Page 71 of One Night Only
Was my forehead always this big?
“Admiring yourself?”
I start as Declan blocks my view.
“You’re looking well,” he continues as if him being here and me being here is a completely normal thing.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m working.”
“As a barman?”
“What’s wrong with being barman?”
“Nothing,” I say flatly. “I thought you were into cottages.”
“I’m a man of many talents, Sarah. You seem mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
“So that’s just your usual expression.” He leans in to let a woman squeeze past him and again I lean back. He acknowledges the movement with a sardonic look. “I own this bar,” he says. “That is why I work here. Where did your boyfriend go?”
“He’s not my—” I break off with a huff. “It’s not working.”
“I’m sorry. He seems nice.”
“Nothim,” I say. “Youare not working. You’re not getting to me.”
It’s the wrong thing to say. I know it instantly from the spark of a challenge in his eyes.
“I’m not trying to get to you, Sarah.”
“Good because—”
“Apparently, I don’t need to try.” He crosses his arms on the bar, leaning toward me. “You know what happens when you get annoyed? Like really annoyed?”
“You would know.”
“You get these two bright red spots on your cheekbones. Right…there.”
I bat his finger away as he goes to tap my cheek, but my protest gets stuck in my throat.
His face is inches from mine. He’s so close I can smell him. So close I could kiss him. So close that despite the noise of the crowded bar around us, I can hear him perfectly when his voice drops to a whisper, exactly how it sounded in my dream. “It’s the exact same look you get when you orgasm.”
My breath catches in shock as he rears back, looking pleased with himself.
“I’ll admit I was trying there,” he says, grinning. Before I can say anything, or even think of something to say, he nods at someone over my shoulder and I turn to see Matthias approaching.
“Sorry about that,” he says, sliding back onto the seat. He glances between us, noting the tension. “Is everything okay?”
“Just catching up.” Declan smiles. “How do you two know each other?”
“We work together,” Matthias says.
“As her assistant or—”
“I’m a senior project architect,” Matthias says with a humility that sounds fake even to me.
