Mary Hanson can definitely work behind a bar, I’ll give her that. She’s fast and efficient and works well with Joe next to her. Maybe my uneasy feeling before was just because I don’t know her that well, and she has the habit of flirting with everyone. This could be a good fit. I glance around at the room as it starts filling up and sigh. She’s not here yet. I check my watch – the band should be starting in half an hour, so the place will be packed in an hour or two. I look towards the door again and jump when I hear Mary’s voice behind me. “Waiting for someone?â€� “What?â€� I ask as I turn. “No, why?â€� “You’re watching that door like the President of the United States is about to walk through,â€� she says with an eyebrow raised. “Maybe he is,â€� I grin. “You never know.â€� “Mm,â€� she says. Just then, Jess walks in. She’s with Sam and her boyfriend – I can’t remember his name. Jess’s eyes scan the room and find me in an instant. My heart starts hammering against my ribs as we stare at each other from across the room. Mary makes a noise and then puts her hand on my chest. I lean away from her, frowning. She starts laughing and leans into me, pressing her chest into my side. “Looks like it wasn’t the president you were waiting for,â€� she whispers. She laughs again and walks away. I glance back towards Jess and she looks away quickly, turning her back towards me as she gestures to a table. The three of them nod and head towards the table and away from me. Fuck. I glance back at Mary with acid in my eyes but she ignores me. She opens a bottle of beer and puts it in front of a man at the bar, leaning over to show off her cleavage for him before taking the cash he hands her for the drink. I shake my head and head towards Jess’s table. I’m not going to let her ignore me like that. The three of them are laughing at something when I walk up to the table. Sam greets me first. “Owen! How are you?â€� “I’m great Sam, good to see you here.â€� “Well, I’ll be honest, it’s the only place in town,â€� she says with a laugh. “Don’t know where else we would go.â€� “Ronnie, nice to meet you. I’ve heard all kinds of things about you!â€� Sam’s partner says with a loud laugh. I like him already. We shake hands and I turn to Jess. “Hey, Jess.â€� My cock throbs as she swings those eyes towards me. Her tongue slides out to lick her lips and she dips her chin down. “Hey.â€� “You guys want some drinks?â€� I ask. “Sure,â€� Sam says, smiling. Jess nods towards the bar. “New barmaid?â€� I turn to see Mary looking at us and then face the table again. “Probationary period. Joe said he needed some extra help and Mary overheard us. The locals seem to like her.â€� Jess just nods. She glances at the bar and her eyes narrow slightly for a moment. She turns to her friends and then claps her hands. “Well, we are celebrating the engagement of my two oldest and dearest friends, so I think… champagne? What do you guys think?â€� Sam laughs and Ronnie nods. “Sounds good.â€� Jess turns to me, brushing her hand against my leg under the table so no one can see. “Mr. McAllister,â€� she says with a grin. “Bring us a bottle of your finest French Champagne!â€� She waves with a flourish and then laughs. “Or, you know… some sparkling white wine of some sort. The cheaper the better, I’m not made of money and we won’t be able to tell the difference anyways.â€� I grin. “This one’s on the house, guys. Congratulations.â€� “That’s very generous of you, Mr. McAllister,â€� Jess says with a grin. “Don’t you start calling me that,â€� I laugh as I turn away. “It’s bad enough that your grandmother refuses to call me by my name.â€� The three of them laugh and my heart does a flip as I walk towards the bar. I can feel Jess’s eyes on me and all I want to do is grab her and wrap her in my arms and never let go. Chapter 23 – Jess
“What was that about?â€� Sam asks with a raised eyebrow as Owen walks away. I spin my head back towards her, hoping she didn’t notice me staring at his ass. “What was what about?â€� I ask innocently. “Jess,â€� she says. “Sam,â€� I respond. Ronnie laughs. “You guys got the hots for each other or what?â€� “No!â€� I say just a little bit too loud. They both laugh. “The lady doth protest too much… or whatever,â€� Ronnie says again. “It’s ok, Jess. It’s not like it was some secret the way you two were eye fucking the shit out of at each other.â€� “Ronnie!â€� Sam exclaims. She turns to me and adds: “I was wondering whose engagement we were actually celebrating.â€� I roll my eyes as I feel my cheeks blush. “Stop it,â€� I laugh. “Fine, fine! He’s an attractive guy, what can I say? A girl can look, can’t she?â€� “Yeah, and a girl does look,â€� Sam says pointedly. I laugh and shrug just as our bottle of sparkling wine appears at the table. Instead of Owen holding it, it’s Mary Hanson. She places the bucket of ice and bottle on the table and puts three glasses down. “I’m told this is on the house,â€� she says, staring at me. A smirk is hiding just behind her lips. “We didn’t have any French Champagne, so I hope this will do.â€� “It’ll have to,â€� I reply with a shrug. Sam laughs. “It’s perfect. Thanks Mary.â€� Mary nods. “So you guys engaged, huh?â€� Sam nods and Mary continues: “Congratulations. Looks like we’ll have two weddings in town this year.â€� “Looks like it, yeah,â€� Sam responds. “When’s yours?â€� She was always better at being polite than I was. My eyes scan the room for Owen and I spot him by the bar, talking to old man Howard. Their conversation is animated and Owen makes a big gesture with his arms over his head and they both laugh. Howard claps him on the back and I smile. He seems to have slipped into the fabric of the town seamlessly. They like him – how could they not! For some reason the thought of my hometown liking him makes my heart grow a couple sizes in my chest. I look at the smile on Owen’s face as he talks with Howard and I can feel my centre heating up. He runs his fingers through his hair in that familiar motion of his and my eyes flick down to the strip of exposed skin at his hips. My mouth gets dry and my mind jumps back to his bed a few hours ago. My fingertips tingle as I think of putting my hands on his skin again, and wrapping my fingers around his thick cock. “…Jess?â€� I turn to Sam, eyebrows up near my hairline. “Yeah? Sorry, I zoned out.