Oh. That was nice too… she could hardly follow her own train of thought. Chiseled jaw, gooey chocolate brown eyes, trim brown hair with a feisty cowlick that spiked his hair up in front. Really familiar, but so out of context she couldn’t place him. Must have gone to school together. Regardless, she could sit and stare at this guy all day. He hadn’t even looked at her, and she could feel his hands clutched on her hips, tugging her against him, his supple lips trailing over her collarbone, like a private fantasy.
Still frozen in place, she about melted to the floor when he finally looked her way. “Hey,” he called over the customers he’d just finished serving. “Grab a seat wherever you’d like.”
Remembering he wasn’t a figment of her imagination, that she was hungry—and not just for those biceps—she snagged one of the last seats. He snagged a menu from the unattended hostess’ podium and met her across the bar.
“Thanks,” she whispered on a controlled exhale. Her pulse pounded through her limbs, straight down to her core as she accepted the menu and met his gaze.
Finnclenchedhisjawtight, keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground and his brain focused on keeping his cock from saluting the gorgeous brunette in front of him. What the hell was wrong with him? Like a fucking adolescent without a smidge of control over the unruly appendage.
Behaving like the grown up he was, he kept his eyes on hers. He absolutely did not notice that her lace-trimmed tank top hugged some spectacular breasts, hinting at a subtle shadow of cleavage. Didnotnotice how those lips were strawberry edible. Hair pulled back in a messy knot, her jeans and button-up top were wrinkled, like she’d had a hell of a day.
“Get you anything to drink?” he asked.
She paused, holding her breath for a moment, then laughed. “God yes. I don’t even know what I want. Beer. Something that’ll bite me back and remind me I’m still alive.”
He practically groaned at the vision that invoked. “I gotcha. One sec.”
Punching a few codes into the computer, he closed out the checks for the pair of retired loggers in front of him. Ken and Ron were here every Monday, while their wives went to their book club. He slid their checks across, and nodded. “Stay out of trouble.”
Grabbing a glass from under the bar, he filled a pint with the hoppiest IPA on tap.
Tara slid up to the computer next to him and punched in an order. The server was always so dang peppy. Well, she had twenty-one-year-old knees and a high ponytail that spun all night as she walked. He assumed it must generate enough electricity to keep her going like an overly caffeinated barista. “Hey, I heard you and Trace broke up. What happened?”
And she hadn’t yet learned that some things were not appropriate to bring up at work. Not that they socialized outside of work. But she was nice and a damn good worker and always meant well, so he let it slide. “Some things don’t work out.” Worse, he’d been single a grand total of ten hours, and word had spread.
“I’m sorry. Zoe says Trace was your high school sweetheart and had figured you two would get married now that you’re back in town. How romantic, to reunite after all those years apart? I always wanted one of those second chance romances, but I’d have to have a decent first chance first.” Her ponytail nearly smacked him in the face as she turned to grab a trio of menus and a cluster of silverware wrapped in black cloth napkins.
“Really not looking to talk on it,” he muttered.
She batted apologetic eyelashes at him before bouncing across the room to welcome the newcomers.
Crossing back over to the hottie at the end of the bar, he flipped a cardboard coaster like a coin so it landed face up and set the beer on it. “See what you think of this one.”
Sapphire blue eyes dancing in amusement, her gaze didn’t leave his as she took a testing sip, licking her lips and smiling as the hoppy brew slid down her throat. She glanced at the tap. “Black Op? I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t tried it yet.”
He nodded, quickly disappearing to fill an order, and was back in a flash. “The best. I can’t say Foothills is such a small town that I know everyone, and I’ve only been back in town a few months, but I’ve never seen you around.”Dumbass. He used to be decent at meeting women, but he was epically drowning in lame with this one.
“I just moved back into town. Today, actually.” She gestured to the wrinkled clothes and her eye twitched comically.
“Hence the need to get bit?”Not helping.
The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Yes. My house is not exactly in shambles, but I already had to bury a dead raccoon, I have no furniture or even dishes, and will be sleeping in my brand new sleeping bag on carpet that has not been vacuumed in over a decade.”
He knew exactly where she could sleep, much more comfortably tonight.Shit, never mind, he remembered his own less-than-ideal living situation. Not that she would, or should, take some stranger up onthatoffer after knowing them for thirty seconds. “At least the raccoon was dead when you buried it.”
A slap-happy, snorty chuckle loosened her tight shoulders. “Too true.” Leaning her elbows on the bar, she glanced down at the menu, then back up at him, the corner of her mouth turning up in a flirty smile. “I’m so hungry, but I still can’t use my brain. What’s good?”
Swallowing, he crossed his arms, trying to remember… well, remember anything when she looked at him like that. Like he was the best thing on the menu. “Either the summer salad with smoked salmon, or the sausage sampler with side of cheese soup if you’re more for comfort food tonight.”
“I’d love to try the sausage.” She took a long pull from her glass and licked her lips.
Holy shit. She wasn’t exactly making a move, but something about the way she talked, the way she looked at him when she said it, shot straight to his… okay, she was fucking hot and was licking her lips while asking to taste his sausage.
Rather than typing her order into the computer at the bar, he hollered it at Zoe as he passed the kitchen and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. What had happened to him? He’d been dumped a matter of hours ago. Then a few minutes of a normal interaction with a beautiful woman, and he was brewing some sort of horny panic attack.
Fuck, this time last year, he’d have gotten her number and promised to swing by when he next passed through town. And then his life had been turned upside down. In so many ways.
3
