by Rachel Lacey
He caught her eye, and her pulse jumped like a startled deer. Yeah, she’d had a crush on Ryan for as long as she could remember. He was three years older and had been her brother Derek’s best friend in high school. Ryan was the one always getting into trouble, the one her mom hadn’t wanted Derek to hang out with and certainly would never have let Emma date.
Not that Ryan would have considered dating her, not back then anyway. In high school, she’d fancied herself in love with him, but looking back now, she realized it had just been an unrequited teenage crush. And then her whole life imploded. By the time the smoke cleared, Ryan had left town.
Now he was back, and as it turned out, her crush on him was still alive and well. Which was really inconvenient right now because he was seriously distracting her from the task at hand. Tearing her eyes from his gaze, she turned her attention to the group beside her.
“Hey there, sweet thing. What are you drinking?” one of the lumberjacks asked, his brown eyes bright, words slightly slurred.
Ugh. What was she doing?
“Want a shot of tequila?” another guy asked, waving a shot glass in her direction.
“No, thanks.” She’d agreed to flirt with whoever wiped the ketchup off her cheek, not get shitfaced on tequila.
“Yo, you’ve got a little something…”
She turned, and Ryan’s thumb swiped across her cheek, his rich, cocoa eyes locked on hers, and oh shit…
“Got it.” He grinned while warmth spread through her skin in the wake of his touch and sparks pinged through her belly. “You need another beer?”
“She was about to do a shot,” the drunk guy beside her said.
Ryan’s eyes narrowed in Drunk Guy’s direction.
“Actually, I need to get back to my table.” Emma lurched to her feet and practically ran back to her friends. “Oh my God, you guys. It was Ryan.”
Mandy’s eyes were wide. “I saw. That was actually kind of hot.”
“Deal’s off.” Emma dropped into her chair, heart pounding like she’d just run laps around the bar.
“Not so fast,” Mandy said. “I saw a little zing when he touched your cheek. You said you wanted a hot fling. Ryan could be just the guy to show you a good time.”
“No. Nope. Not happening.” Emma waved her hands in front of her face. Ryan had never seen her as anything but Derek’s tomboyish little sister. No way was she setting herself up for that kind of humiliation.
Carly looked up from her phone, a sheepish expression on her face. “I can’t believe I’m going to miss seeing how this plays out, but guess who’s waiting outside?”
“Sam?” Gabby asked.
“He got in a day early.” Carly was dating Sam Weiss—who also happened to be a super-hot rock star—and he’d been in LA for the past month or so. By the look on Carly’s face, she couldn’t wait another minute to see him.
Mandy waggled her eyebrows. “Have fun.”
“Good luck, Emma. Call me tomorrow.” With a wave, Carly headed for the door.
“So where were we?” Gabby asked, leaning forward conspiratorially.
“We were changing the subject,” Emma said.
“No, we were just modifying the dare,” Mandy said, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
“I’m with Mandy,” Gabby said. “The more I think about it, I love the idea of you flirting with Ryan. I saw the zing when he touched you, too. He could be exactly what you need to break out of the boring-guy rut. He’s got that whole bad-boy vibe going for him, but underneath the tattoos, he’s a really solid guy.”
“New dare,” Mandy said. “You’re going back up to the bar, and you’re going to convince Ryan to give you a ride home on his motorcycle.”
A thrill ran through Emma at the thought. “He can’t. He’s working.”
“Then obviously you’ll have to hang out and keep him company until he’s finished.”
Emma shook her head. “This is crazy. I’m not going to flirt with Ryan.”
Gabby looked thoughtful. “Well, maybe you can work your way into it. You want to shake things up in your life, right? What if you ask Ryan for his help? He teaches rock climbing lessons at Off-the-Grid. That sounds exciting.”
Emma blew out a breath. That sounded okay—maybe even fun. Ryan could definitely help her break out of her rut, even if things stayed platonic between them. “I could do that.”
Mandy nodded enthusiastically. “And you’re going to start by asking him to give you a ride home tonight.”
