Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories (The Flirts! Collection) by Lisa Scott Page A

Rich. Look at how you’re dressed.”
    I shook my head. “I’m not rich.” I didn’t mention that my parents were. But beautiful? Yeah, I’d take beautiful even if it was just a smoke job.
    “It doesn’t take much to be considered rich around here. Don’t see too many people looking like you in these parts.”
    I crossed my arms. “I’m dressed up because I’m going on a blind date.” At the bra bar. Impressive, for sure.
    “Then you better get to it. Don’t worry about me.”
    I shook my head. “I’m canceling. I’m too upset, and I really want to get a drink. With you.”
    “Fine. Let’s get out of here. I’ll meet you at The Sundowner.”
    He hopped in his old pickup truck with his dog’s head hanging out the passenger-side window and made a fast right onto Main Street.
    My hands shook as I drove to the bar. Maybe the cop was right. I didn’t know anything about this guy. I didn’t even know why he’d been in jail. But still, I needed to thank him. Then I could be at home in my jammies with a bowl or two of ice cream.
    I called my sister, Beth, on the way there. “You’re half an hour late,” she said. “Rob is just about ready to leave, Krissy.”
    I hated when she called me that and she knew it. “Some guy just tried to mug me. I’m not coming to meet you guys.”
    “Oh my god! Are you alright? Do you want me to come over?” This was the perfect mishap that would keep her busy fretting for weeks. She really needed to get a job.
    “No, don’t come over. I’m fine. Actually, this other guy jumped in to stop him. I’m taking him out for a drink to thank him. Then I’m going home for a long, hot bath. Tell Rob maybe another time.” But I was relieved I didn’t have to go out with another one of Beth’s set-ups. Just because she was bored in her marriage didn’t mean she had to play social director for me.
    Even if I had been engaged three times at the ripe old age of twenty-six.
    “I don’t know. Rob’s not the kind to be stood up.”
    “Then maybe Rob’s not my type.” No maybes about it.

    At the pub, I ordered us beer and nachos, but I was far too queasy to eat. Tony quickly polished off the plate. “I skipped my lunch break today,” he said, apologetically. He rested his hands on the table. They were streaked with blood and tar. He looked down at them. “Should’ve washed my hands first.”
    “Me, too.” I rubbed my temples. “But I’m too wired to eat. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before.” My butt really hurt from when that jerk pushed me over, but I couldn’t exactly rub it.
    He tried wiping his hands off on a napkin. “I wouldn’t think so. What were you doing there anyway? All those shops were closed.”
    I looked at the ceiling and rolled my eyes. “Dropping off a way-overdue wallpaper sample book. My niece is looking for a new bedroom theme.” I lifted a shoulder. “When you’re single with no kids, doting on nieces and nephews is a very fulfilling hobby.”
    He snorted and shook his head. “I was right. Someone like you definitely shouldn’t have been in that neighborhood at night.”
    “What?”
    “Nothing. We’re just from very different worlds.”
    I wasn’t going to walk down that road. “So, I hope your girlfriend won’t mind you being out with me tonight.” Surely, someone who looked like him had a girlfriend. No, he wasn’t classically handsome, but he was intense, with those dark blue eyes and chiseled features. His hair and goatee made him hot in a dangerous, sexy way. He looked like a man who knew how to take care of a woman, in and out of the bedroom.
    Anyone I ever went out with looked like they had a routine bedtime, a five-star safety rated car, and was sure to pay their credit card balance in advance and in full. None of my exes would’ve jumped off a building for me, because who knew if insurance covered that?
    He shook his head. “No girlfriend right now. Single life suits me fine.”
    I leaned back against