Of course. She always picked the guys who weren’t interested. Julia never made it easy on herself. Probably why at thirty-one years old, she was still painfully single. Gathering her wits, she forced her eyes down to her joined hands. Her palms were a little sweaty, and she reached for a small napkin to dry them. She still hadn’t prepared an answer to the bartender’s question. When she lifted her head, she saw Cora had stopped what she was doing and stared back at her with a now giant grin in place. The smile clearly suggested Cora had picked up on Julia’s response to Connor. Maybe the place where everyone knew her name wasn’t such a good thing after all.
When she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She closed her lips, cleared her throat, then tried again. Cora lifted a brow and gave the slightest cock of her head toward Connor. She interpreted that to suggest that Cora would initiate an introduction. Julia cast her gaze back in Connor’s direction. No surprise at all, he completely ignored her. Whatever he stared at in the beer bottle was monumentally more interesting than she was.
After a second more, she shook her head no and forced herself to concentrate on Cora’s question. “I need a Voss.”
“Sure thing.” Cora’s voice had a clear teasing tone, and Julia looked up to see a covertly given wink directed her way. The heat on her face had her reaching over for a laminated bar menu to start fanning herself. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d had this kind of reaction to a man. Her heart pounded, her breath wasn’t quite steady, and there was definitely something going on in the juncture between her thighs.
Again, reverting back to her junior high days, she cut her gaze toward Connor. He continued sitting there, completely ignoring her, staring at his bottle.
On almost all levels, it sucked to be attracted to a man who had no awareness of her, but on another level, she was then able to keep her eyes fixed on him without any worry that he might notice. Connor’s deeply tanned skin drew her attention. He had probably started with an olive complexion, because creating his kind of skin tone required years and years of being outdoors. He was rugged with a strong jaw and a buzz cut, as close to bald as he could get, yet she could see the possibility of a full head of hair if he let it grow. The color looked like a rich, deep brown that would match his dark eyes perfectly. His biceps were huge, and she bet he didn’t have an ounce of excess fat on that big body. Even in such a sophisticated setting as Cache, he sat there looking like the force of nature he probably was. Even the tendons in his neck didn’t seem to relax all the way.
She imagined licking the long line of his neck…
“Here you go.” She looked down to see the water bottle placed in front of her on a small little cocktail napkin. The bartender had scribbled a quick note on the napkin, six crucial words.
Sure you don’t want an intro?
Cora’s eyes stayed focused on hers when she lifted her head and stared for several long seconds. A weird calm settled over her, bringing her back into the here and now. What the heck just happened? She’d never reacted to anyone quite like that before. Even her thoughts had become a little tongued-tied in her head at the thought of licking that man.
Finally, she gave a small shake of her head. She’d do this for herself. No one was around except Cora. If she crashed and burned, she’d only have her own humiliation to deal with. Lifting the water, she took a big drink while wadding the small handwritten napkin then tossing it aside. After placing the bottle back on the bar, she schooled her features, put a smile on her face, and turned back to Connor.
“You’re Ty Bateman’s friend, aren’t you?” She stuck out a hand toward him when he turned back to her. “I’m Julie. We’ve met before.”
He looked at her for several long moments, and she saw no recollection as he wiped his palm on his thigh before taking hers in a strong, enveloping handshake.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I’m bad with names and faces,” he said in a deep, masculine Southern drawl that caressed her skin in the gentlest of touches. Goose bumps trailed up and down her arms. Connor turned back to his beer, tilting the bottle up, finishing off its contents, not inviting or initiating any further conversation.
Oddly enough, that didn’t seem to stop her. She was drawn to him on a level she couldn’t explain and that had her lifting a leg to sit on the stool. She watched in the mirror behind the bar as his brows slid together. He looked down at the empty seat separating them, before his gaze lifted back to hers.
“That’s okay. I’m usually bad with names and faces too,” she said, except she wasn’t at all. She had trained herself to remember the people she’d met. Feeling her cheeks warm at her lie, she reached for her cold water bottle and took a drink, waiting to see if he might respond. No surprise, he didn’t say a word.
He again stared straight ahead, and she watched him until their gaze collided in the mirror and held. Connor broke the connection, cocked his head to the side, and swung his gaze to look directly at her, his expression completely unreadable.
“Where did we meet?”
Score! He had just voluntarily furthered the conversation, not leaving it all to her. She resisted the urge to execute an all-air fist pump as Connor lifted his beer bottle toward the bartender, making sure Cora saw his request before his eyes came back to hers.
“Right here. Ty rented the club and had his Academy Award after-party here. You and your friends came. I always thought that was so cool the way you guys stick together.” She watched him the entire time she spoke. If there had been even a small hint of interest in Connor’s gaze, it had gone dead in that moment.
“What’s your job? How do you work with Ty?” Connor asked and turned away, clearly not caring what the answer might be. Those impenetrable barriers slid back in place, completely shutting her out. He watched the bartender open his beer bottle.
“I’m an actress. I’ve worked with him before.”