“But why wouldn’t I ride home with one of you guys?” Emma asked.
Mandy grinned. “Because we’re going to ditch you.”
“Ethan will be here soon to pick me up, but what about you, Mandy?” Gabby asked.
“I’m going to go meet that hottie at the bar,” Mandy said, gesturing toward the man she’d been checking out earlier. “Good luck, Emma, and have fun on that motorcycle. Can’t wait to hear all about it.” With a wink, she sashayed off toward the bar.
“Are you okay with this?” Gabby asked.
Emma shrugged. “Riding on Ryan’s bike sounds fun and taking rock climbing lessons does, too. It’s a start. I’m making no promises otherwise. I mean, Ryan and I have known each other since we were teenagers. It’s crazy to even think about flirting with him.”
“I hear you. It could definitely make things awkward between you two if it didn’t work out.”
“Exactly. Anyway, I’ll hang out with you until Ethan gets here.”
Gabby smiled. “Sounds like a plan. You know, we talked about new clothes and a hot guy, but that’s all superficial stuff. When you and I talked last summer, you wanted to shake things up with your job, too. Have you put your application in yet?”
Emma blew out a breath, shaking her head. No, she hadn’t submitted her application for the landscape architecture program at the University of Georgia. “But you’re right. Since high school, I’ve been saying this was my dream so why haven’t I gone after it yet?”
Gabby placed a hand on Emma’s. “I can’t answer that for you.”
“Tomorrow,” Emma said. “I’ll do it tomorrow. No more excuses.”
“I think this is the most important decision you’ve made tonight,” Gabby said.
The jittery feeling in the pit of Emma’s stomach said she was right. “And leaving Haven would definitely be the biggest change in my life.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be leaving forever, just while you get your degree.”
Emma shook her head. “Let’s be real. If I move to Georgia to get my degree in landscape architecture, there’s no reason to come back. I don’t have family here, and job prospects are better there. So if I get in, I’m not coming back.”
“Oh.” Gabby looked thoughtful. “Well, I would definitely be sad to see you go, but sometimes you have to leave home to find yourself.”
Emma knew Gabby was speaking from experience. Last year, she had done just that, leaving her life in Charlotte behind to come here to Haven—looking for a haven of her own. She’d found it, and she’d managed to snag the town’s most eligible bachelor, Ethan Hunter, while she was at it.
“The program’s pretty hard to get into,” Emma said. “So if I get in, I’ll make a new life for myself in Georgia. If I don’t, it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Gabby said. “I’m proud of you, you know. This is a big deal. I hope you get in.”
“Thanks.”
The front door opened, and Ethan stepped inside, his eyes darting straight to Gabby. He looked at her like there was no one else in the room, like the sun rose and set around her. Emma wanted that kind of pure, unconditional love. Someday. In the meantime, she’d settle for a really hot fling. She wanted sparks like the kind she’d felt just now when Ryan touched her cheek and all the toe-curling things that came next.
“Looks like my ride is here,” Gabby said. “Are you really doing this?”
Emma glanced over her shoulder at the bar. “Yeah, I should ke
ep an eye on Mandy anyway in case that guy is a creep. If I chicken out on the dare, I’ll just take a cab home.”
“Okay. Well, good luck. Call me tomorrow.” Gabby gathered her coat and stood up from the table.
“Will do.”
“Bye.” Gabby walked over to kiss her fiancé, and they left hand-in-hand.
Emma lifted her jacket and purse from the back of her chair and walked to the bar. She found an empty stool and slipped onto it. Ryan looked over and met her eyes. The heat of his gaze started a slow burn deep in her belly. He was sexy, no doubt about it. Six-foot-plus of strong, muscular man. Tattoos peeked from beneath the sleeves of his black T-shirt, covering his arms with their stories.
He made his way over, his eyes never wavering from hers. “Yo, where’d Carly and Gabby go?”
“Home with their hotties.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and leaned her elbows on the bar to give herself a bit of cleavage. “And I need another beer.”
