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He also took the card.
* * *
When seven arrives, I’m exhausted.
The rush of afterwork customers never seemed to end and when the night bartender arrived, I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.
Bartending isn’t for me. I get my things and linger in the ladies’ room, checking my reflection. Nicolo . . . the name sends tiny tumbleweeds of heat through me whenever I think of it. He might not be there. And it might not mean anything.
But after a life of men in suits and guns that I was meant to pretend not to see, along with a parade of the approved eligible bachelors, I’m happy to meet someone outside that world.
Sure, Nicolo’s in security, but that’s not crime. So . . .
I take a breath.
He might not be there.
The two women I’ve met, Mia and Scarlett, are lovely but they haven’t asked me to do anything outside work, and I’m aware there are work friendships and friendships and . . .
Maybe this could be more, with Nicolo. Maybe—
“Slow down, girl,” I say to my reflection before poking my tongue at it.
And then I hurry out of the bathroom and across the buzzing bar to step out into the warm Dallas night.
“Hey.”
That voice of smoke winds around me, and I turn.
Nicolo leans against the building, phone in hand like he’s been there for a while, and a slow smile that could melt ice caps on his face as he takes me in.
The entire world wobbles on its axis.
“Hey,” I say.
He straightens, and I’m struck again by his height. I’m tallish, I guess, but next to him I feel tiny, dainty.
“Damn.” There’s something like regret in his tiger eyes. Gold and green that could hypnotize. People laugh and chatter as they pass, but we might as well be alone for all the attention I can spare them.
It’s like I’ve never been in the company of a man before, and maybe I haven’t.
Not a man like this, anyway.
A man whose virility and strength are simply there, without him having to make a show of it.
“Damn what?” My hand flies to my face, even though I just checked it in the mirror.
He coils a strand of my hair around his fingers and shifts in close to me. “Damn that I got called into work.”
“Security has emergency jobs?”
He lets out a slow breath. “Let’s just say I’m not putting on a khaki uniform and badge.” Nicolo laughs. “Can we take a rain check? Tomorrow?”
“Well, I . . .” Looking up at the lights and night sky, I pretend to think. “I’ve got a busy schedule, but I think I can pencil you in.”
“Let me walk you to your car and we can discuss the details.”
“Oh, I live near here.”
