I hung up and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Giles and I had known each other for years. I was only nineteen when I’d first moved out to Colorado, and I’d decided to enter a few local snowboarding competitions. Giles was a pro at the time and had all these incredible sponsorships and awards. He was a bit of a loner, but he showed me the ropes. We hadn’t seen too much of each other after I decided competitions weren’t for me, but we’d stayed in touch and had met up to board a few times over the years.
It had taken me by surprise when he offered me this job. Even though it was already late in the season, I had still jumped at the opportunity to move out here for a bit. I needed a taste of something different. My life in Denver had gotten a little monotonous lately, and this was exactly what I needed.
The smell of a well-used deep fryer and stale beer hit mynostrils the moment I stepped into the bar. The space was dark and tight, but in true small-town fashion, managed to cram in everything.
I made my way over to the bar before resting my arms on the top and leaning forward to get the attention of the sole bartender.
The man with a graying beard nodded in my direction before heading over. “What are you having?” he asked.
“Hey, man. Can I get a burger and fries to go?”
“Kitchen is pretty backed up. That group just put in a big order.” He pointed to five older guys cluttered around a dartboard. “Might be closer to twenty minutes.”
“Not a problem,” I said with a smile. “I got nowhere to be.”
He nodded. “Coming right up. Anything to drink while you wait?”
“Sure, give me whatever’s on draft.”
I tapped my fingers against the bar and looked to my left. A girl was perched on a barstool a few down from where I stood. She was by herself. Just as I was about to look away, she looked up and made brief eye contact with me before ripping her gaze away.
Shit, she was pretty. A long mane of golden-brown waves framed her round face with pink, heart-shaped lips and almond eyes that I desperately wanted to get a closer look at.
Key Ridge was off to a promising start.
The bartender passed me my beer. I thanked him and handed over some cash before sliding down so that I was on the barstool next to my new dream girl. Shyness and I didn’t know each other, and making a beeline for the first cute girl I spotted in this town was exactly my style.
I took a long pull of my beer before setting it down. “This seat taken?” I asked, already occupying it.
Her whole body stiffened before she slowly turned in her seat. Her light-blue eyes widened when they met mine. “Nope.”
I grinned at her. “I couldn’t help but notice you staring a second ago.”
That simple statement caused her wide eyes to narrow. “I wasn’t staring.”
Her voice was velvet.
I pretended to frown in contemplation and drew my eyebrows together. “Really? I could have sworn we made eye contact.”
“I was looking around the bar. Briefly meeting someone’s gaze accidently doesnotcount as staring,” she argued. The briskness of her words screamed uptight—something I typically steered far away from. But the little lines that had formed between her brows were cute, and I had nothing else going on anyway.
“Really? Because it felt like an intentional look to me. And if it was accidental, why look away so guiltily?” I asked.
“I looked away when you looked up because I wasn’t trying to stare into the eyes of some random guy I don’t know.”
Something about her irritation sparked joy inside me. I leaned an arm against the bar, drawing myself closer to her. “For the record, looking away that quickly just makes it seem like you were caught.”
She continued to lock eyes with me before finally looking to the ceiling and letting out a drawn-out sigh. “Fine. Maybe I glanced over for a second.”
My grin widened. “Is that so?”
“Don’t let it go to your ego,” she said.
“I love to be stared at. And my ego is already unmanageable, so don’t let that stop you.”
Her scowl wavered as the corner of her lips turned upward. Just like that, I knew I had her on the hook. She might not want to admit it, but she liked me. Charming women was one of my few talents in life.
“Is that right?” she countered. Her irritated tone now sounded a hell of a lot more like flirting and I was living for it.
