Page 5 of The Stolen Dagger
“I know, I know.” Leah held her lithe hands out in front of her as if comforting a wild animal. “I already learned my lesson after the last one. At least for now.”
She mumbled that last part like I wouldn’t hear over the bar noise, but I did.
“No,” Leah continued, her voice sounding much more mischievous than I would have liked, “it’s actually for Drew.”
I stiffened at the mention of her older brother’s name. “Oh?”
Drew’s here?
“You know,” she started, taking a sip of her beer and narrowing her siren-like eyes at me, “Drew seemed excited, thrilled even, when I told him we were coming to surprise you. He practically insisted on coming along.”
If that were true, I’d have to have anothertalkwith him. He knew I didn’t want to see him. I’d made that pretty clear the last time he’d just shown up by coincidence.
That was almost two weeks ago.
“Is there something going on between you two I shouldknow about?” Leah asked. “You know, as your best friend and all.”
“What?” I reared back and scoffed. “No! I’m just surprised, is all. I haven’t seen him since …” I trailed off, hoping she’d drop it, and glanced at my watch. “Well, I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you both in class tomorrow?”
Leah’s grin widened. “Yeah, okay.”
Tyler gave me a departing nod. “Don’t work too hard, Kat.”
I smiled awkwardly and waved before making my way back to the bar. Once I was safely behind the confines of my workstation, I checked my watch.
I had about an hour and a half before my shift ended. I hoped that was enough time to avoid the man who made me feel things I had no right feeling.
With my back to the counter, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Trying to distract myself, I grabbed a wet wash rag and wiped down anything within arm’s reach, but it was hard to keep busy knowing Drew was somewhere close by.
I had met him and Leah in a self-defense class when I moved here about four months ago. He was handsome and charming and thoughtful. He hit all the right boxes, even though he flirted harder than anyone I had ever met.
Our attraction to one another was instant and undeniable. But nothing good could come of it, especially considering my past.
I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
I had tried to stay away from him for many reasons, one being he was a cop, but fate intervened when we had shared a heated kiss.
It was the hottest kiss of my life, and as we pulled away breathless, staring into each other’s eyes, I quickly realized two things:
One, I had intense feelings for the man, and two, becauseof those said feelings, I couldn’t have any kind of relationship with him.
So, I pushed him away. It was for his own good.
I could tell Drew was hurt by it, but he saw through my lies and told me as much.
But it had been months, and he still hadn’t given up. Despite the few encounters we’d had afterward, thanks to Leah, I’d been successful in avoiding him.
Until tonight.
Because, like a weed, Drew had a habit of popping up unexpectedly.
“There’s my favorite bartender,” a deep male voice said behind me.
Drew sat on the other side of the bar. His caramel-colored hair was styled in a perfect wave. He wore a dark blue shirt and a black bomber jacket that highlighted his broad shoulders.
He winked one of his green eyes, similar to Leah’s but darker, and flashed me a charming smile that softened his masculine facial features: straight nose, high cheekbones, strong, angled jaw.
He was the most attractive man I’d ever met.