His gaze remained annoyingly on her face. “Sure thing. You still drinking Untapped amber ale?”
She nodded. This was so not her style, sitting alone at the bar trying to pick up a guy, let alone Ryan. The only thing she’d committed to was asking for a ride home, but maybe she’d flirt just a little, just enough to see if she could get a reaction out of him.
Think sexy, Emma. You can do this…
“Coming right up,” he said, still completely professional.
“Thanks.” Emma leaned back to check on Mandy, who was currently making out with the man she’d just met. Well, that was fast. Emma had never hooked up with a random guy like that, wasn’t sure she wanted to. But then again, wasn’t her new motto to shake things up? Be unpredictable…
“His name’s Carl, and he’s in town for business. He sells vacation rentals,” Ryan said as he set a fresh beer in front of her.
“Thanks, and how did you…”
His lips curved in amusement. “That’s my job. You didn’t think I’d let Mandy make out with a total stranger, did you?”
She shook her head. Of course not. Ryan made it his business to know everyone he served at the bar.
“Be right back.” He walked over to three women sitting at the far end of the bar. They were dressed up and drinking fancy drinks, too fancy for a place like this. One of them leaned in, touching his arm as she spoke. Ryan laughed, then rolled up his shirtsleeve to give her a better look at his tattoos.
Emma frowned into her beer. That woman made flirting look easy. She was effortlessly sexy and probably much more appealing to a man like Ryan. A sinking feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as she watched him banter with them. He pointed at the blonde and winked, flashing that irresistible smile. He was flirting. Definitely flirting.
Someone tapped Emma on the shoulder, and she turned to find Mandy standing there, a sheepish smile on her face. “So, um, Carl and I are going to take off. You okay?”
“Yep. Have fun, be smart, and text me later, okay?” Because it made her nervous to see her friend leave the bar with a stranger, whether Ryan had chatted him up earlier or not.
“I’m always smart, and I will.” Mandy leaned in to whisper in Emma’s ear. “Bonus points if you kiss him. You’ll be sitting behind him on the bike. Just stand up a bit, lean over his shoulder, and kiss him. You’ll blow his mind.” With a wink, Mandy walked to the door, hooked her arm through Carl’s, and headed out into the chilly March night.
“Does girls’ night always end with everyone leaving with a guy?” Ryan asked from behind her, humor in his voice.
“Not usually.” Only when they’re setting me up. She lifted her beer and took a drink.
He looked at the mug, his eyes serious. “How are you getting home?”
“Not sure. I rode here with Mandy.” Gah. She was such a chicken.
“I’ll call you a cab.”
Wait a minute. No, she was still doing this, dammit. She lifted her eyes to his. “Who said I was ready to leave?”
Ryan watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable, then he cracked another easy smile. “Stay as long as you like.”
Chapter Two
By eleven, only a handful of people remained at the bar. Ryan poured a scotch on the rocks for a man sitting alone near the door. Based on the way he fiddled with his bare ring finger, Ryan pegged him as either going through a divorce or a man looking to mess around on his wife. Neither option sat well when he caught the dude staring in Emma’s direction.
He walked over to her. “Why are you sitting here alone at the bar on a Monday night, Em?”
She looked up at him, her blue eyes bright and twinkling with mischief despite—or maybe because of—the drunken giggle that revealed how much beer she’d consumed tonight. “Because I’m having fun.”
He smiled in spite of himself. “Wouldn’t have pegged you as the type.”
She gave him a funny look. “Well, I’m trying to broaden my horizons.”
“Hang tight,” he told her, then went down the bar to settle up with the trio of tourists. They left him a sweet tip before heading out into the night. He wiped down the bar as he made his way back to Emma. “You ready for me to call you that cab?”
“What time are you off?” she asked.
“We close at midnight.”
She leaned closer, and her floral scent teased his nostrils. “Any chance you could give me a ride?”
