward, two bright spots of pink appeared on her cheeks, and she immediately dropped her gaze again, looking embarrassed for saying what she had.

In spite of that, Lulu thought she saw Rufus dip his head forward almost imperceptibly, as if to silently concede the round to Bree. Something about the gesture, though, told her he wasn’t giving up on the battle just yet.

After checking to make sure Cole Early was well and truly out of sight—thankfully, he was—Lulu gave Rufus an Oh, well kind of smile, lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “See you later, Rufus,” she said.

“Next time, I’ll collect that dance,” he replied with a smile as she let her friend pull her toward the exit.

But Lulu wasn’t sure if he was talking to her, or to Bree.