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“Hi, I’m Sloane.What can I get you?”the girl asks.
“Oh, hi, Sloane.Do you have a menu?”
She slides one my way and smiles.“Here you go.Let me know once you’ve decided on something.”
A few barstools away from me, a rugged-looking guy is staring into a glass of whiskey.He looks like he frequents this bar, so I grab my stuff and take a seat next to him.
“Hi, I’m Hannah.Do you know what’s good here?I can’t seem to decide.”
He lifts his gaze from his drink and lets his emerald eyes slide over my face.Geez, he’s hot.Well, apart from the scowl on his face.That scares me, to be honest.
“Everything’s good here.”
He goes back to staring into his drink.Wow, tough crowd.
I press on, determined not to let his rugged exterior deter me.“What about the burger?”
“Didn’t I just say everything’s good here?So yeah, that includes the burger,” he grumbles.
Holy hell, tough crowd indeed.
The bartender walks over to us and lifts her eyebrow at the grumpy mountain of a man sitting next to me.“Grizz, please don’t scare our customers away.”
I can’t help but grin.“Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with way scarier men.”
Grizz shoots me a sideways glance, and for a second, his scowl softens.There has to be more to this guy than meets the eye.There always is.
“Can I have the burger and fries and whatever he’s drinking?”I ask Sloane.“And bring him a refill, please.”
I place the credit card I carry for work on the bar and turn to Grizz.“Seeing as I just bought you a drink, you can’t not talk to me.”
His eyes grow wide.“Seriously?”
“Yup.Ignoring me now would be rude.”I give him a triumphant smile and extend my hand to him.“Hello, Grizz.I’m Hannah.What brings you here tonight?”
Chapter Two
Grizz
I can’t believe the fucking nerve of this woman, trying to call the shots and cornering me like this.She gets on my nerves with her triumphant grin, but for some inexplicable reason, I don’t want her to back off.I love a woman who’s feisty and determined, and she sure as hell looks as if she has both qualities.
Sloane puts down two glasses of Ridge Reserve Rye, the spicy rye whiskey I always get at The Grizzly Grove.Hannah takes a sip and pulls a weird face as if she’s not used to drinking something this strong.She doesn’t let me know the drink is too much for her, though.Instead, she swallows the amber liquid and smiles at me.
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?”
I shrug.“I prefer the company of animals.”
She frowns.“Animals?”
“They don’t tend to give you a hard time, and they sure don’t ruin everything like some people do.Animals are simple and predictable.You know, no judgment.No drama.”
Hannah laughs, mischief written all over her gorgeous features.“You clearly haven’t met my cat, Mr.Ticklewhiskers.He’s a legit drama queen.”
I laugh, taking a sip of my whiskey.“Maybe Mr.Ticklewhiskers needs to get out more.I bet he’d love to roam the mountains of Bearclaw Ridge.”
“I think he’d miss his cushioned life of napping on my couch, knocking things off my shelves with his big ass tail, and demanding only luxury brand pet food for dinner,” she says with a loving look.
“Where you from anyway?You’re not from around here.”