â€� Sam purses her lips but says nothing. “I was just telling Mary that you were my maid of honour for the wedding.â€� “Right, yeah. I can’t wait,â€� I say with a smile, reaching over the table and squeezing Sam’s hand. “Quick engagement,â€� Mary says with a raised eyebrow as she pours the sparkling wine into our glasses. “Not wasting any time. I’ve been engaged for over a year already!â€� “Don’t see the point,â€� Sam says. She smiles at Mary who nods with a sour expression on her face. She puts the bottle in the ice bucket and nods before turning back towards the bar. I instantly feel more relaxed as she walks away from our table. I turn to my two oldest friends and smile. The three of us pick up our glasses. “To love, friendship, and weddings,â€� I say solemnly. We clink our glasses together and take a sip. I smile as the bubbles explode on my tongue and hold the glass up in front of me. “Tastes like French Champagne to me,â€� I say with a grin. “It’s bubbly,â€� Ronnie answers with a shrug and a laugh. “That’s all that matters, isn’t it.â€� Sam and Ronnie turn to each other and exchange another loving kiss. I smile and look away, wanting to give them a second of privacy. My eyes find Owen’s. His brown eyes bore into mine from across the room and I wonder what I see in them. Desire, yes, but is there something else? A smile spreads across my face as we look at each other until Sam and Ronnie start laughing. “You know this is a hotel, right?â€� Sam asks. “You guys can get a room. He owns the place
so it shouldn’t be that hard to organise.â€� I blush and roll my eyes, throwing my hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright, alright,â€� I answer with a laugh. I pick up my glass of bubbly and steal just one more glance towards Owen before burying my nose in my drink. Chapter 24 – Owen
It’s like there’s a sensor in my brain that can always detect where Jess is in the room. I can sense when she gets up to go to the bathroom, even though I’m on the other end of the bar. She glances at me and our eyes meet for just a second before we both look away. When she gets up to go get drinks I feel myself turning towards her. She’s still wearing that sheer blue sundress and it’s driving me wild. I steal glances her way whenever I can, and our eyes meet more often than not. All I want to do is go sit next to her, put my arm around her shoulder and spend the whole night listening to her laugh and talk. I don’t remember the last time a woman had me this hooked. “So you in love now or what?â€� Mary says to me as she leans against the bar across from me. That same smirk is playing on her lips and my head snaps away from Jess and over to her. The smile on her lips doesn’t penetrate all the way up to her eyes. Instead, I see something in them I don’t recognise. Malice? Or anger? I shake my head and ignore her question. Old man Howard chuckles beside me. “I don’t blame you,â€� he says. “Jessica Lee has grown into a beautiful young woman. Always smart, too. Do you know that she won a scholarship to Columbia? Graduated with honours,â€� he says, glancing over at Jess. My cheeks start to burn as I realise how obviously I’ve been staring at her. She looks over and nods at Howard when she sees him looking over. “A scholarship to Columbia University? In New York?â€� “Mmhmm,â€� Howard says. I frown. “She never told me that.â€� All she told me was that she moved away to New York as soon as she could. “She doesn’t talk about much, that one. Not about herself, anyway.â€� Howard lifts his beer to his mouth and empties it before pushing it towards Mary on the other side of the bar. “Get me another one, darling.â€� I look at Mary and see her face completely clouded over. There’s a darkness in her eyes as she nods and turns towards the fridges full of beer behind her. I frown as I watch her, waiting to see the expression on her face as she turns around to give Howard his beer. When she does turn around again, her face is completely placid. The anger in her eyes is gone and she has a pleasant smile on her lips. She pops the beer open and places it down in front of the old man. He grunts in thanks. I almost jump when Jess’s hand touches my back. She slides in beside Howard and I, putting her arm around Howard and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Howard!â€� She says. “I haven’t seen you in years. How are you? How are the kids?â€� Howard smiles at Jess and they exchange pleasantries. I watch the way the dim light in the bar reflects off her hair, making it look like a million different shades of brown. She looks radiant, and she definitely looks like she doesn’t belong in a place like this. I clear my throat. “So Howard was telling me you graduated from Columbia?â€� Jess looks over at Howard and he shrugs. “What else have you been saying about me, Howard? Nothing too incriminating, I hope?â€� Howard chuckles and shakes his head. Jess smiles and I see a warmth in her as she looks at the old man. He seems to love her, and I don’t blame him. There’s something about her that just makes her personality magnetic. She turns to me and finally swings her eyes up to mine. The breath catches in my lungs as her gaze focuses on my face and she smiles. “Yeah, I left for college ten years ago.â€� “Well it’s too bad New York couldn’t hold your attention longer,â€� Mary pipes up from behind the bar. She’s staring at Jess with fire in her eyes. Jess glances at her and I feel her body stiffen beside me. She stares at Mary for a few moments before speaking. “Can I get two beers and a vodka soda? Thanks.â€� Mary bristles and I see the cloud pass over her face again. She opens her mouth and then closes it again before starting to make the drinks. As soon as they’re on the bar, Jess gives her some money and nods to Howard and I. “Excuse me, gentlemen.â€� “You enjoy yourself,â€� Howard says with a smile. “Good to see you again, Jess.â€� Jess smiles. “Good to see you too, Howard.â€� I watch her walk back to her table and desperately want to follow her there, but I keep my feet glued where they are. People have already noticed me looking at her, it would surely cause a riot if they knew I’d had her in my bed a few hours ago. Chapter 25 – Jess
Knocked Up... Again!: A Secret Baby Second Chance Romance Page 7