“Huh?” I ask, tearing my gaze to my brother.
“You want to go in? Kallie is at her mom’s for a while tonight, so I have some time to kill.”
I shouldn’t. I should leave well enough alone and just go to the apartment and read like I had planned. But the longer I don’t answer and the wider Cross’s smile gets and the more times the back door opens, the bigger the little bubble of excitement in my stomach grows.
“You know what?” I say, opening my door. “Let’s do that.”
Nineteen
Hadley
“People get here this early?” I pause outside the door of Crave and take in the cars lining the street. “I guess I thought this was a late-night thing.”
“Machlan has a good thing going here.”
“Lots of drinkers in town, huh?”
“Believe it or not, people come in and don’t drink alcohol.”
“Really?” I flip my attention to my brother. “Why?”
Cross shrugs. “I guess they just like the atmosphere. Everyone in town filters through here at some point during the weekend. Hell, Machlan makes more here than I do at both my gyms.”
“Are you serious?”
“He’d never admit it, but yeah. I’d bet that’s true.”
This sparks a moment of pride in me. It’s not about the money because I know Machlan doesn’t care about that. But that he took something he enjoys, something I’m just realizing means something entirely more to him than I would’ve ever guessed and made it a success.
That makes me happy for him.
A roar of laughter ekes through the closed door. The windows are blacked out, so I can’t see in, but if I weren’t already curious, I would be now.
“There’s a bar in Vigo,” I say. “It’s a great place to go until it gets dark out. Then all hell breaks loose, and it becomes a shit show.”
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t happen here. Machlan doesn’t hesitate to toss people out on their ass.”
Stepping to the side to let a couple pass, I look at my brother. “Think he’ll toss me out?”
“He’ll have to get through me.”
“So think he’ll toss me out?” I repeat with a laugh.
Cross shakes his head and reaches for the door. “You act like it’s a given he’d win.”
“Because he would.”
“Have you even considered that I’m an actual fighter? Like I’ve been in sanctioned boxing matches. I own two gyms. I train people how to fight.”
“And Machlan would kick your ass.” I laugh. “But I still love you, and I’ll always lie in front of Kallie about that.”
“I …” He holds a hand on his heart and yanks open the door. “I’m hurt.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
It takes a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The salty scent of the bar mixed with the perspiration from the throngs of people already dancing hit me quick and hard.
Blowing out a breath, I give myself a moment to adjust. The place is hopping in a very controlled manner. It’s not what I was expecting even though I don’t really know what I was expecting.
Cross touches my shoulder and nudges me to move as a crowd of people come in behind us. I take a few steps before my feet falter.
Machlan is behind the bar. Dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that hugs his body like it was made just to show off his muscles, he’s hard to look away from. The colorful tattoos on his right arm peek out from under the sleeve of the shirt while his hair does the same from beneath a plain black baseball hat that’s turned around backward.
I’m nudged forward again. My heartbeat picks up as I get closer, knowing he hasn’t seen me yet. A part of me wants to fade into the background and just watch him from a distance. Another side of me wants to climb him like a damn tree. Thank God for the rational side that tells me to breathe, smile, and let things be.
“Well, lookie there,” Peck says. He scoots over one stool and pats the one he just vacated. His eyes light up like a bright summer sky. “What’s happening?”
“Not much. What about you?” I ask.
“Oh, just having a beer. Watching the game,” he says, nodding his head toward the television above the beer cooler. “Also, kinda trying to flirt with the new bartender.” His face scrunches together as though he’s embarrassed.
I sit down beside him. “Yes! She’s super pretty and seems really nice. I love her for you.”
“Settle down,” Cross says. “He didn’t say he was marrying her.”
I press my elbow backward, and it lands in my brother’s stomach. “You stay out of this.” Taking a quick check down the bar to see Machlan’s gone, I look instead at Peck. “Navie, huh? Much, much better than Molly. I approve.”
“Now, let’s not go hating on my girl. I’m still marrying Molly someday,” he says. “I’m just testing out my flirting skills on Navie. I don’t think she minds.”
He gives me the cutest smile, the one I think of when I think of Peck. It’s adorable with a hint of disobedience that makes you want to hug him and hit him at the same time. It’s pretty charming, actually.
