AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 5
Babe is not an answer to a question. Just saying. ~ Phoebe’s rules for becoming a better person
Iget into my car and drive to McGraw’s Pub. I don’t want to subject the man to the uncles, but I don’t know any other bars. I should have thought of my dismal knowledge of the area before asking if I could buy him a drink. In my defense, I’ve never asked if I could buy a guy a drink before. I’m in unchartered territory here.
I park the SUV and Ryker parks his massive truck next to me. When I open my door, he’s already there holding out his hand. I look at his hand for a second before I take it. Sparks fly up my arm and through my body. I can practically see a sign flashing ‘Danger’. I yank on my hand, but he refuses to let me go. I look up to discover he’s smirking. Oh great, he knows the effect he has on my body.
What am I thinking? He doesn’t have an effect on my body. It’s the effects of an adrenaline dump is all. Never mind the effects of an adrenaline dump are usually fatigue and feeling drained and not sparks flying all over your body.
We walk toward the entry to McGraw’s with our hands entwined. The more I try to pull away, the more Ryker holds on. His body is shaking.
I glare at him. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Yeah, babe. You’re hilarious.”
My eyes narrow. “Don’t call me babe.” It’s such a throwaway term of endearment. I am done with those. Done and dusted.
He releases my hand to place his in the small of my back and guide me into the bar. And darn it, I like the feel of his big, strong hand on my body even more than holding his hand. What is wrong with me? I never have these kinds of reactions to men. There’s a reason my nickname is Ice Queen after all. Hold on. My nickname was the Ice Queen. The Ice Queen is in my past and she better stay put there.
I look around the bar and nearly sigh in relief when I notice the uncles aren’t around. Maybe they don’t live here after all. We take a booth in the corner and the waitress approaches immediately.
“She’ll have a vodka martini with Stolichnaya,” Ryker orders on my behalf.
My brow wrinkles. “What are you doing? Stalking me? How do you know my favorite drink?”
“Babe,” is his only reply. As if saying one word is a reply.
I open my mouth to berate him. It’s bad enough babe is a throwaway term of endearment, but I will not tolerate a man not paying attention to my wishes. Not anymore. The Phoebe who let men run all over her is no more.
“Princess, give it a rest.”
“Princess? I’m no princess.” And I’m certainly not his princess.
Lucky for him, Pops arrives with our drinks. He sets my martini down in front of me but keeps his eyes glued to Ryker. “You okay, Phoebe?”
I know I should be annoyed Hailey’s dad is acting like an overprotective bully, but my stomach warms instead. No one – absolutely no one – has been protective of me before, let alone overprotective.
“Yeah, Pops. This is Ryker. He saved me today.”
“Saved you?” Lenny asks. “Saved you from what?”
I jump in my seat. Holy shit. Where did he come from? Does he have magical powers? I peer around him and notice he’s joined by Barney, Wally, and Sid. Are they all graduates of Hogwarts?
“Did you guys apparate in here or travel by the Floo Network or something?” I ask as I look around for a fireplace and residue of Floo powder. So, sue me, I’m a huge Harry Potter fan. When your sole means of escape is in your head, you tend to read a lot and fantasy books are the best sort of escape.
“First people talk about an alien abduction day and now traveling by Floo network. I think I’m missing out.” Barney scratches his head.
Sid smacks him. “She’s talking about a book.”
Pops, Lenny, Barney, and Wally gaze at him with their eyebrows raised. He shrugs. “I have kids. It’s impossible not to know about Harry Potter if you have kids.”
Lenny returns his attention to me. “Don’t make me ask you a second time, Doll.”
Geez. Maybe I was wrong about this overprotective thing making my stomach warm. “It was no big deal. A rottweiler was chasing me. Big guy here threw me over the fence.”
Lenny growls. “You threw her over a fence?”
While I cower from Lenny’s growl, Ryker is completely unaffected. He grunts. “It was the quickest way to get her out of danger.” He notices me cowering in the corner and reaches out to squeeze my hand. “You’re scaring her. Cut it out.”
