Page 26 of Fallen Hearts

“Um, drink it,” she quipped back.

“Straight-up shot? Or do I also need to get you some Prosecco?”

Pia seemed impressed. “How very astute of you. Yeah, I was thinking more of a limoncello spritz. I guess an Irish pub doesn’t stock Prosecco either.”

“Not yet, but it will.”

As she and Beck went back and forth, coming up with a new drink for her, I unsuccessfully attempted to tamp down an annoyance that had no business rearing its ugly head. There was a friendly banter between them that seemed easier and more natural than ours. So what?

“Perfect,” she said as they settled on a vodka soda drink for her.

“No red wine tonight?”

“I’m a mood drinker,” she said.

“That tracks.”

“How?” Pia asked, waving hello to the other guys.

“I dunno. It just seems like… you.”

“Because I have big moods?”

As if I would answer that one.

“It’s not an insult to me. I do have big moods. If I’m happy, I’m really happy. If I’m upset, there’s no hiding it.”

“In that case, yes.”

True to her word, Pia didn’t take offense. “Which I’ve noticed is the complete opposite of you.” She cocked her head to the side. “Is that your Army Ranger training, to be all stoic and mysterious? I looked it up online. Seems pretty intense. And competitive.”

Understatement.

“I guess that has something to do with it. But it’s my personality too. Dad was a much better candidate for innkeeper than me.”

Beck re-joined us. “Here you go,señorita bonita.”

“Beck, get the hell out of here,” I said in response to his dramatics.

He bowed, making Pia laugh. I refused to care that he seemed to do that so easily. All three of my best friends were good-looking guys, and there’d been plenty of times we eyed up the same girl. But not once had any of us stepped on each other’s toes, and I certainly wouldn’t get worked up about a woman I couldn’t date anyway.

“So, Pia.” Cole leaned forward. He had enough Scotch in him to make this interesting. “What do you think of Cedar Falls so far?”

She’d just taken a sip of her drink, her tongue sticking out to retrieve the straw, making me wish I was a straw.

“It’s not all that different from where I grew up, just smaller than my hometown and no ocean nearby. But I like it.”

“You’re from Oregon, correct?”

“Yep. Newport.”

“My parents took me to Newport, Rhode Island a few times as a kid, but never Newport, Oregon.”

“I haven’t been to Rhode Island. Or a lot of places out east, really.”

“You should definitely check it out. It’s a great place, known for its Gilded Age mansions and yacht-filled harbor. They hosted the America’s Cup for years.”

“Sounds idyllic.”

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