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Belinda snapped a bar towel at Ethan, who caught it with one hand and grinned.
“I’m just welcoming the newcomer, Belinda. Settle down.”
He turned that smile on her again. Tucking a thread of hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat and reminded herself to stay focused. Concentrate on something other than his face!
“You’re American,” Kimber blurted.
He nodded.
She melted a little inside.
For God’s sake, this wasn’t the first time she’d seen a beautifully chiseled face and a thick, muscular body… but it was the first time she’d seen it likethis. Something about him was very different. He was gorgeous. Oh, yes. Gorgeous and oh, so golden. Like a God from a fantasy realm.
A drink appeared in front of her, sloshing over the rim of the glass and splattering onto the back of her hand. Belinda quickly wiped up the spill. “Drink this. It’ll help pull you out of his orbit.”
Ethan slid the drink away. “Don’t drink that. I like you in my orbit.”
He offered a hand. She took it. Their palms connected, and warmth rolled over her limbs like an unfurling storm.
“Ethan Sands.”
“Kimber McLeedy. Where are you from, Ethan?”
“Washington, D.C.”
Belinda snorted, but her voice was affectionate. “It’s high time you go home and take your friend with you. Everything’s gone to hell since you showed up here.”
Ethan slid the drink back to Kimber and picked up his own for a sip. “She blames me for the Dingle lights, and, of course, the tourists that followed.”
“Ruining my town and my bar.”
Picking up her beer, Kimber tried not to be interested in alien talk as she took a sip… but it was hard. “Ruined, how?”
His hotness was probably ruining thewomenof this town.
Belinda spun to a rack of tee shirts beside the bar and grabbed one. It had a graphic of a little green alien and the words, ‘Humans Aren’t Real’ across the bottom.
“Or maybe you prefer this one. ‘Dingle. The NEW Area 51’. Or this one, ‘I got probed in Dingle’. You know, this used to be a respectable establishment.”
Kimber snickered as she recalled Jim saying that Dingle reminded him of the punchline of a dirty joke. Belinda wasn’t amused.
“Laugh at my agony. You can make it up to me by buyin’ something.” She tossed a white tee-shirt at Kimber before walking away to help another customer.
“Is she always so gruff or was that just for my benefit?” Kimber unfolded the shirt. Ah, of course, the one about being probed.
Ethan leaned an elbow on the bar and looked down at her. Skipping past his gaze, she checked her cellphone for a text from Pel. Nothing. Frowning, she slipped the phone into her pocket. Strange that he’d insist she come tonight and then not show. If what Belinda had said about him was true, Pel Cappa was a highly distractible player. Great. That didn’t bode well for how the interview would go tomorrow.
“He’s definitely standing you up.” Ethan eyed her carefully across the rim of his glass as he sipped. He sounded irritated at the possibility.
“It’s not like that. It’s a work thing, not a date.”
He visibly relaxed. “I was wondering what kind of man would stand up a woman like you.”
Ugh, so adorably cheesy. But her heart fluttered anyway. He was handsomeanda smooth talker.
“Fill me in when you figure it out. I’ve been stood up a time or two and I’d like to avoid it in the future.”
Their eyes locked and the storm that brewed in her veins earlier danced on her skin and up and down her spine. It rolled over her breasts and between her ribs. Kimber realized too late that the longer she stared at him, the farther forward she leaned. Her body suddenly pitched forward. Her palms landed on his thighs in pure reaction to keep from falling off the seat.