Connor didn’t respond. He took the offered beer and gave a nod to Cora. Knowing Ty’s disdain for the industry better than anyone, and how much those five men protected one another, she didn’t let Connor’s very clear ‘not-interested’ stance put her off. No way would Connor put himself in a position to let Ty be used. “I’ve also become a friend of Kenzie’s. I met Lara last week, too. Kenzie’s a sweetheart. I hope Ty can get everything worked out with her. They’re made for each other. I hate they broke up.”
“They broke up?” Connor’s full attention swung back to her.
She nodded and those brown eyes darkened with concern. “Yes. He flew back to Texas yesterday. I haven’t heard from either of them. I’m waiting.”
“Hmm. That’s why he’s not here,” Connor said, nodding. Whatever he’d been thinking clearly began to make sense to him.
“You don’t live around here, do you?”
“No. I live in San Diego. We had a deep-sea fishing trip planned for this morning. I figured something came up when he didn’t return my call, but I had to come up for an appointment anyway.” He took another swig from his beer bottle. This time he didn’t turn away from her.
“Did you go fishing? You don’t smell like fish.” She wrinkled her nose and leaned toward him to sniff, making him smile as he swallowed the big gulp he’d just taken. Of course she had noticed those full lips, but when they spread into a giant grin, it transformed his stern, handsome face into a thing of beauty, leaving her transfixed and focused, more so than even a few minutes ago. All her girl parts began to tingle, and she prayed her hard nipples didn’t show through her tank top. She forced herself to ignore the flush and grew bolder, swiveling in her seat to fully face him.
She was into him—so totally into him she wasn’t even going to hide it.
“Do you need another drink?” Connor asked.
“It’s just water,” she said and lifted the bottle. All the heat rushing through her had apparently made her thirsty, and she took two hearty gulps back to back.
“Can you get her another? Put it on my tab,” Connor said to the
bartender. Even though he hadn’t initiated this possible pickup, Connor was clearly a take-charge kind of guy, handling the situation on his own. Her eyes followed his to Cora who was again grinning her little mischievous smile.
“She drinks very cherry martinis. What about another of those, Ju-lee?” She didn’t miss the exaggerated way Cora drew out the nickname she’d given Connor, but since the bartender was her self-proclaimed partner in crime, she’d already begun mixing a martini without gaining permission.
“Sure, why not. I’m just killing time this afternoon anyway,” she answered casually. Honestly, she usually didn’t allow people to buy her drinks. That was a hard-and-fast rule she’d developed after her first real Hollywood party. Slipping pills in cocktails was the norm around there—kind of its own little game—and she wanted no part of that mess. Besides, letting men buy her anything always seemed to give the wrong idea to the over-the-top, egotistical types who thought she needed to drop to her knees—literally—to thank them for such a monumental act.
“Great. Not too many people buy her drinks.” Cora filled Connor in. Seconds later, she placed the martini in front of her. Julia didn’t hesitate as she reached over to lift the glass and take a sip as she turned back to Connor. He’d shifted in his seat, now fully facing her with those intense eyes scanning her. He was a lot for her to process when he was ignoring her. Now, with all that gorgeousness focused just on her… Well, she took a much bigger swallow.
~~~
No question. Julie was a beautiful woman, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to place her. Over the years, he’d been to this club a few times with Ty. Living in Coronado, then San Diego, he’d driven the distance to meet Ty when their schedules meshed. It was possible she’d met him before, but honestly, he’d remember someone who looked as good as her, and that caused him to take a closer look at her pretty face.
She wore her auburn hair in a ponytail, making it hard to gauge its length, but it looked like it might fall a little past her shoulders. Her hair wouldn’t be the best measure in remembering her. It could have been cut or colored many times over. His eyes again lowered to her face. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup—he liked that. She was gorgeous just the way she was with that heart-shaped face, high cheekbones, and big blue eyes.
Interestingly enough, it hadn’t been the attractive package Connor had noticed this afternoon. Instead, the blush that warmed her cheeks drew his attention as he’d watched her in the mirror when she’d first stepped up to the bar.
Admittedly, he’d never been any good at reading women, so there was no way to know if her friendly approach really meant interest, but either way, he knew how this would play out. Once she realized he was in the service—true career military—she’d take off. Hollywood women tended to be superficial, and his pockets were way too small for the eligible females around there. On the flip side, since his life had sucked shit since coming back from his weekend away in Tennessee, he’d enjoy the company for as long as she was willing to give it. Once she ditched him, then he’d head over to the cheaper bar at the hotel where he’d gotten a room for the night and get serious about the drunk he needed to happen.
“Thank you for the drink. These are my favorite. Have you tried one?” she asked, her bright eyes staying on his as she took another sip from the glass.
“I generally stick to beer,” he managed to say as his gaze focused on her lips at the rim of the glass. He couldn’t help when his dick surged into a full-fledged hard-on.
“Here, try this. You’ll change your mind.” Julie reached across the bar, plucking a cocktail straw from a container. Expertly, she dropped the straw in the glass, then held the end and lifted, extending a well-toned arm toward him. He had a moment of indecision. It was clearly a flirty move. His gaze stayed on hers as he leaned over and took the straw in his mouth, pulling in a taste of the offered drink. Her grin grew bigger. It seemed to make her unreasonably happy that he had tried her offering. “See?”
