“There’s one.” I lifted myself, pointing under the bar.
He laughed at what he didn’t see, pulling out the blender and setting it beside the bottles. “All right.” He clapped his hands together, viewing what he had. Satisfied with what he saw, he removed his shirt, throwing it on a chair. He snapped his finger. “Music. We need music.”
“Uh…” I was thoroughly thunderstruck at this point—and he hadn’t even begun.Who is this man and what did he do with my husband?“What kind of music?”
“Fast.”
I went to my tote and rummaged around for my music. Finding it, I attached the player to the speakers. “Addicted to Love,” started to play. “Good enough?”
“Good enough.” He pointed to the stool I had occupied before hunting for the music. After I took my seat, he smiled charmingly at me. It was a good thing that I was seated. My knees went weak. Total jelly. “What can I get you tonight, beautiful?”
I stammered at first. Then I came to my senses, catching on to the game. “Whatever reminds you of me,” I said.
“Ahh.” He laughed, raspy and low. “A woman who knows how to answer.”
“Are you single?” I asked, lifting my brow.
The smile that transformed his face was wicked. “Not since you walked in the door.” He winked.
“Good answer,” I said.
He began to move, taking the bottles and flinging them in the air in time to the music, juggling them as though they were magic, putting on a show so damn fine that he could’ve been inCocktail. Every once in a while, he would pour something into the blender, getting closer and closer to the moment of mixing. But not before he used whatever was at his disposal to entertain me.
I bounced in my seat, clapping at the tricks he performed and whooping. Two cups went up in the air next, and he turned in time to juggle them the other way. He set one down, just to throw the other on the floor in such a way that it bounced against his foot, came up, and he caught it in his hand.
“Brando! Where did you learn to do that?”
“It’s something Elliott and I used to do at parties. We worked as a team. By the time it was over, we had drinks made for the entire party.”
“In Fiji? Did you and Elliott put on the show here?”
“Yeah. Anywhere we could.”
“I wish I would’ve been there to see it!” Then a thought occurred to me. “Oh, give me a second!”
“Where are you going?” He wasn’t panicked, but I could hear the hesitation in his voice.
“Just right out there, to my bag. But I don’t want you to see yet.”
“Don’t go in the bathroom. Stay in the main room. Turn the music lower.”
I hightailed it out of there, so full of delight that I could barely stand it. Violet had packed my crimson bathing suit, which was mostly all strings. I hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet. She had also packed one nice dress in case we went somewhere dressy, and to match, gold, strappy high heels. Since I wasn’t going to wear those out, I put them on with the bathing suit.
Using the mirror in the main room, I fluffed up my hair and then applied a bit of coconut oil to my skin and shimmering nude lipstick to my lips.
Brando’s finger was on the blend button when I returned, his other holding the cap, just about to put it down before he mixed all of the liquids and ice together. When he looked up and saw me, he pressed the blend button without the cap. The concocted mixture shot out of the machine, spraying him and everything in close distance. His finger came down on the line of buttons, but he kept pressing the wrong one.
“It’s the first.” I pointed, hiding my grin when he nodded. He didn’t seem to mind that the machine kept up its insistent grinding. I walked over to him, pressing the button myself. The music came alive again, pulsating through the sudden quiet.
I looked him over, glistening brown and dripping wet. “It seems you’re wearing my drink, bartender. Can I still try some?”
He cursed when my tongue found his skin, slowly lapping up the trails of happy juice that coated him.Fuck mewas the sentiment. I planned on him doing that very thing.
“Mmm.” I swirled my tongue over my lips. “Rum?”
He grasped my arms, his hold tight. “Tell me if anyone else has seen you in that bathing suit.”
I hesitated. He cursed again.
