“Thanks for that awesome visual, asshole,” Jake replied, shaking his head at Ryan’s description. Okay, so it had been a while, but not that long, had it? “Don’t you remember that I have meetings scheduled early tomorrow with Pi Town Brewing and Frog River? It probably wouldn’t be good to be hung over when I try to convince the two most popular local breweries to put their beer on tap at our pub.”
Ryan just laughed. “Why not man, I bet they’d understand. Especially if we get wasted with their stuff, Frog River Pilsner is fucking awesome, and it would make your arm stop hurting you big baby.”
Jake just shook his head at his friend’s different perspective. Ryan was a living breathing playboy, who always treated women well, but cycled through them like a pair of socks. New every day.
“Sorry Ry, not tonight. I need some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon to finalize the details for the opening this weekend.”
Jake disconnected from Ryan as he pulled into his two-car garage, one side of which was empty except for a mountain bike and a tool bench. He wondered what it would feel like to come home and see toys in the front yard, a minivan parked in the other side of the garage and a family waiting inside. Now that the pub was ready to open, Jake knew he would be spending most of his time making sure everything ran well and hopefully turn a profit. Perhaps he could start thinking about his personal life in a few years when things slowed down. Maybe then he could make good on his promise to Pop to not forget his other dream of having a family of his own.
Chapter 3
Callie smoothed her hands over the royal blue blouse she had chosen for her date tonight, checked her makeup in her car mirror, and tried to get excited about another first date.
She had caved to Reagan’s insistence that she sign up for an internet dating site and had gone on quite a few first dates over the past few weeks, none of which went well enough to warrant a second date. Callie was disheartened by how many men felt the need to lie on their profiles. What did they expect would happen when ‘tall and muscular’ turned out to be short and round? Appearances may not be everything, but honesty? That was a must have.
Callie still wasn’t sure she fully believed that meeting someone from the internet was the right path to romance. Some of the men had been very nice, but she had yet to feel any sort of spark. Aside from her hot patient last month, she hadn’t felt a sexual attraction to a man since medical school, when she’d hooked up with a classmate a few times before he moved across the country to complete his residency in Boston. They hadn’t spoken since he had left, which was proof that the relationship was far from meaningful. What did it say about her that the only man to get her excited was a patient she’d had to treat? Reagan was right, it had been way too long.
As she walked in the front door of the Lucky Strike, Callie glanced around the crowded pub, looking for the man she was supposed to be meeting here tonight.
Tonight’s date, Rod, was meant to be over six feet tall with blond hair if his profile description was anything to go by. The photo had been quite grainy, but Callie thought he seemed to have a decent smile. He had suggested they meet at the Lucky Strike Pub. Personally, she wasn’t overly optimistic about someone who wanted to have their first date at a bar, but she had to admit she was curious to check out the place. It had opened several weeks ago and had received nothing but positive reviews on social media. People raved about the extensive craft beer selection and the food was apparently delicious. Still, a crowded pub didn’t seem like the most appropriate place to try and form an authentic connection with someone.
Callie couldn’t see anyone who looked like Rod’s picture, so she slid onto a stool at the bar to wait for him. She was on time, and as the minutes ticked by it appeared Rod was not concerned with punctuality, not even for a first date. That did not bode well for the rest of the evening. As she checked her phone to see if Rod had sent her a message, a familiar low voice made her glance up.
“Hey Doc, what can I get you to drink?”
Callie gasped in surprise, “It’s you!”
Callie was shocked to see the sexy man from her fantasies standing in front of her. He was leaning casually against the bar, wearing a black t-shirt that was so sinfully tight it should be illegal. The tattoos she had noticed when he was shirtless on a stretcher in the ER were peeking out from the bottom of his sleeves. His messy hair and chocolate eyes were such a turn on, she surreptitiously checked her chin for drool.
“Yeah, it’s me.” He stuck his large hand out towards her. “Jake Evans, bar owner, former patient of the most gorgeous doctor I’ve ever seen.”
Her heart sped up at the compliment, as she took his strong hand in hers.
“Callie Scott, Doctor, but not tonight.”
“Don’t forget about gorgeous. So, how about that drink Doctor Callie Scott?”
“Just Callie, please, I’m not your doctor anymore.” Callie smiled, then paused as she remembered why she’d come into the bar in the first place. Blushing, she continued, “I had better wait for a drink. I’m, ah, meeting someone here.”
Callie looked down at her hands, uncertain why she felt uncomfortable about telling him she was here for a date. When she glanced back up, she noticed a small frown on Jake’s face, as if he was disappointed by the news as well. But when he saw her looking, he flashed her a flirtatious grin.
“Well, he’s a lucky guy. Let me know if you need anything.”
As he strode down to the other end of the bar without a glance back, Callie stared after him. The irony was not lost on her, that she had finally decided to start dating, only to end up seeing the one man who had captivated her thoughts for weeks. The one man she never believed she would see again.
Shaking her head, she tried to focus her attention back on the date she was meeting tonight.
But ten minutes later, she was starting to suspect Rod wasn’t going to show up.
Callie was furious to have been stood up and mortified to have it happen in front of Jake. Standing up, she turned to get her jacket off the stool next to her in hopes of sneaking out before Jake noticed. The couple standing beside her walked away at the same time, allowing Callie to see down the length of the wooden bar. Shocked, she noticed a man at the other end of the bar who looked suspiciously like Rod’s blurry picture. Unfortunately, he was chatting up someone else, someone who certainly was not Callie. The other woman wore a short, tight red dress and teetered on her high heels as she clutched Rod’s arm, laughing at something he had said. The man who Callie was quite certain was meant to be her date appeared in no rush to find Callie. Just to be sure it was him, she sent a quick text, looking closely to see his reaction.
Callie: Hey, are you on your way? I’ve been waiting at the bar for you.
She sat down and watched as Rod checked his phone and winced. He looked up and scanned the room, before making eye contact with Callie. The jerk leaned down to whisper something in his companion’s ear, before walking over to her.
“Ah, hey Callie, good to meet you. I’m sorry, I um didn’t notice you there. Ah, that woman is just an old friend…” Rod’s eyes darted everywhere, refusing to connect with Callie’s sharp gaze.
Rolling her eyes, Callie didn’t bother to keep the snarky tone out of her voice when she replied, “Yeah, you sure looked comfortable with your old friend. Tell you what, Rod, why don’t you go back over there and have a date with her since you obviously don’t care at all about meeting me. Your loss.”