“No, I bet she doesn’t,” I say. “I …”
My cheeks flush as my gaze finds Machlan’s. He seems oblivious to the guy he’s handing a beer to. His chin is dipped ever so slightly as he narrows his eyes as though he’s unsure if he’s seeing things—meaning me—correctly.
My heart skips a beat. Then two. He nods absentmindedly to the patron who just took the beer and ignores the money being flashed his way. As he stalks his way toward me instead, it skips a third.
The unknown buzzes through my veins. The glow of the pink flamingo lights hanging above the antique mirror that frames the liquor bottles gives him a warm, roguish glow. The hottest thing, besides my cheeks, is the way he looks at me.
One hand cups his chin, his fingers working back and forth over his mouth as if he’s trying to hide a smile. His eyes are trained on me so intently I squirm in my seat. Desire pools in my lower belly. My stomach topples over itself, unable to steady against the fire coming from his gorgeous eyes. My palms dampen.
Breathe, Hadley.
“You ready for this?” Peck cracks beside me.
“Ready for what?” Cross asks, looking up from his phone. “Oh, shit.”
“Incoming in five … four … three … two … one … liftoff,” Peck whispers, bringing a bottle of beer to his lips.
“Hey, Mach,” I say, hoping to take some of the wind out of his sails by speaking first.
He plants both palms on the bar. Hard. His gaze lingers on me for a few long seconds before he rips them away and plops them on my brother. “Really, Cross?”
“We were just coming in to say hi,” he says.
“Hi,” Machlan deadpans. His fingertips strum against the counter, a sound I only barely hear over the roar of the crowd.
He extends a finger toward my hand, and I hold my breath, thinking he’s going to touch me. The longer we sit, the more the edge of frustration wavers off his face.
“I can’t take this,” Peck says. “Somebody say something.” He looks back and forth between us. “Fine. I’ll go. What a great game. I have no idea who is playing, but I’m for the green team.”
I snort. “I thought you were for the Navie team.” My shoulder bumps his. “Get it? Navie. Navy.”
Peck laughs. “So witty tonight, Ms. Jacobs.”
“Yeah, I try.”
I also try super hard not to whip my gaze right back to Machlan, but I fail. It’s like he can order my body to do what he wants from the other side of the bar. Like I’m Pavlov’s dog—he dangles the treat and I start salivating. It’s unfair, really.
“I need to get out of here,” Cross says. “Kallie just sent me a text that she’s home, and you know …”
“We know,” Peck groans. “Kallie is home, and you’re pussy whipped. Congratulations.”
“Fuck off, Peck,” Cross says atop my laughter.
Peck just shrugs.
“So you guys are going?” Machlan asks. He looks at my brother, then at me, then drags his eyes back to Cross. “Is that what I heard?”
“I don’t know about Hadley …”
Machlan stands tall. His posture is on point as he looks at Cross. “Oh, I do. Trust me, Cross. A case of blue balls is gonna hurt a whole lot less than the knot I put on your head if you leave her here.”
“Asking me to take her home would go a lot smoother if you do it nicely,” Cross counters.
“Excuse me?” I start to get off the stool but stop when Peck rests a hand gently on my forearm. Shaking him off, I sit back down. “I am right here and perfectly capable of making a decision on where I want to be tonight. Thank you. Both,” I add, looking over my shoulder at my brother.
“Excuse me, but I have a business to run tonight. If I don’t pay attention to what’s happening in here, it’ll all fall apart. Thank you. Both,” Machlan says, unwavering.
He’s dropped the bite in his tone a few decibels. There’s a certain level of sternness in his words, but something that might be the beginning of a plea too. I start to respond when a shriek breaks out from the back.
We all jump as the sound breaks from near the pool tables. Voices rise over the music and the other customers’ chatter. Instinctively, I grab Peck’s arm.
I can’t see what’s happening over the crowd of people, but my heart pounds out of control. Machlan wastes no time jumping on top of the bar in front of me.
Any vulnerability I might’ve seen in him today is long gone. He stands like a soldier, looking menacingly down at an unidentified person in the back.
He looks tall and dark and sexy as fuck. And even though I’m latched on to Peck for protection, my body is wound around Machlan.