“Perfect. I have such a good feeling about this. Thank you, Lucas.”
“My pleasure. I’ll talk to Mak, our best bartender, and ask her to come up with themed drinks. Once she’s ready, you can come to the club, try them out, and give your thumbs-up… or -down.” I laugh, and so does Rainey.
I glance at my watch and groan. “I need to get back to the club for a meeting with a vendor.” My time with Rainey has gone on longer than expected, but I don’t mind. I enjoy seeing her in her element, doing what she does best. I rise from my seat.
Rainey stands. “I’ll walk you out.” She escorts me through the back room, then the office until we reach the front door. “Thanks again for coming and listening to my plans.”
I nod. “I’ll be in touch soon for the drink tasting.”
I’ll only admit it to myself, but I can’t wait to see her again.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rainey
As I driveto Midnight, my thoughts are consumed with Lucas. It’s been almost a week since our meeting about the Thunder project, and I can’t stop thinking about him. How seamlessly we talked through my concepts and his approval of them all. I love my brother but if I’d met with him and not Lucas, he’d have had his own take on things and we’d have ended up butting heads. Typical siblings. Instead, I’d been able to float on a high as I began to make phone calls and talk to vendors for many of my ideas. Jack’s excitement when I’d gotten the job had felt great, but Lucas’s approval was next level.
I’d also gotten a small glimpse into his past, how his biological parents hadn’t taught him manners. It was a small thing but a big admission. Given what I know of his childhood, growing up in a rough downtown area and hanging with the wrong crowd, I have a feeling themnotteaching him manners was better than the things theyhaddone. Those details my parents kept from me, and I’ve never had a reason to ask. Now, if I learn them at all, I want it to be from Lucas.
It’s midday Thursday and the club is closed to guests. As I walk inside for the drink tasting, butterflies take flight in my stomach. I’m excited to see what Mak, the bartender and mixologist who’s been with Midnight since they opened, has created. But I’m anticipating seeing Lucas even more.
“Hello!” I call out, and a blonde head pops up from behind the counter.
“Rainey, hey!” Mak glances at her watch. “Right on time.”
“Punctual as ever.” I roll my eyes in a self-deprecating acknowledgment of my personality. I’ve inherited that trait from my dad. Not all my siblings have it and it’s one that serves me well in business.
Doing my best not to look around for Lucas like a lovesick teen, I slide onto a stool, ready to get to work, though drink tasting is the fun part of the job.
“Let me ping the boss,” Mak says, reaching for her phone. “We can’t get started without him.”
My stomach flips again, and I settle in to wait. It isn’t long before I hear footsteps and I turn to see Lucas walking across the floor in long strides. Dressed in his typical collared shirt, unbuttoned just enough to catch a sprinkling of dark chest hair on his tanned skin, I have the sudden urge to grab the edges of that shirt and rip them open so I can see the muscles beneath. It doesn’t help that as he gets close, I see the edges of a black tattoo peeking through.
Holy hell, this man is hot.
His eyes lock on mine. “Welcome to Midnight,” he says with a sweep of his arm, and I know he’s mimicking my greeting when he’d come to my office. He’s not mocking me, he’s grinning and winks as I laugh.
“The floor is yours,” Lucas tells Mak, sliding onto a barstool beside me.
“Okay, let’s get this party started!” the pretty bartender says. She reaches below the counter and suddenly music surrounds us. Not too loud like a normal night, but just enough to give us ambiance.
“I waited for you so I could make each drink fresh,” she says, taking out three drink glasses.
An idea strikes me, and I decide I’m going to order engraved glasses with the Thunder logo and50thAnniversaryetched on them.
“I’m going to make all three and leave you to taste at your leisure,” Mak tells me. “And if you don’t like one, I can come up with something new.”
“Thanks! I can’t wait to taste your creations.”
Mak gets to work and Lucas leans close, one elbow on the bar. “So, how was the rest of your week?”
“Busy as usual. Yours?” Because I’m much more interested in what he has to say than my week of phone calls and appointments, forced smiles when I didn’t like ideas, and real ones when the vendors were easy to work with.
He shrugs. “The same as yours. Busy. Your brother enjoys the hands-on part of the business, and I prefer… watching over the business. But with Jack out of town, I’m dealing withpeople.” He shudders, making me laugh.
“Who knew you weren’t a people person?” I ask.
He sobers a bit, and his shoulders stiffen, his easygoing manner turning to a more withdrawn one. “I used to be a people person. Hung out with a big group of guys.”
