Page 20 of The Hookup
How could he miss a woman sitting alone at a table in a place full of people? Was she that invisible to most men?
Maybe that was her problem.
Maybe it was only the jerks and assholes that she attracted.
Instead, he made his way to the bar where he spoke to some of the guys there. Staring at his back, admiring, half-lusting over the span of his shoulders and his upper body, she swallowed. Here, in a normal setting, away from the island, from the sun and the sea, and the sand, he seemed twenty times more attractive to her.
Her heart sank when he then put on his jacket.
He was leaving?
She couldn’t let him leave, not without him knowing she was here. As he headed towards the exit, she got up and rushed over to him, meeting him as he walked through the door. She tapped him on the shoulder, forcing him to turn around.
“Hey.”
He tilted his head, as if not quite recognizing her at once.
“Luke, isn’t it?”Remember me?
“Savannah’s cousin?” he asked, slowly, angling his head. “Kay, right?
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. He did remember her.
The fact that he said her name, gave her some relief. “Hi,” she said, now feeling slightly self-conscious. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Fancy that.” The corners of his lips quirked upwards.
“I wanted to check out your bar,” she told him. As if she had only come here to admire the architecture and interiors. He wasn’t stupid. “I came here with a friend from work.”
“Great.”
“It’s a cool place, this.”
“You like it?”
“It’s different.”
“How so?”
“Sitting here, I feel like I’m in an exotic place, not in New York.”
“The owner would take that as a compliment.”
“Be sure to pass it on.”
“Will do.”
She waited for a sign, for something,anything. Any sign to indicate that he might be interested in her. Her chest swelled with hope.
“I was curious to see where you worked.”
“Yeah, well. This is me. This is the place where I work.”
Now would have been his chance to show interest. He could have at least seemed a little enthusiastic at the fact that she had sought him out. He could have asked her why she was curious to see where he worked. In that way, they could have flirted and gotten things moving.
But she was getting nothing back from him. No signs, no interest, none of that flirtation from the island. She felt stupid.
“How come you dress differently to the other bartenders?” she asked, glad to have something not-quite-ridiculous to say.
