“I’m Jace,” he says.
“Eris.”
“Beautiful name.” He glances down for a moment and shakes his head. “At the risk of sounding cliché, you’re not here alone, are you?”
“With my best friend.” I nod toward the dance floor, where Roo is mid-spin, her wild auburn hair chaos incarnate.
He grins. “Then she won’t miss you for a minute.”
“She’s got about eight more songs in her,” I inform him. “If she can’t find me after that… I hope you have good insurance, because she’ll burn this place to the ground.”
The grin adorning Jace’s lips morphs into a stunning smile, like he wants to laugh, but he isn’t sure if I’m joking. He stops the bartender and orders us both another round of drinks without asking what I want.
Bold move, but not annoying.
Jace gently pulls me to a table on the far side of the bar, away from the speakers. It’s not necessarily quiet, but we don’t have to shout either… One song rolls into two into ten… And we just talk. About everything and nothing. Old music and movies that didn’t deserve sequels. How he can’t finish a book, and I can’t change a tire.
“So what do you do when you’re not being mysterious in dive bars?” he asks.
“Work.”
“That’s vague.”
“Intentionally,” I pop back, raising a snarky brow.
He chuckles. “So, assassin or accountant?”
“Somewhere in between.”
“Hot either way.”
I roll my eyes. “You flirt like it’s a compulsion.”
“It is,” he says, leaning in. “I’ve learned to live with it. My friends usually call it charm, though.”
Jace makes me laugh… Real, unguarded laughter that startles me.
He smiles. “There it is.”
“Therewhatis?” I inquire, glancing over my shoulder.
“The moment where you stopped pretending you’re not having fun with me.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he’s right. And I sort of hate that he can see it so plainly.
“Want another drink?”
I nod, and he pulls me from my seat, his large hands firm on my elbows until he turns me toward the bar. He walks behind me, his chest brushing my back as he matches my steps through the crowd.
The music shifts, slowing just slightly when we reach the bar. I feel Jace watching me, his gaze searing a line of heat across my shoulder and up my neck. He shakes his head, as if he’s clearing his thoughts, and waves the bartender down.
She stops in front of us, the corner of her mouth curling as she flirts. I tune her out while he orders… Because my phone buzzes in my purse.
I hesitate for a split second, but curiosity has its nasty hooks in me.
The notification is from HimLock, of course. I’m starting to wonder if I have a real stalker and a virtual one… Not that I mind the virtual one.
Yet.
