“If you’re talking about me,” a female voice says over my shoulder, causing me to start. “I have plenty of fun.”
My head whips around at the familiarity in cadence. Pleasant, melodic, and warm. Gaze landing on the woman I’d texted hours ago, I do a double—possibly triple—take to make sure she’s actually standing there.
For a second that feels like an eternity, the world shifts out from under me at the thought of Bryn here with another guy. ThatI’m too late in taking her out.
Then my brain catches up with my eyes, and I take in the beers she’s setting down in front of Brody and Liam, and the cocktail for Jordan. The pouch sitting against her jean-skirt-clad hip. Paper and pens stuffed inside of it along with a billfold. The black t-shirt that dips low enough for her cleavage to peek out flirtatiously along a seam of lace.
She takes my breath away, and I’m on my feet a second later, pulling my hat off my head.
“You’re here,” I say, and damn if it doesn’t sound as stupid out loud as it does in my head after the fact. If that wasn’t bad enough, I add on, “What are you doing here?”
“My plans,” Bryn laughs, jutting her hip out and holding her serving tray up for me to take in. Like I couldn’t already see it. I don’t miss the way her eyes glance up at the hair on my head. Probably glued to my head thanks to the hat.
Looking behind me, I scan the entire bar, then around at all the tables. At the same time, I run a hand through my light brown curls, trying to fluff some life into them inconspicuously. Some part of my brain that’s working recognizes how dumbfounded I probably look, but the portion that seems to be in control right now turns back to her.
“You work here.”
“I do.”
Bryn clamps her mouth shut to keep from laughing, but it doesn’t stop giggles and howls coming from everyone else around me. From my position, I look down at all of them. Brody looks bored, but the rest of them are consumed by one level of laughing or another.
“You fuckers knew,” I accuse, waving a finger around the entire table.
“We did, but we had no idea the look on your face would be so priceless,” Liam says, his eyes cast down at his phone while Jordan leans over to see what he’s doing. “And I caught it all on video.”
Whatever I did must be really good because the two of them start laughing all over again. Ignoring them as the phone gets passed around, I turn my attention back to Bryn.
“I didn’t know I’d see you tonight,” I start.
At the same time, she says, “You made a post about me.”
We both break into grins, but her eyes fall away from mine, looking down to her feet as she presses a wrinkle out of her t-shirt. When she looks back up and her long lashes frame her hazel eyes, it threatens to take me to my knees.
“I hope you don’t mind,” I respond after a moment of silence between us, holding my hat against my chest. “Really wanted to see you again.”
“Why?”
“My boots needed a few more footprints,” I deadpan.
To my satisfaction, Bryn throws her head back and laughs with what I can only describe as pure joy. The same sound that I heard on the dance floor when I was spinning her around, and she was stepping on my toes, creating the first footprints.
“Goodbye three dates,” I hear someone at the table mumble.
“They’re gonna fuck. So hard.”
“Shut up, it’s adorable.”
Bryn’s cheeks grow rosier by the second, but she takes it in stride, her face aglow with brightness that makes me want to puff out my chest. She ignores the comments the same way I do, but she does glance over my shoulder.
“What do you want to drink?”
Back to business. Work. Reality.
“Bring me your favorite on tap.”
The answer seems to please her, and she nods, fighting back her smile before she looks at everyone else. “You guys ready to order dinner?”
“Bryn, don’t worry about dinner. I’ll put the order in when we’re ready,” Nate says from the head of the table.
