Reece put a staying hand on his arm. “Marching over there isn’t gonna help you get ready for tonight. Besides, Keating loves getting under your skin, and you don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he’s pissed you off. It’ll make him yank your chain even harder next time.”
Without a doubt, there would be a next time. Noah let out a defeated sigh. When he conceded they were right, they all peeled away, leaving him facing Hailey.
He smoothed his beard. “Sorry about just now.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“I might have overreacted to the way you’re dressed. I acted like ... I’m not sure how to define it.”A jealous lover.
“You never said what you thought of it.” Her blush returned, and this time he was close enough to notice it spread across her décolletage and below her neckline. She studied him with those glacier-blue eyes.
“Um, it’s, yeah, I …”
She flashed him an impish grin. “You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re ready to implode.”
“Cute?”
Her eyes rolled to the ceiling before coming back to rest on him. “Okay, not cute. Hot.”
“I’m hot when I’m ready to implode?” he jabbered. Her words amped up the inconvenient electrical current in his bloodstream. Was that hot in a pissed-off kind of way or hot as in …hawt? “Wait. I’m not ready to implode.”
“Whatever you say, barkeep.” She pivoted and sashayed away, her tiny green skirt swaying with the suggestion of heaven beneath its folds. His brain whirligigged, then seized.
When rational thought came back online, he blurted after her, “For the record, I’m on the Blarney Stone bandwagon.”
“Good to know,” she called back before she disappeared.
He was still standing there, staring into the space where she’d been seconds before, when Charlie whacked him on the back. “What’s with the shit-eating grin?”
“I was just thinking this crappy day might be turning around.” It had taken a giant step from lousy to … promising. And he couldn’t wait to find out what else it brought.
Hours later, the placewas humming, and it wasn’t even five. Noah wasfeeling it, and he busted out the occasional dance move between orders. Customers were happy to congregate and celebrate with their fellow humans outside of their homes, where they’d been trapped by the storm, and didn’t seem to notice when he or his staff screwed up. He andCharlie made the drinks strong and kept them coming so people wouldn’t mind the hiccups too much.
One reason they might not have noticed the goofs was because they had somewhere far more interesting to focus: Hailey, as she twirled between the guests with her “Name-Noah’s-Dog” box or with their orders, laughing and teasing without missing a beat.
“Fuck me, who’s the hot new girl?” Micky spun on his bar stool, his eyes tracking her. “That chick has got it going on!”
Micky was getting on Noah’s nerves, and his answer came out a little harsher than he meant. “I don’t recommend saying that too loudly, or you’ll find yourself wearing a sixteen-ounce pour.”
Micky remained fixed on the tavern wench. “Who’s doing the pouring? If it’s her, maybe she’ll lick it off me.”
“Dixie. And she’ll add it to your tab.” Noah’s teeth might have gnashed. “And, dude? You can look, but you can’t touch. And I don’t recommend looking too much.”
“Damn,” Micky lamented.
Noah added mint garnishes to a pair of Moscow mules and delivered them to the end of the bar before getting to work on the next order. “That ‘hot new girl’ is the owner of the 4Runner you’re supposed to fix. Is it done yet?”
Micky whipped his head back to Noah. “Huh? That’shercar? The girl you got stuck with on Coal Bank Pass? Shit, if I’d a known that, I would have washed, polished, and vacuumed that damn hunk of junk while I was at it. Hee-yoo! Lucky you, man.”
“Is it fixed?” Noah repeated.
“Yeah, it’s all fixed and sitting in front of the Moose. That’s why I’m here.” Micky stood and grinned. “Think I’ll go let her know I took care of her.”
“Amy joining you tonight?” Noah bit out. Micky was so damn enthralled with Hailey he either ignored Noah or didn’t hear his not-so-subtle reminder Micky already had a girl.
Beside Noah, Charlie clattered ice into a blender. “Slow your roll, bro. He doesn’t have any designs on her. He’s just stating the obvious, which is what every other man in this joint has noticed. But maybe you can’t see with thosegreeneyes of yours.” He chuckled, sounding extremely proud of himself.
“What? I’m not jealous. I just don’t like customers getting friendly with the staff.”
