He wasn't married when I first met him. He and Macy were on the outs and it wasn’t looking good for them. I had no intentions of getting involved. Not with him or anyone else that night. But something in the way he looked at me made me chuck it all out the window with that first smile.
I’d promised a couple of friends that I’d meet them at our favorite hangout, a small Irish pub in one of the local off-Strip casinos, but I hadn't wanted to. My lack of a love life hung heavily over me on my best days. Going out with my two best friends, who both happened to be in the relationships of their lives, made it that much worse. And not because they rubbed it in. Nah, they'd both been where I was and they got it. And they didn’t push. But still... Third wheel and all.
Shay and Carter were deeply engrossed in a playful argument over something that had happened eons ago, and I was distracted. Neither were right, because they were blaming each other when it was another friend who’d started the fight that night. So, I'd kinda spaced on their conversation and let my eyes wander.
I found him almost immediately. He sat at the bar, Corona bottle in front of him like a monument to a long lost friend. Condensation dripped onto the bar and he seemed lost in his thoughts. I found it amusing that he was drinking a Mexican beer in an Irish pub and had to smile to myself. Noticing my own glass was empty, I excused myself to my deaf friends and approached the bar.
And stood at his side.
The bartender greeted me, smiling, and refilled me with my usual. His idea of an Irish Margarita. My idea of yum. Well, that and the man sitting next to me.
He smelled amazing that night. A hint of light cologne, a touch of soap, and that musky, all-male smell that real men all seem to have. And the way those green eyes simmered beneath those dark ebony curls. I was in instant lust.
I waited while Bryan the Bartender shook and poured my drink. While reaching for my salvation, I inadvertently bumped the hunk staring at his dripping beer.
“Sorry!” I exclaimed, truly sorry because I am a natural klutz. “At least I didn’t spill any on you.”
Bryan laughed. “Yeah, she dumped a whole one on some poor schmuck two weeks ago.”
“See,” I teased, “it could have been worse.”
And that’s when he smiled at me. “Really?” I swear, the angles sang and the clouds parted when he spoke.
“Yeah, really. I coulda doused you.”
He nodded, rubbing his chin lightly. “I see. Care to have a seat?”
No, no I didn’t. My friend are waiting for me back at our table. I'm not ready for a relationship right now. Men are pigs. They treat women like crap. All my ready-made excuses flew out the window alongside my reservations. “Sure.”
And that’s where it started. Neither of us were interested in a relationship with the other. Sure, he was cute, but I’d had too long a string of bad ones to venture out again so soon. And he was desperate to try and fix things with Macy. What happened after that still surprises me.
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