Page 17 of Wicked Flirt
He flashed a smile that gave her a jolt. “Show me what you got, Lexi. Maybe I’ll hire you for more events and spread the word. My bar is filled with big Wall Street spenders.”
She stilled, trying to think it through, the logistics, the timing. Mardi Gras was only two and a half weeks away, which meant it would be tough to pull something good together. On the other hand, she currently had zero clients. “I’ll be there, thank you.”
“Excellent. Chin up, my friend, you’ll get there.”
He swaggered away and she watched him go, a lump in her throat. She shook her head at herself. It wasn’t like her to be so emotional. She headed into her apartment and set the two grocery bags on the counter. Marcus had given her hope, a lifeline when she really needed one, even after she’d screwed things up with his mom. You know what? She was going to fix this thing with his mom just like she’d wanted to in the first place. She’d go to her house and apologize. And if Lia wouldn’t let her in, then she’d slip a note under the door. Maybe she’d even be able to help Lia too, eventually.
She quickly put the food away, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door.
~ ~ ~
Marcus spotted Lexi the moment she stepped into The Burrow later that day in a white knitted hat with a big pom-pom. Not because he was watching the door for her, he reassured himself. Anyone would’ve noticed that hat. She wore a black down vest over a white turtleneck with black skinny jeans and high-heeled black boots. Winter gear that still showed off her sexy trim body. No big puffy coat for her.
“Lexi!” he called, raising a hand in greeting from where he stood behind the bar.
“Hey.” She lifted a hand and gave him a friendly smile.
His chest warmed at the sight, knowing he had something to do with that smile. He was her first client. She crossed to the bar, standing across from him, her brown eyes bright. A gray laptop bag on her shoulder told him she’d come prepared. She took off her hat and smoothed down her hair.
He caught her eye, his lips curving into the half-smile that never failed with women.
Her lips parted, her gaze on his mouth.Never. Failed.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
“I’ll take some water, thanks.”
He filled two glasses. “Why don’t we sit in one of the booths?” Three people sat at the bar already, and he figured they could have a little privacy in a booth.
“Sure.” She looked around. “This place looks so much bigger than the last time I was here. I mean, I guess it was Saturday night last time.”
“Yeah, it can really get packed in here.” The Burrow had the look and feel of an Irish pub. It was long and narrow, the dark glossy bar on the right, a few high-top tables in the center of the space, and farther back, there were booths. Upstairs was a private room that could be reserved for large groups, with a fully stocked bar, poker tables, and a pool table. That was where he liked to bring his friends when they ventured out to the city. He lived only a few blocks away.
He made a quick phone call to get a sub behind the bar. Once Sam stepped in, Marcus headed for the first booth, where Lexi was already seated, facing the door.
He sat across from her and slid her glass across the table. “What’s up?”
She opened her laptop and booted it up. “I had lunch with your mom today.”
He shot up straight in his seat. “What? How? Where? Did she leave the house?”
Lexi met his eyes. “I felt terrible about upsetting her, so I stopped by and apologized. I told her sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth and I was very sorry for stepping over the line.”
“And she let you in the house?” he asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice. His mom had said Lexi wasn’t welcome in her home.
She laughed. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
He moved right on past that touchy question, figuring it would only hurt her feelings if she knew what his mom had said. “So you had lunch there or you went out? Details, woman!”
Lexi inclined her head. “After I apologized, I told her I’d recently gotten laid off and asked if she’d like to have lunch to commiserate with me. My treat.”
He blinked, shocked at the balls on her. To go back there with a humble apology and then offer to buy his mom lunch was above and beyond the call of duty. Lexi had been roped into going there in the first place, and they weren’t even in a relationship. Even if they were, he never would’ve asked her to face his mom alone. He would’ve run interference for her.
Lexi went on. “She said she loved Ernie’s Diner, so I brought lunch from there and we ate it in her kitchen.” That was the diner he and his mom used to go to before she refused to leave the house.
His chest ached, his throat suddenly tight with emotion. “But they don’t do takeout.”
“I worked around that. I sat and had a bowl of soup. Then I ordered her favorite chicken pot pie, got one for myself, and told the waiter to wrap it up.”
