“Get better soon,” I said, climbing out of bed. “And keep your snot to yourself.”
James was swarmed by customers,but he still greeted me with a welcoming, “You look like you just rolled out of bed.”
I laughed. A weak, tired laugh. “Careful, boss. You’re making me blush.”
I let myself under the bar pass, heading toward the back hallway to clock in.
When I agreed to cover for Dani, I hadn’t considered that James and I would be working together inveryclose proximity to each other. Even the dishwasher had called out sick, leaving us alone.
I was hyper aware of James the entire night. I didn’t need to see him to know he was there; I could feel him. No matter which way I turned or how much distance I put between us, he was there.
Somehow, I managed to keep my composure. I only spilled one drink and it wasn’t even my fault. The steady flow of customers distracted me enough to where I could pretend James wasn’t driving me wild by simply existing near me.
We both let out sighs when the crowd died down, leaving only one or two stragglers behind. James leaned against the shelves, rolling out his stiff neck.
“Take a break,” I said.
“Huh?”
“You’ve been moving for hours, even before I got here. You look pale—why don’t you get something to eat?”
“It’s been so busy, I guess I haven’t thought about it.” He paused, glancing up at the clock as I stepped forward to pour a drink for one of our last customers. “You’ll be okay if I duck out to grab something? Dani said she was home alone tonight and I’d like to swing by and make sure she’s okay. I’ll come back in time to help you close.”
The thought of him checking up on her warmed my heart, and did nothing to sway my crush. “That’s really kind of you. I can manage, go on.”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug at my compliment. “You want anything?”
I shook my head. My stomach was currently too preoccupied with its fluttering to think about silly things such as hunger.
I busied myself cleaning as much as possible to save time later. I gathered dirty glasses and cleared away what trash I could as the last customer left. Because we weren’t officially closed yet, I kept an ear out for the bell as I started moving stuff to the back. I’d just dropped a handful of dishes into the sink when I heard it chime.
I made my way back into the main room, but when I rounded the corner, I lost my breath.
It wasn’t James.
The guy was pretty—supermodel pretty, with an expensive air about him. His immaculate golden hair swept up and away from his flawless face. Seriously, he didn’t have a mark anywhere, except for a faint scar under his left eyebrow—and the twin spots of color on his cheeks, bitten pink from the New England cold. Hunter-green eyes scanned the room before locking onto me. The way they trailed over my body, it felt like he was commanding an invisible pair of hands, the sensation making my whole body tingle.
He shrugged out of his coat. He smirked when he found me eyeing him back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his three-piece suit and starting toward me.Game on. I licked my lips as he approached and noticed his eyes track the movement. When he moved, he almost glided across the floor. It was a perfect, seamless stride.
“Hi,” I said, giving him a smile as I leaned forward on the bar. “What can I get you?”
“Manhattan, please.” Damn, his voice was smooth as butter. He maintained eye contact as he sat down at the bar—directly across from me. When he leaned forward onto the mahogany, the silver cross around his neck caught the light. “And whatever you’re having.”
I grinned, turning to make his drink. “Thank you, but I’m on the clock.”
“Suit yourself.”
I finished his drink and pushed it across the bar, accepting the cash he handed me. “You’re not one of those good, church boys are you?” I asked, regarding the cross.
He laughed. “Oh, far from it.” Our eyes locked again. I twisted my towel around in my hands.
“Good,” I said. “Because the things I’m thinking right now areveryunholy.”
He took a sip of his Manhattan, fire burning behind those beautiful green eyes. “Care to indulge me?”
“Mm, maybe,” I teased. “I guess we’ll have to see how good you can be.”
He set his drink down and extended his hand. “I’m Luke,” he offered.
