Luca turned, both his elbows leaning on top of the bar. ‘I would say I’m surprised to see you here, but at this point I’m really not. You just can’t stay away from me, can you?’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Trust me, this is the last place I want to be right now. Ah,finally!’ I groaned with relief as the bartender sauntered over to us. But instead of asking me what I wanted, he slid a napkin across the bar. It had a phone number scrawled in the bottom right-hand corner, a lipstick kiss stamped across the top. Something told me it wasn’t for me.
‘Luca, you’ve got an admirer, mate.’ The bartender grinned, nodding his head in the direction of the two women at the opposite end of the bar, one of whom was wearing the exact shade of coral lipstick that decorated the napkin. Luca offered them a polite smile but I noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He pocketed the napkin, confirming he was one of those. The type of guy to accept another woman’s number whilst his girlfriend was waiting for him at home.
‘Can I get a whiskey please, Andy? Neat. And whatever my friend here’s drinking.’
I snorted at Luca calling me his friend, having half a mind to refuse his offer of a drink, but I’d probably die of thirst by the time I got served myself. ‘Gin and tonic, please. Double.’
‘I guess we should probably swap numbers,’ Luca suggested flippantly, producing his phone from his back pocket.
I snorted. ‘I have no desire to be another name in your little black book, thank you very much.’
Luca raised an eyebrow. ‘I meant for the article. You know, in case you need anything? I AirDropped my contact details to your phone, just tap to accept.’
‘Yeah, I don’t want to tap that.’
‘You sure about that?’ His bicep strained against the fabric of his t-shirt as he turned, leaning his head in his palm to better view my discomfort.
Ergh, he was seriously the worst.
‘You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was flirting with you.’
I almost choked on my drink. Joe had appeared behind Luca, leaning with his back against the bar. Something about seeing the two of them together like that, shoulder to shoulder, made my insides squirm.
‘What the bloody hell are you doing here?’ I hissed at him, one eye on Luca who’d leaned over to say something to thebartender.
‘Nice to see you too,’ Joe drawled, feigning offence. When I didn’t smile, he held his hands up in surrender. ‘Geez, can a guy not go for a drink on a Saturday night without his girl flying off the handle?’
‘Joe, this isn’t funny,’ I hissed with as much menace as a whisper would allow, my eyes flitting anxiously from Joe to Luca and back again.
‘Hey, I don’t make the rules, honey. If I’m here, it’s because you want me here.’
‘Ido not!’
Joe clasped his hands over his heart, one shoulder recoiling back as if he’d been shot.
‘You wound me, woman.’
I knew he was joking, just being classic Joe, but guilt swirled cold and sour in the pit of my stomach.
‘I mean, obviously I want you here, just nothere, here,’ I clarified gently. ‘Anyway, you clearly need your eyes tested because he’s not flirting with me. He’s got a girlfriend. Several apparently.’
‘Who has?’ Luca turned back to face me, a cut-glass whiskey tumbler in hand.
My cheeks flushed. ‘No one,’ I said quickly. ‘What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be up there singing?’ I gestured impatiently towards the stage.
‘My set’s finished. Apparently there comes a point when people would rather listen to drunk strangers butchering cheesy hits than a paid professional.’ As if on cue, the bartender tapped his fingers atop a microphone.
‘One. Two. One. Two. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Saturday night, which means one thing and one thing only .?.?. it’s karaoke night!’ he announced, much to the crowd’s delight. Luca’s eyes were fixed firmly on my face, his pupils dancing withamusement. ‘Don’t be shy, we’re taking sign-ups at the bar, and to kick us off tonight, we have Jenny Thompson. Jenny, the stage is yours!’
My stomach fell out the bottom of me. I turned slowly towards Luca, my face like thunder.
‘What did you do?’ I hissed angrily. But the crooked smirk on his face told me he knewexactlywhat he was doing.
‘Uh-oh, I’d take cover if I were you, mate,’ Joe warned, grabbing a cocktail menu and pretending to hide behind it.
The bartender looked over in my direction. ‘I think someone’s getting cold feet over here. Can I get some love in the room for Jenny, please, let’s see if we can’t get her up on the stage.Jenny. Jenny. Jenny.’ More and more people started chanting my name, over and over. Even Joe joined in. God, this was an actual living nightmare.