“It’s good.” He nodded in her direction.
“Want one?” she asked, lifting one of her long legs to cross over the other.
“I should stick to beer.”
“You need to know, I think that’s a bad decision,” she said before taking another drink. Her eyes sparkled when she continued, “Definitely your loss.”
“Is it now?” he asked, finding himself flirting back with her. Even knowing how it would end, it felt good to have a woman like this interested in him.
“Pretty much,” she confirmed and gave a throaty little chuckle that caressed his skin, sending a little tickle up his spine.
“You two doing okay?” the bartender interrupted.
“Need another?” he asked Julie. When she smiled and nodded in his direction, his dick kicked it up a notch, turning painful in its angle inside his shorts. Luckily, she reached for a cocktail napkin, giving him the second he needed to quickly adjust himself. It wasn’t perfect, but better, and he tugged at his shirt, covering any remaining evidence of his attraction, thankful he hadn’t tucked the thing in like he normally did.
“I think he also needs one of these and I’ll take another in a few minutes. You can put it on my account.” Her blue eyes landed on him as Connor began to shake his head at her words, looking at the bartender for the first time since she’d spoken.
“I’m paying.”
Julie immediately started to argue, but he lifted a hand to her, staring straight at the bartender with a firm look until he got the nod of understanding before he added, “I’ll stick to Bud Light.”
When he turned back, her argument was already gone. Julie seemed to love the moment. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but she was flipping her head between him and the bartender until she finally kept looking at him. In one graceful move, she ended any lingering speculation he had as to what was going on between them when she quickly scooted to the seat separating them. There was just enough room between the seats for her to put both her legs between his as she faced him again.
“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret,” she said quietly while leaning in closer to him. So close in fact that he picked up the clean, fresh scent of her perfume. The fragrance fit her well.
Caught up in the moment, he didn’t respond right away. Instead, he got lost in her beautiful upturned face. She didn’t seem to need his encouragement. Julie continued with what she had to say, which technically made her the most perfect female on the planet. Conversation had never been his strong suit.
“You’re the first guy to buy my drinks,” she whispered.
Lost in such a gorgeous package, it took a second to register her words. When he did, they caused him to bark out a non-believing laugh. “That’s not true.”
“Mmm hmm.” She nodded, her face becoming solemn as she crossed her heart with her finger.
“You can’t expect me to believe that.”
Her expressive face changed again, this time turning speculative as her eyes narrowed when she randomly changed the subject again. He’d have to be on his toes with this one.
“Kenzie and I talked about her meeting you guys in Tennessee. I met Lara briefly when she came to see Kenzie—”
He cut her off immediately. “Lara came to California?”
“Yeah. Things got bad for Kenzie. Did you not see any of that on the news?” she asked, more serious now.
“That entertainment bull isn’t really my thing. I guess I should’ve checked in to make sure she was adjusting well enough. Bateman’s really into her, but I never watch or listen to all that crap he’s gotta go through. I don’t even watch much TV. It’s not my thing. I’d rather be outside,” he said, tilting his bottle up for a drink. He stopped midway up and got a little concerned. Had he just insulted her? “Not that I’m saying anything bad about your profession.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t watch a lot of television either,” she said, waving him off. He wasn’t sure of the sincerity of that statement, but wanted to kick himself for saying some
thing that stupid. No wonder his game was so off.
“Kenzie and Lara hit it off?” he asked, trying to change the subject. Julie lifted a finger to the bartender as she placed their new drinks in front of them. She quickly drained the rest of the one she had in her hand before handing the empty glass over and reaching for the new one.
“They seemed to be good friends. Kenzie’s working with Lara for Reed Prescott,” Julie filled in.
That bit of information honestly surprised him. It had been a less than a month ago that they were all together in the Smoky Mountains.
“Really? That all happened fast.”
“I wouldn’t normally tell you all this, but I know how close you two are. I think Ty worked it all out for her once he found out about the court case,” she added. Somehow Julie had managed to confuse him even further.
“What court case?”
Julie paused, and instead of speaking, she laughed, bringing Connor’s gaze to her mouth. Everything except Julie faded away. In that moment, nothing else existed, but this beautiful woman and her magical healing laugh. Layers of anxiety and concern melted away, causing Connor to instinctively grin back at her as he lifted his foot to a higher rung on the stool, bringing his hands and beer bottle closer to his crotch to cover his twitching cock.
He wanted her like he’d never wanted any woman before.
“You don’t keep up, do you?” she teased, and he just continued to stare at her before lifting the strategically placed beer, tilting the bottle back and draining the contents in a few long gulps. The day had gone from a zero to a ten in a matter of a few minutes. This woman was something else. How did he not remember meeting someone as enchanting as her?
“No, I guess I don’t,” he finally admitted. “So Kenzie had legal problems, and Ty managed to fix everything?”
“I think Reed did,” she corrected.
“He would’ve only done that if she were innocent. He wouldn’t have helped if she weren’t. So why’d she break up with Ty?” He reached for the new beer bottle, depositing the empty one back on the bar.
Mission Happy (A Texas Desires Novel Book 3) Page 2