Page 70 of The Ghost of You

When I get back behind the bar to pour a beer for him and a few other tables, I can’t help but glance in the mirror on the back of the bar to look at him in the reflection.

“You got it bad for him?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well he has it bad for you,” Liam says. “And I don’t think he likes me.”

“He doesn’t even know you.”

“Let me try something.” Before I can even ask what he means, he comes up behind me and places his hands on my hips, his front to my back as I pour beers from the tap. “Just what I thought. Look.”

I look up in the mirror and see Noah clenching his jaw as he stares at us. “Okay, point made, Liam.”

He laughs as he walks away from me to make a pitcher of margaritas.

With shaky hands, I set the beers on a tray and bring them to the tables. When I get to Noah, I almost spill the beer all over him but catch it in time.

He doesn’t say a word, just stares toward where Liam is behind the bar.

“Do you want me to start you a tab?”

He blinks a few times before turning toward me. “Uhh, yeah. My brothers will be here soon.”

My heart deflates a little. I thought maybe he came here to see me but he is just meeting his brothers.

He hands me a credit card and I put it in my apron as I step away.

“Mayberry,” he says, grabbing my arm in the process. That electricity I felt zap through us on Thanksgiving returns. “I’m sorry about last week.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He doesn’t let me go. He pulls me closer to him. “I mean it. I just—I am a stubborn idiot sometimes.”

I snort at that.

“Can we talk later?”

“If I can get a break, yeah.”

He doesn’t let me go and pulls me even closer, I can smell his body wash, a mix of cedar and juniper. “Who is that guy?”

“What guy?” I ask dumbly.

“The bartender.”

“Liam? He’s my friend.”

His jaw tightens as he thinks. “I saw him leave your place one morning.”

I burst out laughing. “Oh my god. Are you jealous?” He doesn’t answer but I see the slight tic in his jaw. I decide I might as well play this up a bit to see how much he cares. “He just sleeps over sometimes when I need someone to cuddle with.”

His grip on my arm gets tighter. I can tell he didn’t like that answer.

“Have you never needed someone to hold you at night?”

“No,” he answers sternly.

I giggle at his jealousy. I lean in and whisper in his ear. One because I like this side of him and two because I want to flirt with him. My breasts press against his chest and I can feel him shift underneath me as I whisper in his ear. “Liam would probably enjoy your company more than me. Although I don’t know if you would as much. Especially if he got a little morning wood.”

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