Page 21 of The Hookup
“I’m in charge of the other bartenders.”
“I assumed as much. You seemed busy earlier,” she poked the question at him, “I wasn’t sure if you were in a meeting or something, with that lady.”
“You mean Marie?”
“Marie?”
“She’s … my … manager.”
“Your manager,” she replied, sounding happier than was normal for such a reply.
“Yeah. She’s a … she’s a great manager.”
The conversation was stilted, and nothing like she had expected. On the island he had been so much friendlier, so different. It was as if there were two sides to him. “Good to see you again, Kay, but I need to go.”
“Are you going already?” she asked, wondering what time he started his shift.
“It’s been a long day.”
“I was hoping to catch you behind the bar and ask if you could make that nice cocktail again.”
His eyebrows pushed together, and she could tell that her desperate request hadn’t exactly left him enamored. “The cocktail?” He’d forgotten already.
“The one you made for me at the wedding reception. The Slow Comfortable Screw Again—”
“Right,” he said, cutting her short, making her feel even more stupid for taking up his time. “You want that?” He looked completely disenchanted with the idea. She knew then that she had made a huge mistake.
“You know what,” she said, looking at her watch and feigning surprise. “It is late and I need to go.” It wasn’t late at all, but the conversation had died two minutes after she’d stopped Luke in his tracks, and it was only getting worse. Most guys wouldn’t need so much cajoling, but this guy? He wasn’t interested at all. Those moments on the island had passed. Whatever it was she thought she had felt, under the influence of pink champagne, and heady cocktails, under a starry sky, with powdery sand between her toes—those moments were gone. And she had been deluded. If he’d given her any time, it was because it was his job. He was a barman simply doing his job. She was completely deluded in trying to recapture the magic from the island.
Not only did he not look remotely excited about seeing her again, but he seemed to resent being asked to make her that cocktail.
He scratched his neck again. “Now that you’re here, why not?” His demeanor changed in a flash and she assumed he felt sorry for her. She didn’t like the idea of that, and it would have been different if he’d shown any interest when she’d first accosted him.
“Another time,” she said, determined to leave quickly. “You seem busy, and I shouldn’t have imposed.”
His expression softened. “You’re here now, and it won’t take long. I could do with a drink myself.”
Chapter 7
He knew she was going to show up, and he’d been surprised she hadn’t shown up within the first few days after returning from the wedding.
But, what the hell. It was Friday night.
He should have been annoyed, as he often was when a woman he’d met someplace else tracked him down and assumed he was interested in her. But once again, Kay elicited a touch of pity from him, more than his anger. She always seemed wanting.
“What do you want, boss? I’ll get it for you.” One of the bartenders asked him as he went behind the bar.
“A friend of mine just showed up,” he said, reaching for a cocktail glass. He quickly fixed Kay’s cocktail and grabbed a small bottle of lemonade for himself.
When he walked back to her table, she was on her cell phone.
“Your ex again?” he asked, grateful to have remembered something to strike up a conversation about. These kinds of meetings were awkward. Kay had come here because she was interested in seeing him, because she probably had something in mind. Women didn’t just turn up, alone, to have a drink and admire the surroundings.
“No,” she replied, hastily putting the phone away. “Thank you,” she said, as he set the glass down in front of her, then sat across from her. “You’re not having a cocktail?”
“No. Cheers.” He lifted his bottle and touched her cocktail glass with it.
She took a sip. “This reminds me of the island.”
