Page 23 of The Hookup
“Because he comes here a lot.”
She didn’t say anything, which was probably just as well, given that she didn’t know how tight he and Xavier were. He knew more about Xavier’s life than his friend knew about his, and as such, it was often the case that Xavier came to him for advice more than he needed to bother Xavier with his problems. This was how he liked things to be. Just the same way as he was happy for Kay to think he was a bartender. Sometimes girls figured out who he was much earlier, and that skewed the way they saw him. At least Kay seemed keen on him without knowing much about him.
“I wish I’d found this place sooner,” she said. “It’s given me that vacation vibe again.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, “And make sure you tell your friends.”
“I will.”
He took a final sip of his drink and threw her a cursory glance. She was conservatively dressed in a dark suit, she looked sharp, and slick. Professional. She looked so much more attractive in her work clothes, all covered up. It gave her a polished appearance, particularly with her breasts not falling out of her top.
He didn’t have her down for being an average secretary. Maybe she was a PA to someone high up, because, looking at her handbag, tucked away against her hip on the sofa, he knew a bag like that was expensive. So was her watch, and her hair was done up nicely in a messy bun, not hanging all over her shoulders.
He had a pretty good eye for people, because it was his job to notice these tiny things. “It was good to see you again,” he said, making the decision to leave. He’d done his bit. Showed her some attention, made her the cocktail, along with appropriate small talk. He could just as easily sit here talking to her all night, because the more time he spent with her, he realized she wasn’t just a vacuous customer talking to him with the intention of enticing him into something. Maybe shehadcome here with a friend, and was after a few cocktails and nothing more.
She seemed disappointed at his announcement. “It was good to see you.”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t going to say anything else.
She paused, briefly. “I had a good time on the island.”
He could tell that she was waiting for him to make a move, or say something. Let her know he was interested. Most women who sought him out here, did the same, but with Kay things were trickier because of her connection to Tobias Stone. He didn’t want to rock any boats with the Stones, and he never mixed business with pleasure.
Her eyes met his, and he could tell that she was interested. She was waiting for him to say something, or do something.
But as tempting as she was, he wasn’t willing to make that mistake.
Chapter 8
The lying rat.
Anger bubbled under her skin, as she craned her neck forward, re-reading the bio on the club’s website.
Luke Hunter—that was his name—wasn’t a bartender at all.
He was the multi-millionaire owner of several establishments in the city, and he was the son of a Texan oil baron.
Of course, she had also lied, by telling him that she was a secretary and not an investment banker, but it was hardly anepiclie.
She sat back, gazing at the photo on the screen, her anger rising to the surface as she wondered why he hadn’t shown any interest in her when she had finally turned up at the place he worked, which she now knew to be the bar he owned.
Those same cool blue eyes stared back at her, except this time he wore a white shirt, rolled up at the cuffs, and his hair seemed longer, less copper colored and more blonde, as if he’d been on a surfing vacation. He had the whole-sun kissed thing going on, and she wondered where he’d caught the sun in that picture and who he’d been kissing.
Just looking at his face gave her palpitations. Luke Hunter was the kind of man that women noticed—most women, except for her. Freakin’ hell. How had she managed to bypass him for Xavier on the island?
Her curiosity dug deep, and she now found herself wondering why he had lied. Who would lie about being a multi-millionaire?
But he ticked all of her boxes.All of them, and now her interest in him had quadrupled. The problem was, she had to figure out what his hold-up was. Most men liked that she didn’t play too hard to get. This guy? He didn’t seem to notice her. For all the signals she’d put out, she had received none back from him.
At least she now had a membership to The Vault. She’d paid a ridiculous yearly fee to join, and hoped it would be worth it. It had already proved its worth, thinking about it, because it had been then that she had snooped around the website and found the picture of Luke.
Being a member, she could get a group of her friends to come along. Geoffrey had expressed an interest, and because she owed him for taking care of things during her vacation, it seemed only right for her to ask him along.
And that was how, the following week, a night out at The Vault came to be. She had already made up her mind to go upstairs to The Oasis at some point during the night, in order to seek Luke out and confront him.
Tonight, she was determined to find out, but even as she had walked into the club, into his domain, and knew that she would run into him soon, she suddenly experienced an unfamiliar emotion. A tremor of hesitation slowed her down.
She didn’t want to dance around, flirting and talking, andhopinghe would ask her out, nor did she want a rejection thrown back in her face. She couldn’t even talk to Savannah about it on her return from her honeymoon, because she was supposed to be on that man-free diet.
