Page 158 of The Puck Stops Here
‘Arealdrink.’ He arched a brow. ‘I like this one. I’ll have the same, now hurry along little miss…’
Sissi fired her a subtle eye roll and walked off.
‘Mick, Tommy, shift it!’ Rick blurted with a flick of the wrist. ‘I’ve got company.’
Two guys eased out of the booth and slunk off to the juke box in the corner as Astrid shrugged off her coat and took their place, careful to use up the whole bench so Rick would have to sit opposite her.
‘So, what can a stunner like you need from me?’ He pressed his bottle into the table as he leaned back in his seat, eyes glittering. ‘Because I have ideas, sweetheart…’
‘I’m a journalist.’
He drew his mouth back to one side. ‘That figures.’ He gave her another one of those invasive once-overs that left her skin crawling. ‘And how can I help?’
She entwined her fingers on the tabletop, leaned forward just enough to show no fear.
‘I’m working on an article about the Titan Twins.’
He barely batted an eyelid, it was his jaw that gave him away, pulsing with the clench of his teeth. He raised his beer to his lips, took a swig.
‘Of course you are.’
Sissi arrived with the drinks, her cautious gaze sweeping between them as she placed them down.
‘Thanks, love.’
‘Yeah, thanks love,’ he mimicked, a lewd look in his eyes as they flicked up to Sissi and back to her again.
‘And what exactly do you want from me?’
She swallowed the distaste in her mouth, waited for Sissi to take a seat far enough away that her friend wouldn’t have to endure any more of his ‘charm’ then threw her drink back in one. Her eyes fixed in his as she slammed her glass down and stated very clearly, ‘No bullshit that’s for sure.’
‘Then you’ve come to the right place.’ Respect glinted in his gaze as he raised his whisky in salute and downed it with a satisfied hiss. ‘Ah, that is good.’
‘You’re a whisky man?’
‘I’m an any-kind-of-drink man, but I guess you’ve probably heard that already.’
She tilted her head. ‘I have.’
‘What else have you heard?’
‘I’m not interested in repeating back hearsay, Mr Carter, I want to hear your side of things. I want to hear what it was like bringing kids up in Ashbury Falls. I want to hear about your family life, before you all parted ways. I want to hear how it affected you.’
He gave a derisive laugh. ‘Oh, you’re good. Very good. You really wanna hear my side?’
Something in his eyes set her teeth on edge.
‘That’s what I said,’ she forced out, trying to ignore the wriggle in her gut that said maybe, just maybe, he was a source too far for her article.
He leaned into the table, his hands too close for comfort as he planted them in fists before hers. ‘Pull the other one, sugar; you want to condemn me like the rest of them and I’m gonna be honest with you, I couldn’t give a fuck.’
She winced.
‘Not what you were expecting? You think you’re the first person to hunt me down and ask me shit?’
‘I want to hear about your life, your family,you. Your story, no judgement.’
‘There’s one problem with that, sweetheart.’