“It’s pretty cold out there, and I only have my bike. You’d be more comfortable in a cab.” And so would he, because the sight of her here at the bar, all that silky hair loose around her shoulders and the sexiest hint of cleavage showing at the neckline of her shirt…it was doing all kinds of weird things to his mind. Like making him fantasize about her on the back of his bike, her arms around his waist. Her lips on his. Emma in his bed, screaming his name.
“I’ve always wanted to ride on a motorcycle,” she said softly.
“You’ve never…”
She shook her head, a wicked smile curving her lips. “So what do you say, will you be my first?”
Ah, hell. Derek’s little sister. He repeated the words in his head until he’d dragged his mind out of the gutter. “You’re not dressed to ride.”
“I only live a few miles down the road. I’ll survive.”
This was a terrible idea. He should insist she take a cab, for his own sake if not for hers, but…“All right then, if you don’t mind waiting around while I close up.”
“Not at all. It’s kind of fun hanging out at the bar by myself. A couple of guys have even flirted with me. Maybe I should let my hair down more often. What do you think?”
He thought those guys were too smooth for a woman like Emma, and if the cheater by the door tried to put a move on her, he might “accidentally” spill a drink in the douche’s lap. “I think you’re beautiful however you wear your hair, but it does look really nice tonight.”
She sat up straighter. Yeah, he hadn’t expected to hear himself say that either.
“Thanks.”
He grabbed a cloth and rubbed at a water ring on the bar top, more as a distraction than out of necessity.
She leaned closer, those blue eyes hitting him like a punch to the gut. “I’m trying to shake things up this year, not be so much of a goody-two-shoes.”
He blinked. “Say what?”
“I want to have some fun.” She smiled, not the practiced take-me-home-tonight smile he received from so many women every time he tended bar, but a warm, honest smile that seemed somehow much sexier. “I’m thinking about getting a tattoo. And I want to sign up for rock climbing lessons when you start up for the season.”
His brain got fuzzy somewhere around the mention of a tattoo. “Oh, yeah?”
She nodded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “It looks exciting.”
“Almost as good as a ride on my bike.” And dammit, he was flirting.
“You could bring all kinds of excitement into my life,” she said with a giggle, reminding him that she wa
s borderline drunk.
“Water for you until we close,” he said, plunking an empty glass on the bar in front of her, which he filled from the tap.
She grumbled but took it without protest.
Ryan ventured down the bar to check on the cheater by the door and the other lone couple still remaining. The couple paid their tab and left, leaving only Emma and the cheater. And luck must have been on Ryan’s side because that guy paid up, too, and headed out into the night.
“I’ve never been the last one at the bar before,” Emma said, watching as he cleaned up.
“The place is dead tonight. Monday night outside of tourist season.”
“Can I help?” she asked as he placed dirty mugs into the dishwasher beneath the counter.
“Nope, but I do appreciate you keeping me company.” He hadn’t paid much attention to her when they were kids, but grown-up Emma was pretty cool, even if she was totally messing with his head tonight.
She chattered away while he cleaned up the bar. Jason, the manager, swung through and flipped the sign on the door from OPEN to CLOSED. Emma went to the restroom while Ryan finished up in back.
“Who’s the chick?” Jason asked. “She doesn’t look like your usual type.”
“Emma Rush,” Ryan answered. “She’s an old friend who needs a ride home.”
“On your bike?” Jason looked skeptical, and for good reason.
Because Ryan didn’t often give a chick a ride without hoping to get laid afterward. “Only ride I’ve got. I’ve known Emma since she was a kid. She’s just a friend.”
“Whatever you say, man.” Jason slapped him on the shoulder and headed for the back door.
Ryan turned to find Emma in the doorway, a funny smile on her face. “It might sound better if you said you’d known me since we were kids, instead of since I was a kid.”
“Same thing, isn’t it?” He zipped his jacket and led the way toward the back door.
“As long as you’re not still thinking about me like I’m twelve,” she said with a wink as she pushed the door open ahead of him. She wore a blue jacket now, not nearly thick enough to keep her warm on his bike. It was mid-March, and the temperature tonight had dipped into the forties.