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His expression turned guarded, and I could almost feel him shrink away from me. “Who’s asking?”
“My name is Jamie Calvin. I own the building, and your sister forgot her—” I fucking panicked “—charger in my penthouse when she was cleaning it.”
The kid’s face instantly transformed. “She’s always losing that thing. If you want to hand it over, I’ll make sure she gets it.”
Fucking hell.
I choked back a groan of desperation. “I’d really like to give it to her myself. And thank her for stepping in for Josephine. It was a lot of help.”
The kid, Jackson I think his name was, rubbed at the back of his neck. “She works too hard, you know. I wish I could help more, but until school is out…I’m stuck.”
I was startled by the compulsion to reach out and clap the teenager on his shoulder.
“Your education is important, especially if you want to do well at Northwestern.”
His face registered only shock. “She told you about that? Shoot, I told her it wouldn’t be a big deal to just go to the junior college for a few years. But she’s so determined.” His wide eyes met mine, and he cleared his throat. “Anyway, she’s at the bar right now. I heard they were short staffed, but if you wanted to run down and try to talk to her, she might have a minute.”
“Great. Thanks, kid.”
“My name is Jackson. Jackson Beckett.” He held out a wide-palmed hand, his grip tight but a bit sweaty against mine.
“Pleasure’s all mine.” I nodded to him, turning a shoulder to the entrance to the building. Suddenly grabbing a beer at the local haunt seemed like the perfect way to spend my night. The hobbits could wait.
***
Margot
“There is an absolutely enormous man at the bar, and I am pretty sure he’s about to stare a hole straight through you.”
“You exaggerate.”
“Not this time.” My manager, Betty, fanned herself dramatically with one hand. “And honestly, you should probably go talk to this one.”
I bit down on my lip, ducking my chin just far enough that I could catch a glimpse of dark-red hair and a wide smile leaning over Robin’s Nest’s polished bar top. My heart leaped to my chest as I jerked my chin back to the line of limes I was prepping for the late-night happy hour rush.
“Fudge.”
“Mmmhmm. I would start with whipped cream, but I like where your head is at.”
“Betty!” I admonished the bar owner before turning to face Jamie Calvin’s handsome mug. His smile only deepened as I approached. “What are you drinking?”
His eyes crept over me, leaving a trail hot enough that my palms twitched. “What’s on the menu?”
“Landlords drink free.”
“What do dates get?”
“The bill.” I took a guess and set a Guinness in front of him, watching him eye the beer closely. “Why are you here, Mr. Calvin?”
“It’s Jamie.” He took a sip as the foam settled. “And I wanted to give you something back. I didn’t realize it would be busy already.”
“What did you have to give back to me?”
“You’ll see.”
“Then what was the point of coming down here to tell me if you’re not going to give it to me now?”
His smile sent a shiver straight down my spine. “Like I said, little one, wait and see. Besides, maybe I wanted to claim my free date night.”
