“So what do you plan to do with yourself for the next two weeks?” she asked, wiping down the bar in front of him. Soon it would be last call, and he would have to give up the beer he had been nursing for the last couple of hours.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I guess Astrid will have something planned for part of it. I need to visit my dad and see Ronan’s new place. After that, I guess I’ll just hang around here.” He rotated the pint glass slowly in his hands until she reached over, taking it from him.
“How about one more before closing?”
“How about a water instead? After catching the redeye and drinking all evening, I would hate to wake up with a hangover tomorrow.”
“Good choice.” Adding ice to a glass, she used the bar gun to fill it with water. Setting it in front of him, she called out for last call.
He couldn’t believe he had sat here all night. What was he talking about? Yes, he could. Soon he would have to decide what to do about the sexy bartender, though. His body was screaming for him to just take her, bend her over the nearest table, and pound into her.
His head, the more trustworthy part of him, was telling him that that plan would be a really bad idea. His brain said he should just say goodnight, go upstairs and fall asleep in the guest room, alone. His body wanted his head to shut the fuck up.
Maybe it wouldn’t be up to him. She might have had absolutely no interest in him at all. It wouldn’t be the first time he had interpreted signals incorrectly.
Why couldn’t he come up with where he had seen her before? That bothered him more than the rest of it. Did they go to school together? Worse, did they go out once? No, he would have remembered that.
He quickly looked down at his water when she spun around at the end of the bar, catching him staring at her.
“Would you be interested in helping me close up, soldier?”
“Of course.” Finishing his water, Liam stood.
Taking the tub of dirty glasses, he headed to the kitchen to load them in the dishwasher. When he returned to the front, she had chased the last customer out, locked the door, and started wiping down the tables.
Within half an hour, they had done everything necessary for the cleaning crew in the morning. The addition of the crew that did the heavy scrubbing had been a godsend when Liam had been a senior in high school. Before then, the three brothers had handled it themselves with Astrid pitching in most nights.
“All I have left is the till,” she said, pulling the cash drawers out of the registers. He followed her into the back office, taking his old place behind the desk as she spread out the cash.
They counted it three times, just to be sure before she moved to the safe. He watched her try several times to get it to open before letting out a guttural growl. “I don’t know why I’m so bad at opening this stupid thing.”
“Maybe because it’s older than the building.” Walking over, he reached around her. “I assume it still has the same combination?” He was twirling the old dial when he realized he was standing flush against her. Even after hours of working behind the bar, he could still pick up the faint scent of honeysuckle in her hair.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, taking a step back when he heard the click of the safe open. “It’s cranky sometimes. Just like the owner.” By the time she had placed the cash inside and closed the safe, he had managed to back toward the door.
“Can I ask you something, Liam?” she said, turning around slowly.
His heart hammering in his chest at the sight of her dark eyes left him only capable of a nod. To think he was going to listen to his brain this time. He could feel his body rolling its eyes.
She walked toward him until she had him backed against the office door, standing toe to toe. He calculated in his math-heavy brain that he had to stand almost a foot taller. It was like staring down at a sexy, sultry fairy.
“Okay,” he managed to finally croak out.
Why did his voice sound like he had been screaming at a Metallica concert? He commanded men with more authority than this. Maybe Ronan had been the twin with all the game. Fuck, that made life unfair.
He really was the bare-knuckle boxer Astrid had teased him about the first time he met her. Astrid. Where the fuck was she now that he needed her? She would know what to do. This was like being in fucking junior high all over again.
“Liam?” she snapped him out of what was promising to heat up to a full-blown panic attack.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay? You look like you’re about to freak out.” She smiled and carefully placed her hands on his chest. He had become the equivalent of a skittish colt.
“Sorry, I might be a little. What was the question you wanted to ask me?” Her smile turned shy, and he was positive he could see a pink blush forming across her cheekbones. “Now you have to ask me.”
He reached out, tucking a piece of her glorious riot of hair that had escaped behind her ear. What he wanted to do was tug the hair tie out so he could watch it cascade around her shoulders.
“Would you think I’m too forward,” she whispered, looking up at him through long eyelashes, “if I said I wanted you to kiss me.” She had barely gotten the words out before his mouth crashed down on hers. Fuck his brain, his body wanted something more.
