3
“Iwas just coming over to talk to you, actually,” I say, and I’m proud of myself for not freezing.
His warm, kind, intelligent brown eyes pierce mine. “I thought you sounded awesome, by the way. Almost as good as Bonnie Tyler herself.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “Okay, whatever you say.”
“For real! You and your friend killed it!”
“Well, thanks. Are you doing a song?” I ask.
He gestures to the bar, and I go with him. “You want another drink?”
I nod. “Sure.” Sam the bartender comes over, and I catch his attention. “One more of whatever it was Cora had you make us.”
“And another Labatt Blue, and the tab to me.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say.
He just laughs. “Well, thatishow buying a lady a drink typically works, you know.”
“True,” I say. “So, you never answered. Are you doing a song?”
He laughs again and shakes his head. “Heck, no! I didn’t know this was a karaoke place when I came in.” The bartender slides us our drinks, and my new friend hands over a credit card, then turns to me. “My name is Jamie.”
“I’m Elyse,” I say, and we shake hands—his hand is warm and strong, and he doesn’t let go right away, his eyes drilling into mine.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Elyse.”
“Same.” I consider asking him if he’s new in town, but it’s pretty obvious he is, so I don’t. “If you don’t know Field’s is a karaoke joint, then you probably haven’t been to Vinnie’s either.”
He shakes his head, taking a swig of beer. “Nope. This is the first place I’ve been.”
“Vinnie’s has live music on Fridays and Saturdays,” I tell him. “The cover band is a bunch of local guys, but they’re pretty decent. Good enough to dance to, at least.”
“You want to finish these and head over?” he asks, gracing me with a bright, friendly smile—his eyes, though, are more than friendly, and the look in them gives me butterflies.
“Sounds good to me,” I tell him. “Let me just tell my friend the plan.”
Jamie indicates the table Cora and I had been sitting at—it’s empty. “Looks like she had other plans.”
I sigh, turning back to the bar, and to Jamie. “She’ll be at Vinnie’s.”
“Probably not that many other options, huh?”
I laugh. “Nope, not really. We went to José’s for dinner, and then here for karaoke, which only leaves Vinnie’s for dancing. There are only the three places in town. You want something else, you have to go over to Hanover, and that’s almost six miles away, or York, and that’s almost twenty.”
“Wow, six whole miles, huh?” he says, teasing.
“Around here, that’s a long way. If you live in Clayton, you rarely leave Clayton.”
His eyes twinkle. “I mean, what else could you possibly want? You’ve got three whole bars.”
“I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind a Walmart or a Starbucks.”
He just waves his hand. “Nahhh. Overrated.”
I laugh. “Yeah—convenience and variety…sooverrated.”
