Page 27 of My Rebel

She perched on the bar stool. Her eyes coasted across him, taking in his white polo neck t-shirt and beige cargo shorts. She looked around and inhaled. “God! I love this place.”

His chest swelled with pride. “It is lovely. It’s my favorite among the three we own. I love the sounds of the waves crashing in the distance.”

Smiling, her dark eyes glided over this space he loved so much.

“What can I get you to drink?” he asked.

Her eyes returned to him. “Are you bartending tonight?”

“Yeah, we’re short staffed. One of our regular bartenders had an emergency with her kid. And some of our other regulars take a break on Monday. It wasn’t fair to call any of them after the heavy weekend they always face here. I was happy to fill in.” He spread his hands out. “Besides, the bar does happen to be my domain. So, what can I get you?”

She arched a brow. “Can you make anything on the menu?”

“Try me.”

“Anything, huh?” At his nod, she opened the menu. Her eyes on him, she ran a red tipped finger up and down the names of the drinks. She finally paused at one, tapping it.

“I’ll have that,” she said, her dark eyes dancing with mischief.

He grinned. “You’re sure? You haven’t even read what that is.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m willing to blindly test your skills.”

He leaned on the bar counter. “Trust me, I have very goodskills. And I’d be quite delighted to give you a flaming orgasm.”

She jerked back. “What?!”

He chuckled, pointing at the menu. “That is what you ordered, baby.”

She quickly scanned the menu. Her cheeks reddened as her eyes met his.

“In fact, why stop at one,” he drawled. “Allow me to give youtwoflaming orgasms.”

She blushed even harder. “Stop teasing me, Vihaan. Just get me a lemon margarita instead.”

He laughed, enjoying himself far too much. Finally, she was showing him her emotions. And she looked so cute, all flustered and embarrassed.

“Are you sure you don’t want a—”

She leaned forward and slammed a hand over his mouth. “Enough, okay.”

Their eyes met. Locked. Heat spread from her hand to all over his body. Fuck! Why did this happen every time she touched him? Tiya cleared her throat, shifting her hand away. Like always, he was cold again.

“Lemon margarita?” he asked, breaking the sudden awkwardness that had settled around them.

She nodded.

He took his time with the drink. Once he placed it in front of her, she took a huge gulp. “Wow, this is yum! How does the COO ofKeyStoneknow how to bartend?”

He looked into the distance, deciding what to tell her and how much. Most people didn’t know he was the COO ofKeyStonewhen he bartended at his restaurants. But Tiya already knew a tad bit more than others.

“I wasn’t always a COO. I’ve done things to get by in life,” he finally said.

She sucked in a breath. “I Googled you, you know.”

His gaze snapped to her. “You did, huh? And what did you find?”

She took another sip. “About your new life—zilch. But I did read that article about your family home getting burnt down and the world thinking you all are dead.”

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