Pete let out a low whistle. “Still in my prime,” he muttered, groaning as he struggled out of his chair and walked away like he couldn’t stand it anymore.
I set my soda down very carefully as Liam wrung his shirt out, then tossed it onto the counter. He bent back under the bar, bare back exposed, muscles rippling with each movement.
This was not fair.
I leaned forward slightly on the stool, resting my chin in my hand, fully committed to my role as spectator and enjoying the view.
Liam tightened the last connection and turned the valve again, slower this time. The pipes groaned, then settled. The faucet sputtered briefly before running clean and steady. He emerged from beneath the counter, damp and composed, and wiped his face with the towel again.
“You’re welcome,” he said to no one in particular.
I raised my glass in salute. “Five stars. Would watch again.”
He finally looked at me then, a sly smirk on his lips.
I stopped joking and took another sip. For hydration purposes only, of course.
He checked the water again, and when it kept running clean from the tap, he exhaled.
That was when I noticed the three women at the table by the window. They each had a glass of red wine and a paperbackwith a shirtless man on the cover doing something anatomically optimistic.
All three of them were looking directly at Liam. They weren’t even pretending not to stare. One of them murmured something to the others.
The one in the middle stood and approached the bar as the other two watched with open interest.
She stopped in front of Liam and looked him over slowly.
“Well,” she said.
The word contained history.
Liam straightened instinctively. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Ifthisis part of the hospitality package,” she said, gesturing at his body, “I need an upgrade.”
Pete made a noise behind reception that sounded like a suppressed emergency.
From the table, one of the others added, “We literally just finished chapter twenty-three. This is not our fault.”
“That’s not the best defense,” the third said.
“It absolutely is,” she replied.
I didn’t move.
“I handle maintenance and property oversight,” Liam said evenly. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“He fixes plumbing,” I said flatly, which obviously didn’t remotely describe his job here or help the situation, but my brain had melted.
The woman didn’t even glance at me.
“Oh, I’m sure he does,” she said, eyes traveling down his torso again. “Everything looks very… well-maintained.”
Pete made another noise, and this time it sounded like he’d swallowed a kazoo.
Liam stood very still.
The woman leaned forward, her tone lowering just enough to suggest she had no intention of being subtle.
