Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“My mind is on food,” I lie, but he’s right. My mind is totally in my pants.
“Bullshit.” Security can see right through me.
Thankfully, Clover appears with the nachos. “The rest will be up in a sec.” Sensing the tension in the air, she bounces suspiciously back and forth between Security and me. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Security turns and heads over to the door.
“I think he’s feeling territorial,” I say before popping a chip into my mouth.
“Over what?”
“I think he might have a thing for you.”
“Doubtful. James is in a committed relationship with Brian, who owns the hardware store.”
“So no one‘s gonna jack me up if I ask for your number.”
“No one will object, but you’re not getting it either.”
“Why not?”
“For at least a hundred reasons, the first of which is I don’t know you. You could be a serial killer.”
“Your radar might be a little broken. The vibe I’m giving off is not that I wanna kill you but that I wanna kiss you.”
CHAPTER 4
CLOVER
His words take me a bit by surprise. He could be on the cover of a magazine with how handsome he is, where I’m more the sporty small-town girl. Then again, if he wants to get laid, he doesn’t have a ton of options in the bar at the moment, and he might think I’m an easy bet. It’s a good thing he left Vegas because he’s going to bust and not in the way that he’s wanting.
“You’re not my type.” His brows lift. I get a small kick out of the fact that I’ve surprised him with my response. I’m sure girls fall all over themselves to get his attention or for so much as a mere kiss. “I don’t do one-night stands.” I get right to the point.
“Thank fuck.” He lets out a breath, his body relaxing back into his seat.
“You’re not looking to get laid?” Now I’m the surprised one. Is he turning me down now? I’m so confused and oddly a smidge disappointed. Which is crazy because I don’t even know this man.
“I wasn’t, but I wouldn’t turn you down to save my life. But you scared me for a second. I thought you weren’t into men.”
“Oh.” I laugh, getting how he got there from my response. “I think you’re handsome enough to have any girl second-guess what she’s into.” As soon as the words slip past my lips, I want to grab them back. I can see the sparkle of hope in his eyes, and I know he’s going to latch on to the fact that I said he’s handsome.
“So you think I’m handsome.” He gives me a charming smile that has my toes curling. This man is dangerous. Thankfully, James appears with the rest of Dylan’s food so I don’t have to answer that question.
“Let me grab you some napkins,” I say, trying to think of any excuse to get away from him. I need a minute to think and get my bearings. There is something about this man that has me off-kilter. Something I’m not used to. When I’d gone to change my shirt, I’d made sure my hair was in place and put on lip gloss and mascara.
“These are fine.” He grabs a few of the bar napkins.
“You need ketchup.” I make another attempt at escaping him and his charm.
“Are you trying to get away from me?” He ignores his food, all his attention focused directly on me. I’ve never wanted attention from a man while not wanting it at the same time.
“I’m doing my job.”
“Aren’t bartenders part-time therapists?” I snort a laugh.
“Sometimes.” I shrug. At times, I enjoy listening to people tell me their stories. Other times not so much. “What’s your story, Dylan? What brought you to Loveland?”
“How about we go question for question? I answer yours but you gotta answer mine in return.”
“What makes you think I really want to hear your answer and I’m not just doing my job?”
“Ouch.” He puts his hand on his chest, pretending to be wounded, but I catch something in his eyes. My words did hit, and I’d only meant to tease. I didn’t think he’d have an ego that could be bruised with the way he looks.
“All right. Answer mine and then I’ll give you one.” I finally relent because I do want to know why this man is here. It’s more common for people to flee to Vegas than to here.
“Needed to get out. Was starting to feel like I couldn’t breathe anymore.”
“You’re running?”
“Ah-ah. It’s my turn.”
“Right,” I huff. What can he really ask me that would bother me to answer?
“Music. Why do you hate it?” Holy shit. Out of all the things he could have asked, that is actually one I don’t much care to talk about.
“Some people are the opposite, Dylan. Vegas calls to them. I was only a small girl when my mother took off to make it big. She really had the voice of an angel,” I admit, not wanting to lie about my mother. Even though she abandoned my dad and me to pursue her own dreams.