He drifted in closer. “If I’d known someone as pretty as you was here, I would have been here every damn night.”
“Barking up the wrong tree.” I turned away from the middle-aged beer gut, hoping he could take a hint, but alas, he couldn’t.
“Woof, woof. Come on, sweetheart. You’re here alone, I’m here alone—why don’t we just be alone here together and see where the night takes us?” he slurred as his hand landed on my shoulder with a thud.
“Honey, I am so sorry I’m late.” A familiar husky voice slid into my ear, and as I locked eyes with Ashlyn, her jaw dropped to the floor.
Not wanting to sabotage my rescue, I turned to Logan with a forced smile. “Totally fine, dear. I’m just glad you were able to make it.”
The drunken buffoon scurried away, leaving the stool open for Logan to gladly take.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I exclaimed as he lifted his hands in the air.
“Don’t be mad, but I couldn’t wait another week to see if you’d call. Roger told me you come here a lot and I drove over. I have a place not too far from here, and I wasn’t doing anything so I decided to head down.”
Steam was pouring out of my ears, and just as I was about to lay into Logan about how stalkerish this was, the happy face of the most adorable dog in the world landed in my lap.
“Be cool, Mazy. We’re trying to impress this lady,” Logan cooed to his pup as he got her to sit in between his legs.
“Your owner is insane, you know that, right?” I questioned in a sugar-sweet tone while petting Mazy.
“Look, I know this was completely uncalled for and seems really desperate, but fuck it all to hell. I don’t care how insane it looks. You didn’t give me your number and you didn’t call, so here I am. Tell me to fuck off if you want to, but I just had to try.” With his jaw churning, he took a long swig of my beer.
“First of all, never do that again,” I scolded, pointing to my glass. “Second, as much as I want to tell you to take your insane ass home, the grand gesture is creepily romantic.”
“Really?” The spark that lit in his ocean eyes softened me even more.
“You could have just asked my brother-in-law for my number,” I pointed out before turning to Ashlyn to order Logan his own beer.
“That was the first thing I did, then I got your address, and then he spilled the beans about this place. I figured showing up at your home was way over the top and calling would seem too desperate. Whenever you read one of the great romance stories, the guy always surprises his love interest in some cockamamy way, so here I am, making a complete fool out of myself, all in the name of just trying to see you again.”
“You are downright certifiable. You’ve completely gone off your rocker,” I badgered as Ashlyn stood in front of us with a full pint glass in her shaking hand.
Logan cocked his head to the side, smiling sweetly at the bartender. “Is that for me?” He reached out, taking the beer from her trembling fingers. “I’m Logan. Nice place you have here.”
Ashlyn smiled adorably, quickly waved, and then retreated to continue working.
“She seems nice,” he remarked before setting his glass down.
“Don’t change the subject, Turner.” I pointed a harsh finger at him with a giggle.
“At least I can make you smile.”
“So, what do we do now? You’re here, I’m here—are you supposed to escort me back to your place and have your way with me now?”
He shrugged. “I figured we could have dinner first, but if you insist on forgoing the pleasantries, I can ask that bartender who keeps staring at me to guard the bathroom while I fuck you against the wall. I mean, why not ruin my creepy romantic grand gesture by screwing each other’s brains out in a smelly stall?”
“What would we do with Mazy, genius? We can’t bring her in there with us. That would just be impractical. Dogs can’t go in the human restroom.” I continued to pet the sweet dog as she panted away, completely oblivious to the scene we were certainly causing in the middle of the packed patio.
“Good point. What’s the bartender’s name?” he asked with a crooked leer on his plump, kissable lips.
“Ashlyn. Why?”
“Ashlyn,” he called over.
Within seconds, she rushed over to us. “Can a-I ga-get you anything else, Logan?” she stammered as her eyelashes batted a mile a minute.
“Would you mind watching Mazy while we duck inside really quick?”
