And she’s not alone.
Next to her is a guy about my height, with a mop of curly, light brown hair and thick, black-framed glasses. He’s standing close to her, too close.
Is she on a date?
The thought makes the tequila turn in my stomach. First of all, the last thing I want is to witness her on a date. But secondly—this is not the kind of place a man takes a woman like Elyse Ledger. What types of men has she been seeing that make her think this is appropriate for a date?
She hasn’t noticed me yet, because the bar is so dimly lit, I probably look more like a shadow than a person from where I’m seated. I take advantage of it and stare at her, letting my eyes roam over slowly. I’m so distracted, I barely give my thanks to Tony as he slides a basket of fries in front of me.
Absentmindedly I start in on the fries, continuing to admire her. She’s wearing a dress, black and form-fitting, a little more dressed up than she usually is. Her shoulder-length brown hair is flowing in soft waves, lips painted in her signature red lipstick. Ellie has always exuded an easy elegance, butwith an edge. There’s always something a little wild about her. And those eyes, they may as well be glowing, always piercing, and more so with the black-coal liner drawing attention to them.
After Ellie places an order, she moves closer to my side of the bar, finally noticing me.
Her face lights up in surprise. “Hey! What are you doing here?”
I wipe my greasy hands on a napkin as she walks toward me, still a little in shock that she’s greeting me so warmly. I like it. “Just grabbing a drink.” My gaze shifts to her date, who is still standing where Ellie left him, back by the entrance.
She catches the look and smiles. “That’s Ben—one of my interns.”
I blink several times. “Yourintern?”
It’s embarrassing how relieved that makes me feel.
Ben waves at us awkwardly and Ellie nudges her head for him to come join us.
“Hey. Uh, good to see you again, sir.”
He extends his hand out to shake mine, and surprisingly has a strong grip.Sir.Way to make me feel like a crusty, old grandpa.
My eyes widen. I don’t recall meeting him. “Have we met?”
He nods. “Yeah, I did some IT work at the station.”
Now that he mentions it, he does look vaguely familiar.
The door swings open again and in walk two college-aged girls, a tall red-head and a shorter, dishwater blonde.
“I’ll go grab a booth with the girls,” Ben announces, before going up to meet them.
Once he’s out of earshot, I turn my attention to Ellie. “What’s with the field trip?”
She laughs and it’s the kind of sound that makes my chest feel too full. Ellie’s laugh always does that—makes the worldfeel lighter, brighter even because she’s not the kind of person who freely gives it away. It has to be earned.
“I told them I’d treat them to dinner for,” she pauses, choosing her words, “for basically being a bitch.” She laughs again, making me want to lean into her to feel the vibration of it. “Theychosethis place. I offered an actual restaurant, but go-figure; the twenty somethings prefer a dive bar.”
“It is top-tier bar food.”
She huffs and looks over at them chatting in the booth. “Saves me money in the end, I guess.”
I take a sip of tequila, my eyes on the booth as well. “So, how old is the boy?”
Her eyes narrow at me with laughter on the edges. “You sound like my dad,” she snickers and then mocks me in a faux man-voice, ‘How old is the boy?’”
Jesus, she’s right.
“Oh my God,” she blurts, giggling. “Did you think Ben was mydate?”
My ears heat, but I shrug, trying to play it off. “I didn’t think that.”
