Page 41 of Tempting Me

Shay

She just wants the picture.

Luca

Are you going to show the girls at girls’ night? Be sure to tell them it was my idea.

The little bubblespop up and then disappear.

I chuckle, and a throat clears near me.

I glance up at Declan.

“Hey,” I say and it comes out all high-pitched like I was caught breaking the rules somehow and don’t want to get in trouble.

“Hi.” He grins and grabs another beer.

He takes another slice of pizza with him to the living room.

I send Shay the picture with no further comment, and she doesn’t supply one either.

When I get back to the living room, the guys are all laughing at something on the TV. Their chatter is on a roll now, too.

I sit back, taking in the view.

I don’t know what I had in mind for this night, but I’ll tell you what, just hanging out for the purpose of hanging out isn’t half bad. Nowhere to be, no expectations, and no agenda.

It’s nice.

A couple of hours later, I've got commitments for the next boys’ night as they all walk out the door.

I’d say the night was a success.

I never got around to asking Hudson what he knows about my Shay situation. I’ll have to save that for another day.

I glance out my front window. I can still see the glow of the streetlights.

I yawn a big yawn and let out a breath.

Then I sit on the couch and change the channel on the TV. I’ll watch one episode of anything to keep me awake, and then I’ll head to The Marina.

CHAPTER NINE

SHAY

Luca didn’t show up last night. I was prepared to give him crap for mentioning my girls’ night, but I can’t do that if he isn’t present.

I was half tempted to go search for him, but if anyone were to see me, it would have raised more questions than I need right now. I also thought about calling Grace to have her go check it out, but that seemed a bit too stalkerish for my liking.

So I just sat and stewed all night long.

I know I can be a lot to handle sometimes, but am I really so bad that I ran another contractor off?

I close the cash register drawer and hand the two customers in front of me their change.

Maybe I should open an ice-only shop. That seems to be the moneymaker these days. Then again, if I had a full dining room, maybe people would stick around to eat.

As soon as I’m alone again, sit at the bar top and open mycomputer. With the progress Luca and I made after just a handful of nights, I may have gotten a little excited and started ordering the decor I wanted. I gave myself a specific budget for it, and I can’t wait to start putting this place together again. I really do think the private areas in the dining section will be great for bigger parties, and I want each one to have a theme.

---