“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, thanks,” I say while turning around. I almost have to do a double take at how freakin’ attractive this guy is. His muscular body is decked in a very expensive-looking suit, the top buttons of his shirt left undone to allow a tattoo to peek out from underneath. He has a piercing in his left ear, a short beard that stretches across his cheeks, and a razor-sharp jaw that could cut a diamond in two. There’s a dangerous air to him. Like he could snap your neck with the flick of his finger. And it’s not only because of his artfully styled raven locks.
“No need to thank me. I think you had it covered with how you sent that dipshit almost to his grave. You’ve got a mean righthook,” he chuckles out, his pearly white teeth glinting in the light cast by the street lamppost.
“I’m honestly surprised by my own strength,” I reply, laughing.
He bends slightly and opens the door. “After you,” he says, gesturing for me to enter.
As soon as I step over the threshold, the smell of tap beer mixed with cloying cologne and fried food overpowers my senses. The low music playing in the speakers is drowned out by the murmur of people talking all at once, laughing, and by the sound of ice clinking and beers being gulped.
“What’s your name,bella?” the stranger asks with a perfect Italian accent after he closes the door at our back.
I turn to look at him, his piercing blue-green eyes captivating mine. “Ava.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Ava.” He winks and saunters toward the back of the dive bar, leaving me staring at his fine ass. As soon as he’s gone, I realize I was so mesmerized by his eyes that I forgot to ask him his name.
Blinking a few times, I take in my surroundings. The dimly lit interior is far more spacious than the outside let on, with a long bar at my right made out of dark wood and numerous high-top tables, almost all occupied. Two pool tables are on my left in a separate space, crowded by people playing and standing near them, drinking beer. There are some private booths as well toward the back, where the hottie disappeared.
Making a beeline for the bar, I sit on one of the empty brown leather stools, hanging my purse on the wooden backrest. The wall at the back of the bar is entirely made out of shelves stacked with alcohol bottles. A rack with upside-down stem glasses hangs above the bartender’s head.
She has to be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, her delicate features framed by angular cheekbones and a defined jawline—the kind of bone structure you would kill for.She is mixing a cocktail vigorously, the outline of a tattoo on her muscular right bicep peeking from under the short sleeve of her T-shirt. Damn, she is ripped.
I am munching on a pretzel when the bartender finally makes her way to my side of the bar. “Hey, sorry about the long wait. Do you already know what you want to drink?” she asks, smiling warmly and placing a coaster in front of me.
I smile back. “No worries, it looks like it’s a pretty busy night.” My eyes skim over the drinks menu I am holding. There aren’t many alcohol-free options. “How’s the Zombie mocktail? I can’t drink alcohol,” I say, lifting my head and looking into her honey eyes.
Those eyes, they’re so mesmerizing. Why do I have a feeling I have seen them before?
“It’s a blend of citrus and tropical flavors. It’s okay, but not my favorite. I can make you the Emily Special mocktail if you want. It’s not on the menu, but it’s delicious. It’s my favorite.”
I shrug. “Yeah, sure. I trust you.”
“Do you want to start a tab?” she asks.
“No, I’ll just pay by round.”
“’Kay.” She dumps some ice in the cocktail shaker. “So, are you visiting Ashville?” She starts pouring from different bottles over the ice, her gaze flitting to me.
“No, actually, I just moved here a week and a half ago, and I’m looking for a job. I saw the sign in the window and thought it’s a good idea to come by and ask about it.”
“Em, can you please pour twelve tequila shots for table seven?” A willowy guy with dark umber skin places a tray on top of the bar next to me and sighs. “The crowd’s rowdy tonight,” he mumbles, pats his sweaty forehead with a napkin, then runs a hand over his short buzz cut.
“Tony, is Marnie still here? We have someone asking for the server job.”
“Yeah, she went into her office ten minutes ago,” he shoots back and turns to look at me. “Oh hey, buttercup. I saw you through the window punching that douche outside. I could hug you right now. Those frat boys were a nightmare to serve, and they didn’t even leave a tip. Don’t let her pay for her drink, Em. It’s on me.” He winks at me and picks up the tray of tequila shots, keeping it high above his head while weaving his way through the packed bar.
“Marnie’s our boss. You can find her office at the end of the bathroom hallway. Just take a right at the back exit sign, and then her office will be the first door on your left,” the bartender says before placing a rounded cocktail glass filled with an amber concoction in front of me.
I take a sip; the flavor explodes on my tongue. A moan escapes my lips at how good it is. “Oh my God, this is incredible. I can’t believe it doesn’t have any alcohol. What did you put in it?”
“It’s an amaretto sour mocktail with a secret blend. I knew you’d love it.” Her full lips curve in a knowing smile, and then she moves to the other patrons waiting to be served.
I down what is left of the delicious mocktail. Despite what that server, Tony, said, I place the money for it along with a tip under the empty glass and get off the bar stool. I sling my purse back over my shoulder before making my way toward the toilet sign hanging above the corridor near the pool tables.
As I weave through the packed bar, a burly man that is clearly shit-faced tries to hoist himself up on the stool at one of the high-top tables, but his foot misses, and he ends up spilling his beer on the guy next to him while falling backward and barreling into my side, sending me sprawling forward.
I slam and squeeze my eyes shut to mentally prepare myself to collide with the floor, but instead, I land into a hard, hot body that smells incredible, earthy, and woodsy with a hint of pine. It reminds me of the forest.
