Killian
When she walked in the next day, my heart fair tap danced across the stage of my chest. Gawd, that sexy, sober school principal tough-as-the-day-is-long-but-still-soft thing she had going on made me want to vault across the bar, throw my hands up in the air for the judges, then bring them round her.
I, however, kept me head about me.
“Well, now,” I breathed out, not even knowin’ I’d held my breath for a beat.
She smiled tentatively, making my knees weak. “Hi.”
A grin stretched my face. “Hello.”
Today’s suit was a warm gray, but the blouse beneath was a bold pinky/purple. A hint of the untamed savage beneath that straight-laced exterior of hers, so it was. It made me purr. She took a step closer to the bar, swinging her sack from the store onto the stool to her left. “I….” She glanced away, then back. “…want to thank you.”
Curious.
“I’ll gladly accept it. But for what, may I ask?”
She dropped her gaze, then looked up again. My chest tightened. Every single thing she did made me hungry for her. Although I pride myself in being a bit of a ladies’ man, the way she was making me feel right now was completely foreign, and completely wonderful.
“For…not letting on yesterday I was here before. When my friends came in.”
Colleagues she’d said the night before. Now they were friends. Interesting. “No bother. Besides, I figgered you didn’t want anyone knowin’, with the way you were carryin’ on.”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat, not offering any further explanation. “Well, I’ve got to go change into this.” She held the bag up.
“Ahh…the trip to the shopping mall.”
Her eyes widened. “You heard that?”
Damn. “Uhh…yes. I didn’t mean to be earwigging, but….”
She wrinkled her pretty nose. “Earwigging?”
“Aye.” Then I realized she hadn’t a clue as to what I was talkin’ about. “Listening in on your conversation.”
“Oh.” She nodded then appeared to be ruminating over something. “What else did you hear?”
Heat swept up the back of my neck. I was scarlet, for sure. I waved a hand. “Oh. Only a smattering, really.”
She studied me, her eyes narrowing, and I’d swear she could see into my very soul. Her principal powers were atinglin’. “O-o-okay.” She gave me one last hard stare, then spun toward the restroom.
“Umm…another mineral?”
She turned back and stared at me.
“Uhh…soft drink? Diet Pepsi?”
“Oh. No. Give me what you gave me before.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You’re wantin’ some of that firewater, are ya?”
“Aye,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
She twisted around to sashay away, and I watched her sweet little ass all the way across the floor. Gawking, so I was. But I couldn’t help it. It was a beauty. Aye, Miss Josephine Compton was a fine thing, for sure.
Deadly fine.
“You’re gonna catch flies, Killian.”
Sam and Dani had snuck in without making so much as a squeak, catching me totally unawares. My gob was hanging open like a dog in heat. I put a hand over my mouth and acted as if I was yawning, adding an elaborate stretch to be more convincin’.
“Right. Up all night, were you?” Dani tilted her head. “Just who are you ogling?”
They hadn’t seen. That was a blessin’. “I haven’t the foggiest notion what you’re talking about. The usual?” I quickly added.
They nodded, although still eyeing me. Sam tapped the bar. “And one for Josie. Make it a big one.”
I bobbed my head in acknowledgement and set to work. Fifteen minutes later, their drinks still sat on the bar.
Sam glanced at her phone. “Where the hell is she? Do you think she chickened out?”
I tried to sound casual. “Do you mean your lady friend from yesterday?”
“Yes. Josie.”
“Miss Josephine is in the toilet.” It had been a while, and, as a fact, I was beginning to become a mite uneasy for her.
“Why didn’t you say that before?” Sam snapped.
“You didn’t ask.” I looked at Dani. “She gets a, bit touchy without her juice, don’t she?”
Dani laughed. “Indeed.”
Ten more minutes passed.
Sam rose. “I’m going in there. You stay and watch our drinks.”
Dani saluted. “Aye, aye, captain.”
I busied myself, though keeping near their side of the bar. Minutes later, Josephine appeared like a vision. If I were gawking before, it was nothing to what I was doin’ now. Her hair—formerly wrastled to the back of her head—was down, a pure waterfall of soft curls. A flaming red blouse licked at her curves, and a black leather skirt—she kept trying to tug lower—was short enough to make a guy get on his knees and beg. My exhale of breath turned into a whistle.
“Jaysus on a bike.” I fought the grin creeping across my face and lost. “Would ya look at the state of ya?”
If not for the clamp Sam had on her elbow, it appeared as if Josephine would have run back into the ladies’ room. She lowered her voice, but I could still make her out. “Is that a good thing?”
A strong possibility existed I was acting the pure fool, but I was totally gobsmacked. She was a stunner.
Sam smiled proudly. “You approve, Killian?”
I managed to wag my head.
She tugged Josephine along, and once at the bar, patted a stool. “Hop on up here, Josie. Let’s have us a drink.”
Josephine struggled onto the stool, trying to manage her skirt as she shimmied on top.
