Ash’s lips twitch. ‘Ash. A friend of Mark’s.’ His gaze slides over to Lissa’s. God, his eyes are really bloody blue, aren’t they? ‘Also saver of lives, stealer of scooters.’
Lissa laughs around a mouthful of her wine, coughs it down in a way that makes her eyes water.Way to go, Lissa.She tries to shrug it off. ‘Or saver of scooters, I suppose, depending on how you look at it.’
His lip twitch gives way to a fuller smile. Although is it just her, or does that smile look a bit sad today? ‘Hi, Lissa.’
‘Hey, hero.’ It comes out before she can think better of it, but thankfully she’s rewarded with another smile.
‘So what do we get if we win?’ Mia asks loudly.
‘Money behind the bar,’ Darcy says.
‘To spend in here?’ Lissa asks.
‘No,’ Darcy says with an eye-roll. ‘To spend down the road in Pizza Express.’
‘I better get us another round then,’ Mark says, placing a hand on Lissa’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. A pleasant prickling runs up the inside of her leg at the contact – that’s a good sign, right? ‘Don’t want to get thirsty halfway through.’ He nods at Ash’s half-empty glass. ‘Same again?’
‘Sure, mate. Thanks.’
Mark gets to his feet, leaving a gap between Lissa and Ash, while Mia and Darcy chat about tactics – or Darcy does, while Mia nods. Lissa glances sideways at Ash, finds him looking back her way.
‘So. Passing through again?’ she asks him.
‘Yep.’
‘How’s Belgium?’
‘Good.’
‘Monosyllabic today, I see,’ she muses. She sips her wine. ‘Okay, I can take a hint.’
‘Sorry.’ He pulls a hand through already messy brown hair. ‘I’m just having a bit of a …’
‘Bad day?’
He gives her a small smile as she provides the same excuse she gave him. ‘Yeah.’ He sighs. ‘Bad day.’
And for a moment, she sees it more strongly – the sadness in his eyes. ‘Anything I can do?’ she asks quietly.
He hesitates, glass halfway to his lips. Is he surprised she asked? She’s not really sure why she did – what is she planning on doing to help, exactly?
‘No,’ he says, sipping his beer then lowering the glass. ‘But thanks. It’s why I came along, I could use a distraction.’
‘Well, I can promise that. Things get pretty rowdy in here.’
One eyebrow raises. ‘Is that so?’
‘Oh yes,’ she says seriously. ‘Dancing on the tables. Darcy is sure to do a bit of karaoke.’
Darcy checks in at the sound of her name. ‘She’s kidding, in case that isn’t obvious. Sometimes it’s hard to tell, what with her tone and all.’
‘Shame,’ Ash says, with an over-the-top sigh. ‘I love a bit of karaoke.’
‘Well, sure,’ Lissa agrees with a nod. ‘I suppose you’d have to, what with working on music videos and all.’
Darcy cocks her head. ‘You work on music videos?’ Hard to ignore the blatant interest in her tone.
‘Well sort of,’ Ash hedges. ‘Although I have to admit, it’s rare that me and the talent head to a karaoke bar when things wrap up.’
