Page 173 of Wish You Were Mine
Had she dressed like that for the guys with wandering eyes and practiced smiles who’d line up to buy her a drink?
The thought made my stomach churn.
But then her gaze found mine, like she knew exactly where I’d be, and when she sent me a soft smile, the tightness in my chest loosened.
So maybe she hadn’t dressed up for the other guys after all. Maybe she’d dressed up for me.
She turned back to her friends, and I forced my gaze away from her table, trying to shake off the feelings of desire as I set the glasses on the shelf.
When I turned around again, Brody was at the bar with another hockey player.
“Can I get a whiskey and Coke?” he asked casually. Then, doing a double take, recognition lighting up his eyes, he added, “Oh, hey, Professor Park. I didn’t realize that was you.”
“Hi Brody,” I said, managing a smile. “Good to see you.” Then, deciding to keep the focus on this job and not my other one, I asked, “You want that on the rocks?”
“Yes, please.”
I started making the drink, and when I asked if he wanted to keep his tab open, he nodded, saying, “Yeah. And whatever Lucy gets, put it on my tab, too.”
He handed me his card, and when our eyes met, there was a flicker of satisfaction in his expression.
Are they an item now?A spark of jealousy hit my chest, fast and hot.Has he managed to win her over now that I’ve been forced out of the picture?
I’d always known he wanted her. The guy had never exactly been subtle about it.
But did Lucy want him back as well? Had she moved on to someone closer to her age?
Was it too late to ask Theo not to pass on my message after all?
Because if she was dating Brody, for me to still pine after her suddenly felt a lot less romantic and a lot more pathetic.
I slid Brody’s drink across the bar. “Enjoy your night,” I said, opening his tab.
“I will,” he said, lifting his glass in a mock toast. “Hopefully, I’ll be doing another kind of chemistry experiment with my lab partner tonight.”
And when the wink came next, I had to clamp down hard on the urge to wipe that smirk off his face.
Lucy and Nora broke away from their group and headed toward the bar about fifteen minutes later.
There were two other bartenders standing at the bar and available to help, so they could easily walk over to Malik or Irina to avoid any awkwardness that might happen with me.But instead of heading to the other end of the bar, they stepped up to the counter in front of me.
“Can we get two waters?” Nora asked, speaking for the both of them.
“Sure,” I said, my gaze sliding to Lucy and wanting to stay there. “Coming right up.”
I grabbed two water glasses from beneath the bar and started filling them.
The silence that followed was loaded as I searched for something to say. But nothing was coming.
“So, Owen,” Nora said, thankfully coming to our rescue, “did you hear our team’s going to Nationals after yesterday’s meet?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, glancing at Lucy. “I heard.”
“Theo said he saw you there,” Lucy said softly, her gaze meeting mine.
“Yeah, I was there.” I sighed as I started filling the second glass. “Couldn’t miss it.”
Her eyes caught mine, and for a moment, the rest of the bar seemed to fade as something unspoken passed between us.