I shook my head. Then raised my glass in the ladies’ direction. I cleared my throat. “I’ll share with you this gem, which me Uncle Seamus taught me—may you live to be a hundred years…plus one extra year to repent.”
“Yeah. We’ll probably be needing that extra year, huh, Dani?”
Dani nodded, and they swallowed their lot.
I made the error of looking Josephine in the eyes. Oh. Sweet. MaryandJoseph. She was wearing makeup that sparked the Erin green in them. It was a bit caked on, but it couldn’t hide her sheer beauty. I downed my shot without the usual clinking. I was needing the fortification. I was slain. Truly slain.
Josephine winced slightly, but on the whole had a much milder reaction to the belt than the night previous.
Sam grinned at her. “Nice. We’ll bring you to the dark side yet.”
Dark side? Why were they talking about the moon?
“Now. Let us return to our studies. Fill ’er up, barkeep.”
I attended to their glasses in turn. If I were to be an honest man, I’d say I was taking my time so I could listen in more. Sam slid out her documents, which were becoming fierce mangled by whatever else she had shoved in that monstrosity she called a purse.
“Okay. We’ve got the ‘go with friends’ down, the sexy clothes…ahh. Act confident.” She looked up from the papers. “The more relaxed and confident you are, it will reassure guys and they’ll be easier to talk to.”
Josephine nodded her head and took a notation, but her sigh, along with the tilt of her head and tense shoulders, exuded anything but confidence. I was sorry for her. I don’t know why she felt the need to go along with Sam’s “teachings.” She weren’t no floozy. She was ideal the way she was. It was a bunch of malarkey, those tips of Sam’s. Not all men fell for the same thing. We’re not all eejits and marauders. Although, to be fair, most of us are.
“Next…‘make eye contact.’ Okay—” She seemed excited by this; right up her street, I supposed. “—this is an important one. It can be hard to start a conversation cold…but if you’ve already been saying something with your eyes….” She lifted her brows.
Those beautiful green eyes of Josephine’s could say anything and I’d be in for the cause.
“It’s also the best way to gage a guy’s interest level. If he continues to exchange eye contact with you, it’s a green light.”
“Um-hum.” The pitch of Josephine’s word was too high. Nerves, no doubt.
Josephine gave me a gander and I threw her a wink. It seemed to cheer her some. Or maybe I was a bit touched and imaginin’ things.
Sam continued going through her list. “Be ready with conversational material.” She twisted her head in my direction and I quickly pretended to be absorbed with whatever match was being waged on the screen behind the bar. “Whatcha watching, Killian?”
Shite. She’s seen through me.
“Well, I…um….”
“See. Right there you have a conversation opener.” She looked at me again and creased her brow. “Although most guys are a bit more articulate than Killian, here.”
I tilted my head and tried to give her a scalding look. “I’ll be takin’ none of your guff, missy.” But I smiled. I just couldn’t get my dander up where Sam was concerned. She suffered from a double dose of original sin, that one, but she had a heart of gold on her.
Sam’s phone glowed and she took a second to look at a message. “So-o-o…” She finished reading, typed in something short, and took up the conversation again as if it hadn’t stopped. “If he’s not making the first move, be ready to make one of your own. ‘Can you take a picture of me and my friends,’ is always good.”
Josephine looked taken aback. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
Sam took another peek at her phone. “Of course you can. Or, if you have to, you can always lean on the old, ‘May I sit down?’ You can at least do that, right?”
“Probably.” She scratched away on her notepad. “Got it.”
“Okay, then.” Sam drew a deep breath. “Let’s review. You’ve prepared. You have your hot clothes on and have established eye contact. Next, you create conversation and meet the guy. Now you need to watch his body language to see if he’s still into you. Is he leaning away? Or has he turned in the other direction at all? Is he trying to continue the conversation, or are you getting only one syllable answers to everything?” She paused, twisting to sit more square to her pupil. She glanced at Dani, then back. “Now, if you get rejected, don’t let it upset you.”
He’d be a damned fool.
“It happens to everybody,” Dani added.
“Almost everybody.” Sam took hold of Josephine’s hands as if to comfort her. “And it might not have anything to do with whether he finds you attractive or interesting at all—”
Dani jumped in. “There could be hundreds of reasons.”
Sam nodded. “Right.”
“Maybe he’s tired.”
“Yes, and—”
“Maybe he’s not feeling well. Caught a bit of the stomach flu.”
Sam took a deep breath but was cut off before she could say anything.
“Maybe he’s gay. Maybe an ex is sitting on a stool next to you, and he doesn’t want a fight to break out—”
“Maybe he’s an alien.” Sam frowned. “She gets it, Dani. No need to belabor the point.”
There was a pause.
“Maybe his mother is sick and in the hospital.”
“Dani!”
“Okay.”
Anyone who wouldn’t be interested in Josephine would be as sharp as a beach ball and unworthy of her attention.
The question remained, how did I get her attention? Or did I even stand a chance? A lowly bartender and a woman like that? It was a longshot.
I grinned. I always took the longshots at the track, and they often paid out.