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Mo leaned close to him. “You might have a career behind the bar. Looking good!”
He had bartended a bit when he was younger, and it all started coming back to him. With a laugh, he responded, “Trust me, your job is safe.” Still laughing, he handed off the next beer.
A few selfies and autographed napkins later, he glanced around the room, checking up on the staff. Jordan was by the hostess stand talking to a man. The man’s focus was heavily on her as he spoke, smiling at Jordan in a way that Noah knew signaled attraction. Watching the interaction left a sour taste in his mouth.
It didn’t look like the guy was simply adding his name to the wait list. The conversation lingered too long, and in any case, Jordan wasn’t even working the hostess stand, so the guy had no reason to be talking to her.
Mo called out commands, pulling his attention back to the bar. “Noah, we need two Vodka Martinis and an Old Fashioned over here. Chad, grab beers for the folks down at the end.”
Once the drinks were made and delivered, Noah scanned the room again for Jordan. The man was still talking to her, only this time she was smiling and laughing. His eyes narrowed.
The weirdest knot formed in his stomach at the sight of Jordan flirting with another guy. They weren’t exclusive, he knew that. After all, it had been his idea. No strings attached, he’d said. Just having fun. She was simply following the rules he had laid down.
So why didn’t he like it? Probably because he’d never seen this side of her before. If she saw other guys, that was one thing. But having to watch it unfold with his own eyes, well, that was a bit hard to take.
“Noah Rodgers?” A young woman called for his attention.
He replied, even though his focus was still on Jordan and the mystery man. “Hi, what can I get you?”
“That depends.” She pulled in her bottom lip with her top teeth, as she ran her eyes over him.
“Did you need a drink menu?” he asked flatly. He hadn’t missed all the signs of her coming on to him. Sure, she was attractive. But he wasn’t interested. And that was a first.
Instead, the heat simmered in his veins as he continued to focus on Jordan.
“Are you on the menu?” The young woman tried harder, as she sat there smiling seductively at him.
He noticed Jordan free finally, and walking in his direction. She grinned and rested her elbow on the bar. “How about this crowd? This is amazing, right? What a night!”
“Yeah.” He smiled back at Jordan, forgetting all about the puck bunny who was vying for his attention. “Think every night will be like this?”
She shrugged. “With you behind the bar, absolutely!”
“Oh, this? Nah. Just helping out.”
“Maybe you should guest bartend once in a while,” Mo teased. “Especially if it means the crowds will look like this!”
He’d never considered it before, but the idea had possibilities. He looked towards the puck bunny, but she looked like she was shooting daggers at Jordan for the interruption. With a huff, she took her drink and moved away. Oh, well.
Jordan entered behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of water. She sat down, attempting to catch her breath. “I was always busy at The Sin Bin, but this is a whole other level of busy. I’m exhausted!”
He caught her hand when she moved to wipe down the bar. “Tsk, tsk,” he scolded, “That’s my job.”
Jordan cocked her head, and with amusement asked, “Shouldn’t you be out there schmoozing with the patrons and hockey fans, taking selfies, and scribbling autographs? Maybe signing a breast or two?”
Of course she was teasing, but he didn’t like the insinuation. “So who was that guy you were talking to?”
“A reporter for a local blog.”
“Oh.” He let out a breath. So he was worried for nothing. He could think further on why he had reacted so oddly to that later.
“Yeah, he wanted a few quotes from me about Slap Shot. He’ll be doing a feature on us–the new restaurant run by the local professional hockey player.”
“That’s amazing.” So all that smiling and looking coy had just been buttering up the reporter? Cool.
“I know, right? Should get us even more business. Oh, and then he asked me out. Imagine that,” she said with a laugh.
“Huh.” There was that gnawing in his gut again.
