Page 12 of The Sweetest Mistake

And then the bartender came over. “Hey, Connor. What can I get you?”

Connor knew everyone who worked there, and Julia visibly shrank down in her seat.

“I’ll take a Guinness and a shot of whiskey.”

“And for the lady?”

“I’ll just have water.”

Connor stared at her, as did the bartender. When they’d agreed to go out for a drink, he hadn’t expected her to order water. That didn’t even count as a drink in his book, especially not at O’Malley’s, where they had an extensive menu of real drinks to choose from.

As if she realized her mistake, she said, “Okay, fine. I’ll have a shot of whiskey too.”

She looked pleased with herself, and Connor chuckled.

“What?” she said.

“Just curious. Have you ever had a shot of whiskey before?”

Julia thought about it for a few seconds and replied, “I’m not sure. Maybe once, in college.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what? You don’t think I can hold my liquor?”

“I guess we’ll see. Maybe we should order dinner too.”

“I agreed to a drink, not dinner,” she huffed.

“Fine. How about an appetizer?”

Finally, she agreed. When the bartender returned with their drinks, Connor put in an order for not one, but three different appetizers.

“We might as well have ordered dinner,” she scoffed.

Ignoring her, he held up his shot glass and said, “You ready?”

She looked nervous for a moment but then said, “I guess so.”

“On the count of three. One…two…three.”

Julia’s reaction was comical. She sputtered, her face wrinkling up like a rotten banana and her hands clutching the edge of the bar in a death grip.

“Good, huh?” he said, taking great pleasure in her reaction.

It took a minute for Julia to be able to speak, and then she said, “Yeah. Really good.” When she licked her lips as if to confirm it, Connor felt a twitch down below. Down, boy.

“One more before the food comes?” he asked.

Eyeing him skeptically, she said, “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

He laughed. “If I was, I wouldn’t have ordered any food. It’s up to you. No pressure.”

He watched as she contemplated the offer, wondering what she was thinking. He didn’t know that much about her yet, but he suspected that she was a rule follower. He might even have called her uptight until now, when she’d finally started to loosen up. Surely, the liquor helped, but he hoped that some of it was due to him. He didn’t want her to feel nervous with him. He’d much rather she be relaxed and have fun. Surely, there’d be no harm in that.

“Okay. Just one more,” she said.

Trying not to act surprised, Connor ordered the second round, which they downed right before the appetizers came. She seemed to handle the liquor a lot better the second time, and when she looked at him afterward, her eyes were sparkling.