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“But what if my dad hears about it somehow?”
Kenzie rolled her eyes. “How would he?”
“I don’t know but what if … What if, what if he goes in the gym tomorrow and talks about being withAlyssalast night?”
Kenzie pursed her lips. “You’re just looking for excuses. If you seriously think that your dad might somehow overhear your name associated with this guy and you don’t want that then, give the guy a different name. Tell him that you’re … I don’t know … Susan or something.”
Alyssa nodded slowly. She didn’t even dare look at him again.
Kenzie smirked at her. “If that was your only but, you’re out of excuses. Come on, the drinks are on me, but you need to do this.” Her expression softened. “I’m not saying you have to go home with him; only you know what’s right for you. But damn, girl, if you turn down the chance to at least flirt and hang out with a guy who looks like that, you must be crazy.”
Alyssa risked sneaking another peek. Kenzie had a point; she’d never before been in a situation where she could choose to go and sit next to a good-looking guy at the bar and have someone like Kenzie as her wing woman.
She gave the slightest nod and tried to hide a smile as she followed her. She’d never even known someone like Kenzie before.
Just before they reached the bar, she poked Kenzie in the back. “Call me Lizzie.”
Kenzie just smirked at her again. “If you say so, Lizzie.”
It was stupid, and she knew it, but Alyssa just couldn’t get over the thought of her dad maybe somehow hearing about this. All she planned to do was talk to the guy anyway, but if there was any chance of him mentioning her name afterward, she’d rather he called her the name that only her mum used. She didn’t even think that her dad had heard it before.
“Are you ready for another bourbon, sugar?” Kenzie asked the guy, as she drew up a stool next to him and gestured for Alyssa to take it.
The guy looked surprised, but very happily so, when she sat down next to him. “Please, Kenzie. Can I get you a drink, too?” he asked Alyssa.
Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to answer. “Err … Yes, thanks.”
“Coming right up,” said Kenzie, obviously covering for Alyssa that she hadn’t managed to say what she’d like to drink.
“I’m glad we ran into each other again,” said the guy, and this time, when he smiled, butterflies took to flight in her stomach.
“Me too.”
Chapter Two
Bentley couldn’t believe his luck. Instead of having to go over to her table and introduce himself, the girl — wait, make that woman — had brought herself to him and was now sitting beside him. It had to be a sign. Actually, he didn’t believe that for one second, but he was going to take it as one anyway.
He held his hand out to shake with her before he even thought about it. Damn! He really had been out of the game too long. This wasn’t some business meeting. This chick wasn’t going to be expecting formal introductions.
He chuckled to cover his faux pas and made a joke out of it instead. “We should probably introduce ourselves properly this time. You know, so that we don’t run the chance of a missed connection a second time.” He wanted to cringe as he heard the words come out of his mouth. She’d probably make a break for it at the first chance she got. Either that or get her friend, the bartender, to rescue her.
But no, she didn’t seem put off by his awkward introduction. She smiled and shook hands with him. “That sounds good to me.”
Her voice seemed to flow over him, making him more eager to rescue the situation from its rocky start. As he opened his mouth to ask her name, it occurred to him that he probably shouldn’t give her his. It was probably an overabundance of caution, but his name had been in the news quite a bit recently, given that he’d taken over one of the largest winemakers and distributors in the country when his mom had unexpectedly stepped down.
He’d joked with Jacob not so long ago that he couldn’t go out and try to meet women in the way that he was doing right now,because his name was associated with the company name, and he didn’t want to do anything that his mom might think would reflect badly on the business. Jacob told him at the time to simply shorten his name, and there was no reason not to do that.
She looked down at her hand, which he still hadn’t let go of. He gave it a squeeze and smiled as he said, “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Lee.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie; Lee was the second half of his name. But still, the words stuck in his throat, and he was tempted to add Bentley. He really needed to get his shit together. He wanted to laugh at the thought of introducing himself as Lee, Bentley. She’d probably think that he was trying to sound like Bond, James Bond.
He wondered if she’d figured out that he hadn’t exactly given her his real name. She looked uncomfortable as she said, “It’s nice to meet you, Lee. I’m Lizzie.”
He was relieved when Kenzie came back and set the drinks on the bar in front of them. “Here you go, guys. If you need me, holler. But it’s getting busy, so I’ll leave you to it.”
Bentley didn’t miss the meaningful look she gave Lizzie as she added, “If you’re not into watching the band, you guys might want to go and find somewhere quieter; it’ll get crazy in here in a little while.”
He liked the sound of that. As he met Lizzie’s gaze, he wasn’t sure, but he was hoping that she’d turn out to be the kind of woman who would be open to going back to his room — or hers, he didn’t mind which — so that they could be somewhere quieter. His imagination was working overtime tonight, but he was kind of hoping that she might want to get loud, too.
