ChapterOne
A man walksinto a bar and sees his buddy sitting next to a twelve-inch pianist. He says to his friend, “That’s amazing. Where did he come from?” The friend pulls out a lamp and tells the man that if he rubs it, he’ll be granted one wish. The man does and is amazed to see a genie materialize from the blue smoke.
“I will grant you one wish,” the genie says.
The man quickly answers, “I want a million bucks.”
Suddenly the bar is filled with ducks; on the bar, against the windows, pouring out of the door, everywhere.
The man looks at his buddy and asks, “What is this?”
His buddy answers, “I know. Did you really think I wanted a twelve-inch pianist?”
Liam stood looking into the bar from the back hallway. He couldn’t think about this place without remembering the joke shared with him when he was fifteen, standing on this very floor.
You would think his older brother, Parker, told him the slightly dirty joke, but nope. It was his sweet, loving sister-in-law the summer she started working here. If you had to accept a sister into your all-male group, you wanted one like Astrid, who could tell a good dirty joke.
He marveled at how much the bar had grown since he was that fifteen-year-old. His older brother, along with some help, had purchased the building next door. They had doubled the size of the dining area.
Parker had even let Astrid talk him into building a stage for live music on the weekends. Between deployments and his family visiting him on base when he did have time off, it seemed like years since Liam had been home.
“Hey, soldier,” the woman behind the bar said as he took one of the stools. “You weren’t supposed to be here until Monday.”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise at her familiarity, although he might have met her before. Growing up in a family-owned bar meant he met a lot of people over the years. One this pretty, however, you would think he would remember.
“I know, but I got an earlier flight. Figured I might as well jump on it.”
He watched as she grabbed a pint glass from under the bar. Filling it from one of the taps, she set it down in front of him. Taking a sip, his eyebrows got high enough to damn near disappear into his hairline, which was no easy trick since he had a military cut.
“Thanks?”How did she know his favorite?He had been drinking the local IPA since he was old enough to sneak it from the tap without his older brother noticing.
“So, how long’s it been since you’ve been home?” the bartender asked.
He took a moment to take her in. She had the most amazing hair he had ever seen, even though it was pulled into a tight ponytail. The sheer volume of it falling from the hair tie halfway down her back suggested a mane he could wrap around his fist with ease.Whoa, where had that thought come from?He wasn’t even drunk yet.
Her eyes were two deep pools surrounded by impossibly long eyelashes. She had skin that suggested Mediterranean ancestry with just a pouty enough mouth to make him lose his mind.
“It’s been a while.” He took another long swallow of his beer just so he could stare at her without being creepy. When she turned to wait on a customer farther down the bar, he couldn’t help but stretch, half-standing, to see what other assets she had. Yep, that tight little ass complimented the C-cups her T-shirt highlighted to perfection.
He mentally shook his head. What worse idea could he possibly have than to hook up with one of his brother’s bartenders? Parker would kill him for even considering it. But then Parker wasn’t here.
“Hungry, Lieutenant?” Liam was in the middle of swallowing another swig of his beer. He coughed, snorted, and wheezed beer for a minute until those warm eyes began to look at him with concern. She had no idea how hungry he was, but not for food. Still, she was completely off limits. Probably. Yeah, no, she was off limits.
“I could eat,” he answered when he finally regained control. “What’s the special? No, wait, let me guess. Fish?”
The bartender released a deep throaty laugh, the sound settling somewhere south of his belt.
“Parker still believes Lent lasts all year around. I can’t believe Astrid hasn’t talked him into changing that.”
“Sometimes you have to pick your battles. He’s a hard-headed man.”
“Seriously,” he agreed. “But all she has to do is smile at him, and he falls in line every time like a puppy.”
She let out one of her throaty laughs again, and he decided he could listen to that forever.
“I guess I’ll have the fish, but I want kettle fries with it.”
“Good choice. The kettle fries are orgasmic here. Do you want them loaded?”
