Easton expertly pulled his hand from the redhead’s so he could nudge her arm to sit her upright in her chair. “Honey, it’s probably good for me that you are taken. I have a feeling you’d break my heart into a million pieces.” His Southern drawl thickened as he poured on the charm, knowing the harmless flirtation would lead nowhere.
“Well, Mr. Bartender, you can bat those sexy eyes my way. I’m not taken, and I’m not a heartbreaker.” A blond in a black jumpsuit smiled boldly in his direction, and the entourage fell apart in a fit of giggles.
Easton took that as his signal to get back to work. “Whew, I’ve got to get out of here. This table is too tempting.”
“You should stay.” The redhead drew out the last word, and Easton tried not to wince at the whining tone to her voice.
“Can’t, sweetheart. My break just started, and my family is over there waiting for me. You ladies keep having a good time, and when you’re ready to call it a night, our bouncer will walk you out. If anybody bothers you pretty ladies, you just call me. I’ll take care of it personally.”
He walked off before one of them could stop him. He was used to flirtatious customers, and his ability to charm them was one of the reasons why the bar kept a steady clientele in the small town of Fire Creek.
He enjoyed the job. It suited him. He was required to play many roles, depending on the needs of the customers, and he’d gotten adept at reading people’s moods to know what they required of him.
He made his way to a table in the back, his eyes landing on the people who knew him better than he knew himself. Tonight was a rare occasion in that most of his makeshift family was at the bar at the same time.
The faces of those he cared about watched him as he approached — his brother Jackson and his wife Reagan, his brother Luke and his fiancé Melody, his brother Ben, and their mentor and Reagan’s father, English Barlowe. The only one missing was their long-time family friend, Becky Lathan, who had chosen to stay home and babysit Reagan and Jackson’s son, Jax.
As he made his way to the table, Easton realized his family had seen his interaction with the ladies. From the frowns on the women’s faces, they were none too happy. Easton wasn’t sure why they had a bug up their ass about it, but he would soon find out.
“What?”
He posed the question to Reagan and Melody. Easton adored the women, considering them the sisters he’d never had, but they sometimes took their role a bit too seriously.
“No.” Reagan shook her head. “Just no.”
Melody nodded in agreement. “You shouldn’t flirt with those ladies that way. They’re going to get the wrong idea. That’s how people get stalkers, you know.”
Easton rolled his eyes. “They’re harmless. Nothing ever comes of it. It’s just some innocent fun. That’s all. Kind of like the first time we met, Mel.”
Melody had come to the bar several months ago for a blind date, and Easton spotted her right away. She was too pretty for him not to notice, plus living in a town where everybody knows everybody, he easily saw she was a newcomer.
When he found out she was alone for the evening, he used an old trick to make sure no one picked her up — he had her wait with one of his brothers, in this instance Luke, so Easton could talk to her as he worked. Only he saw the spark of something between her and Luke, and being the loving brother he was, he stepped back to let them explore their attraction.
Or at least, that’s the version of the story he liked to tell, and his efforts paid off. The two were set to marry in a couple of months.
“Save it, E.” Reagan waved a fried mozzarella stick in his direction before dipping it in marinara sauce. “It’s all fun and games until someone takes it the wrong way.”
Melody picked up the lecture when Reagan bit into her appetizer. “We just want you to be happy. You need to find someone to settle down with. Someone who can chase away all the crazy women who try to stake a claim. Actually, you and Ben both need to find someone. And Reagan and I have to approve since they’ll become part of our girls’ circle.”
Ben choked on a bite of his teriyaki wings. “Wait. How did I get roped into this?”
“We want you to find someone who makes you happy too,” Melody explained.
“We are happy.” Easton slapped his brother on the back. “Right, bro?”
“Right,” Ben agreed.
Their responses wouldn’t thwart Reagan and Melody’s attempts to marry them off, and Easton loved them for trying. Easton deep down wanted the kind of relationship they had with his brothers, but he doubted it would happen for him. He wasn’t one someone could love long term. His biological parents never had.
His mother had chosen drugs over him, overdosing before he was old enough to walk, and his father had left him on his own years ago. His foster families never had, which is why he ran away every chance he had. His family was the only exception, and Easton wasn’t optimistic that the exception would extend to a love match.
Luke draped a possessive arm around Melody’s shoulders, dropping a kiss on her hair. “You might as well give it up. These two are going to be bachelors for the rest of their lives.”
Melody punched him playfully in the chest. “That’s what everybody said about you, and then you met me.”
Easton couldn’t disagree with Melody’s assessment. Luke was the grumpy one of the bunch, his sour attitude as much a part of his persona as his unique blue eyes. He’d never been one to buy into the games men and women played, and he’d never had any inclination to settle down.
But when he met the savvy, friendly, and beautiful Melody, he didn’t stand a chance. And Easton enjoyed watching his brother fall for the lovely woman.
