Page 23 of Yule Know It When You See It
She presses a hand to her thigh, stopping her erratic knee. “But you didn’tnotsay it.”
“Is it really your concern, Theo?” I move from around my desk, taking two steps in the exit’s direction, but stop to peer at her with raised brows.
Theo clears her throat and uses her pen to scratch the back of her head. “No, it is not. I was only curious. You have fun.”
“Oh, I plan to.” After flashing a wicked grin at her and winking, I walk away, not daring to look back.
* * *
I’ve been at The Elephant with Spencer and his co-workers for the past hour. A satisfying buzz has fogged my brain just enough to melt several cares from my shoulders; hockey plays on three of seven TVs hanging around the establishment, and I’ve only thought about Theoonce. Life is good.
“You seem distracted, Ax. And more than your usual writer self.” Spencer puffs on a cigar from the stool next to me, sipping a scotch.
I curl my hands around the pint of beer half gone in front of me. “How so?”
“Well, for one, you normally people-watch, and you haven’t so much as scanned others at the bar. And you keep drifting into the distance.” He holds the cigar with his teeth.
“Lot on my mind with the new place and writing assignment is all.” I swig back the rest of my beer and motion at the bartender for another.
Spencer leans on the bar and taps my arm, coaxing me to look at him. “You remember that I’m a lawyer, correct? It’s my job to read people. What aren’t you telling me?”
That I’m equally irritated and intrigued by my new co-worker?
“Oh, come on. How many more shots you plan to miss, Malone?” I yell at the TV.
“Axel,” Spencer barks. “How’s the new assignment? Is this what it’s about?”
Sighing, I hold my head low, knowing he willnotlet this go until I confess everything. “The new assignment is fine. It’s a holiday sports romance piece.”
Spencer laughs and douses his cigar in the ashtray. When I don’t so much as crack a smile, he frowns. “Wait. You’re serious. Romance? You?”
“The editor paired me with another writer.Shewrites romance stories for the magazine.” I snatch the new glass of beer as soon as it lands on the bar.
Spencer flags the bartender before he walks away. “Can we get two shots of Jack, please?”
“Why did what I said make you order shots, Spence?” A flash of red hair peeks between bodies on the other side of the bar, and my spine tingles.
The woman turns, laughing, her eyes not green, but brown. Her nose slants downward, not tilted up like—I interrupt my thought, ashamed I somehow got excited at the prospect ofherinexplicably being here, as if it would’ve been a serendipitous sign or something.
“Because this is clearly about a woman.” Spence nudges my arm and hands me the shot glass filled with amber liquid. “Take your medicine, and then tell me everything.”
We tap glasses, then the bar, and down the whiskey.
I flick my glass away, not wincing at the burn coursing my throat, and comb my beard with three fingers. “My partner, this woman, we’ve butted heads from day one. And we keep doing this cat-and-mouse routine that’s bound to drive me insane.”
“You sure about that? Sounds like you kind of dig it, my friend.” Spencer chuckles and drums his fingers on the bar.
I turn in my stool to face him, a cinch forming on my forehead. “Dig it? Why would I enjoy arguing with someone?”
“It’s not arguing.” Spence closes his eyes and vigorously shakes his head. “WhatIdo is argue. What you’re doing with this woman is called ‘banter.’”
Scoffing, I turn my attention to the TV. A commercial for the CTA Holiday Train plays, and it makes my chest tighten. “I don’t know, Spence. It started with her irritating me, but after yesterday, I thought I might be starting to like her. But her? Oh, she can’t stand me.Trustme.”
Spencer laughs so hard that he falls off his stool, his hand gripping the bar edge the only thing that keeps him from landing on the floor. “And this is why I know you can’t write romance.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I tug him the rest of the way onto his stool with little effort.
“Tell me this. Have you made her laugh? Does she always seem to face her body toward you? Ever catch her staring at you?” Spencer sways slightly, and if it weren’t for the truth of his words, I would’ve blamed it all on the alcohol.
