AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Hey." He ducked behind the bar and pulled her in for kiss.
Her lips parted eagerly under his, but a few seconds later her hands were against his chest, pushing him away. "Someone could come in and see us," she said, her eyes darting around as though she expected someone to pop out from under a table.
He felt a surge of irritation at her continued secrecy, like what they had was some dirty little secret she needed to hide. He bit back the urge to tell her he didn't give a damn who knew about them, and reminded himself that, as Liam had driven home last night, she had been hurt. Badly. So of course she was going to be skittish about going public with anything to do with a new man.
While she loaded dirty glasses onto a tray, and told him about a patient who had come into the ER that day with a nail through his palm, he grabbed a rag and wiped down the bar. Once she had the tray loaded he took it into the kitchen and loaded the glasses in the dishwasher.
When he returned she was bent over behind the bar, putting the unused garnishes in the mini fridge to save for the next day.
He took a minute to admire the view—the round curve of her ass outlined by tight denim. He thought about the other night, when she'd been kneeling on the bed, moaning into a pillow as he drove into her from behind. His already half-hard dick rose to full attention at the memory, his blood thrumming in his veins as he contemplated the memories he was going to make tonight.
"So, you and Liam looked like you were all serious last night. What were you guys talking about?" she asked as she straightened.
Her question and the memory of the conversation were enough to dull the edge of his lust. "Guy stuff."
She cocked an eyebrow and gave him a look that said she wasn't in the market for his brand of bullshit.
"Fine, if it's none of my business, it's none of my business," she said flippantly.
If she was willing to let it go, he should let her, he told himself. If he told her about the conversation, it would not only be uncomfortable, but potentially embarrassing for him.
Then again, wouldn't it be better to just get it out in the open? If he'd learned one thing in life, it was that nothing got solved pussyfooting around uncomfortable subjects, hoping things would change on their own.
"Pour me a vodka soda and I'll tell you."
Both eyebrows shot up now and she looked alarmed. "Must be pretty rough if you're going for the hard stuff."
He shrugged and slid onto a barstool as she mixed two vodka sodas with lots of lime. She set the drinks on the bar and came around to sit on the stool next to him. "What's going on? You've got me kind of nervous. Is something going on with Liam that he didn't want to tell me about?"
He reached over and put his hand on her denim clad thigh, absently rubbing up and down as he took a sip of his drink. "Nothing like that. Actually the conversation was about you and me."
She erupted in a coughing fit as the sip she'd just taken went down the wrong pipe. He patted her back for several seconds as she struggled to get herself under control. When she could finally breathe normally again, he handed her several cocktail napkins so she could dab her eyes.
"Wait," she said, still a little breathless, "Liam knows about you and me? You told him?
He frowned at her accusatory look. "No, I didn't tell him. He said he suspected something was up, and when he asked me a direct question about it, I wasn't going to lie to him."
She closed her eyes and took a long pull on her cocktail. "How could he suspect? I haven't told anyone except my friend, Sarah, and it's not like she would tell Liam. Well, and I guess Molly knows but I just confirmed with her last night and she promised not to say anything to anyone."
His fingers tightened against her thigh. "I think he figured it out on his own, something about the way we kept looking at each other. Guess we aren't as good at playing it cool around each other as we thought."
"Last night Molly said I was looking at you like I wanted to take you in the back and cover you with chocolate sauce so I could lick it off," she said as her lips curved into a half smile.
"We've got half a dozen bottles of Hershey's next to the ice cream freezer." He made as if to get up off of his stool.
"So is he mad at you for taking advantage of his little sister? Is that why you both looked so grim?"
He shook his head. "Not mad. Worried."
She rolled her eyes. "Liam always took his big brother role seriously, even when I don't need protecting."
"Actually," he said and paused to take another drink. "It's not so much you he's worried about. It's me."
Her dark brows pulled together over the slim bridge of her nose. "Why would he be worried about you?"
Her hand was resting on the bar and he reached out and covered it with his own. "He thinks you're going to break my heart."
She let out a shaky laugh. "Why?"
