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happy to oblige.”
    She crossed her arms over her full breasts and rested one hip against the counter. “After watching Celeste huff her way out the door, I somehow doubt it.”
    He ended relationships all the time. Why was this one such a big deal? Yet somewhere inside his brain, he registered the fact that what had happened with Celeste was an anomaly. When he ended relationships, it was generally because he was bored with the woman, not because some weird gut feeling made him develop an aversion to the idea of fucking them.
    “Celeste hung around longer than the usual,” Conner commented. “I’d sort of thought you liked her better than the others.”
    “Sorry, brother, just because the long-term thing works for you, doesn’t make it right for me.”
    Connor’s black eyes narrowed. “You told me once that you weren’t like me.”
    “I’m still not,” Alex snapped. “Jessa is yours, that’s great. We’re all thrilled for you both. But that doesn’t mean I need to settle down with a ball and chain.”
    Alex was all too aware that Jessa hadn’t interjected anything into the conversation. That was probably bad. She could be way too perceptive for his peace of mind. It was that damned feminine intuition.
    “Who was the girl?” Jessa asked.
    Alex deliberately misunderstood. “Celeste? You’ve seen her plenty of times before. You can’t tell the difference anymore?”
    “Not the blond mouth fanatic.” Jessa shook her head and pegged Alex with one of her more prying stares. “The other one, with the dark hair and eyes. The one I collided with earlier this evening. I couldn’t place her, but I think I’ve see her before.”
    Connor’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. “Didn’t she disappear with Wade for a while?”
    “Isn’t that why people come to this bar?” Alex snarled.
    Alex cursed as they both turned to stare, surprise evident in the expressions on their faces. He hadn’t intended to inject his words with so much acid. But there it was.
    “If that’s why people come to the bar, why give a shit, Alex?” Connor probed.
    “I don’t.”
    Jessa gave him a slow appraisal. “Is that right?”
    “Look, what Emory does on her own time is her business.”
    A grin kicked up one corner of Connor’s mouth. “Emory, hmm?”
    “Yeah, Emory.” Alex forced himself to seem nonchalant. “And by the way, are you sure Gabriel checked her ID? She looks like a kid!”
    Jessa’s soft chuckle sent chills racing up and down his spine.
    “What?” Alex demanded.
    “You sound protective. And she doesn’t look anything like a child.”
    Alex thought of her red-rimmed eyes. The Phoenixwas no place for innocent pixies. “Are you kidding me? She looked like she was barely out of high school.”
    Connor shrugged. “I didn’t really notice her, sorry.”
    Now Jessa laughed out loud. “No one could ever accuse you of having a wandering eye.”
    “Since meeting you, there’s nothing worth looking at,” he told her in his typically direct fashion.
    “And that’s why I love you so much.” Jessa crossed to his side, walking into the arms he opened for her.
    “I’m not really in the mood to watch the two of you fuck like little bunnies,” Alex said, voice dripping sarcasm. “Can you take it home, please?”
    Jessa sighed, pursing her lips together. “Look, Alex, I’m not telling you to run out and buy a ring, all right?”
    He gave her a double helping of his middle fingers. “Good, because I’ve already got two rings that remind me to tell people to fuck off and stay out of my business.”
    “Watch it,” Connor growled.
    Jessa seemed utterly unperturbed by the insult he’d just paid her. “I worry about you, Alex.”
    “Well don’t.”
    “How many times can you give away little pieces of yourself before there’s nothing left? You play the shiftless womanizer pretty well, but don’t turn your back on something that could be better just because it isn’t wrapped up in