Page 153 of A Song to Wake a Thousand Sorrows
One side of his lips curled up as he folded his arms across his chest. The movement drew my attention. I wassucha visual creature. Not that anyone would blame me right now. The black shirt he wore stretched around well-defined biceps. “Or you’d rather spend the time with me.”
The twisty motion in my belly cranked up a notch. “Am I that transparent?”
“In the best possible way.” He picked up a bottle. “I’m glad you did stop by. Every time the door opened last night, I looked up and hoped it was you.”
“Is that so?”
“I speak the truth.” His smile was lazy. “Did you finish unpacking?”
“Yep.”
“Were there any more rat bastard combinations?”
I laughed. “There were a few more.”
“Kind of mad I missed out on them.”
“There’s always later.” I toyed with my glass as I met and held his stare. “So, Nick, do you have a last name?”
“Blanco,” he replied after a brief hesitation. “Do you?”
“Keith.” I grinned as he unfolded those arms. “I have another question for you.”
Moving in, he placed his hands on the bar. “Ask away.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” My breath caught a little when he leaned in suddenly. Our mouths were close enough that we were breathing the same tiny patch of oxygen. “Or a boyfriend?”
Nick didn’t bat an eyelash. “Nope to both. How about you?”
Bonus points explosion!
“None,” I said, welcoming the tingle that swirled down my spine as his breath warmed my lips.
He tilted his head to the side, lining up his mouth with mine with just a fraction of an inch between us. I started to feel a little flushed. “You have plans tonight, Stephanie Keith?” he asked, voice deeper and rougher.
I shook my head as my pulse tripped all over itself in a happy little dance.
Nick’s grin spread into the kind of smile I knew left a trail of women in its wake. “You do now.”
Chapter 2
“Make sure you’re waiting for me,” he said with a slow grin, picking up two empty glasses as I rose from the bar stool. “I’m off at one. I’ll be there in twenty minutes or less.”
I didn’t respond as I backed away from the bar, giving him a little wave. There was no doubt in my mind that he would show up, and wicked excitement hummed through my veins. Smiling to myself, I wheeled around.
The girl with the pink glasses stood right in front of me, so close I almost plowed right into her. Behind the bar, she seemed much taller, but my five-foot-nine frame towered over her. A streak of pink in her hair matched her glasses, but that wasn’t all that I noticed. Up close I realized that she also had a faint black eye.
What the ... ?
She shoved out her hand. “Hi, I’m Roxy.”
“Hi.” I took her hand, shaking it. “I’m—”
“Steph. I know. Your friends told me all about you,” she explained, and I immediately struggled to keep my expression blank as I stiffened. God only knows what they’d told her. “You went to college with them.”
“Yes.” My gaze flicked over her, to where Teresa and Jase were with Jax and Calla. Avery and Cam had already called it a night. “I was surprised to see them here.”
“I can imagine.” Roxy’s smile was warm and surprisingly real as she stared up at me. “Anyway, I heard that you had just moved here, so I wanted to say hi and that I also hope this isn’t your last trip to Mona’s.”
