Chapter Nine
Two weeks later
Dallas unlocked the side rear door of the pub and let himself inside. He took the stairs to the third floor apartment two at a time, humming softly under his breath. The scent of coffee greeted him as he opened the door.
“Patrick, what are you doing here?”
“We were late closing up last night, and I didn’t think you’d mind if I crashed here.”
“Thanks for covering for me.” Dallas poured himself a coffee. “I owe you.”
“Yes, you do.” Patrick stretched and let out a loud yawn. “I’m keeping score.”
Dallas grinned. “No problem.”
“Maria came in last night. She was looking for you.”
Dallas froze, his mug halfway to his mouth. “What did she want? Did she say?”
Patrick slanted him a look. “I got the feeling she wanted to hook up again.”
“Not gonna happen,” Dallas said without hesitation. “I’m not on the market.”
Patrick let out a hard breath. “Good. She’s bad news.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That you didn’t work as much these days and you had someone.” Patrick paused, shrugged. “She laughed when I said you had someone. She’s attractive.”
“So is L—” Dallas clamped his mouth shut.
“Hah. I nearly got her name out of you. Why the secrecy? When do I get to meet Blondie?”
Dallas ignored the teasing. “Do you think Maria will come back?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. At least I’ll be prepared for seeing her.”
“That’s what I figured,” Patrick said. “She left with some guy I hadn’t seen before.”
“Thanks.” Dallas took a sip of his coffee. “I came in early to catch up on paperwork. I need to get some figures to the accountant.”
“Rather you than me,” Patrick said. “Are you going to take Blondie to Ma’s birthday party? I can’t believe their six-month holiday is almost over.”
“Me neither.” Dallas’s gut twisted because he’d considered taking Laura. He was proud of her, but he didn’t want to spoil the day for his mother either. “No, she can’t come. She has something else on.”
“Another time,” Patrick said.
“Yeah. Thanks for last night.”
“Anytime. Catch ya.” And with a wink, his brother loped from the apartment.
Dallas frowned after him, sipped his coffee.
Maria was back.
Dallas thought about her and didn’t feel anything except irritation. He’d have to face her, tell her in person he wasn’t interested in resuming their relationship. She’d cheated on him, ditched him for someone else when it suited her capricious nature. Even if he wasn’t with Laura, he’d be stupid to entertain ideas of hooking up again with Maria.
