by A. m Madden
“Gee, thanks,” I teased.
“Aww, you know I love you. Have a safe trip.”
Once we ended the call, I pulled open the heavy oak door of Brad’s Tavern and sighed at the noise level. I was all about tranquility and improving health, while this scene was all about corrupting it. The place being mobbed on a Thursday night was the norm. In fact, there wasn’t a day during the week where my brother’s bar lacked patrons. Young professionals came in droves to hang out at his hotspot in SoHo. But on Brad’s infamous monthly Kismet Karaoke night, the normally crowded tavern turned into sheer madness.
A few steps inside and every woman’s eyes near the door zoned in on me. Being one-third of a set of identical triplets meant life was never dull. From birth, my brothers and I received attention for everything we did. Growing up under a constant spotlight was annoying and explained why Nate and I craved privacy.
Brad, on the other hand, couldn’t be more opposite to us. Dubbed an attention whore, owning one of the most popular bars in Manhattan served well to boost his never-ending ego. Whenever I sauntered into Brad’s Tavern for a drink, the women would flirt shamelessly, gawking at my identical brother and me like we were part of a rare exhibit at the zoo. God forbid if Nate also happened to be there, then the three of us became a science project to their endless, random, yet salacious questions. The most common being, “Are you identical everywhere?”
“Hi there, Max,” a blond waitress named Kipper said as she approached. She had a mad crush on my brother. But, since he was her boss, along with the fact my face was identical to his—same chestnut brown hair, same startling green eyes—she naturally set her sights on me as a substitute. Hooking up with me wouldn’t endanger her job. Except I wasn’t interested.
“Hey, how are you?” I asked politely but didn’t wait for an answer. A few more waitresses greeted me as I made my way toward my brother behind the bar.
“Thank fuck,” Brad said when he saw me approach. His other bartender, Vic, seemed even more relieved that I had finally arrived.
While Brad frantically barked out directives, I calmly rolled up my shirtsleeves and sighed. He then shoved me toward the end of the bar that I’d be manning for the night and in the process fed me to the lions.
“Wait…you’re twins?” a buxom redhead asked with a sly grin.
Brad stopped in his tracks, flaring his eyes in feigned shock and holding his heart. “Oh my God, we are?” It took a few seconds for her to realize he was kidding, and once a pitchy giggle escaped, my brother winked at her. As crazy busy as he was, he still made time to flirt.
“God help me,” I muttered.
He turned his back to her, gifting me with his scowl. “Can you please look like you want to be here?” he hissed through gritted teeth.
I mustered up a fake smile and in my best radio announcer voice said, “This place is the bomb.” I even gave him two thumbs-up for good measure.
“Asshole.”
No sooner had I assumed my position when a breathy voice asked, “Excuse me, can I get a vodka martini?”
“Sure,” I said, barely making eye contact with the redhead who brazenly placed her cool hand tipped with bloodred painted talons on my wrist.
“I like it extra dirty…three olives.”
Of course she did. “Coming right up.” I quickly mixed her drink and placed it on the worn wood with a smirk. “Nice and dirty, and eleven dollars, please.”
“I’m Gigi.” She slid a twenty my way, along with a business card. “Keep the change and my number.” A flirty wink came next before she took a sip, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Thanks.” After I turned my back to put the money in the register and stuff the tip into the large jar, my eyes rolled toward the ceiling with another sigh. This was going to be a long fucking night.
From the moment I began serving, I didn’t stop for a solid hour. Finally, as the mob got ready to watch the karaoke that was about to begin, I had a small lull in my bartending duties.
By leaning back against the counter, I was first able to get a good look at the crowd. Every booth, table, corner was filled with boisterous patrons drinking their weight in top-shelf liquor. They all looked the same, twentysomething suits that had been released from their offices to let loose. And that was just what they were all doing.
Suddenly, a brunette beauty caught my attention and held it in the strangest way. She seemed familiar, but I knew if we had met in the past, we wouldn’t be strangers now…because, goddamn, even in her uptight business attire and hair bun, she stood out more than the rest of them. She also had a demure air about her that instantly intrigued me. Not snooty, more so conservative and maybe even shy. A stark contrast to everyone around her.
I watched her first scowl at something her friend said before breaking into an unguarded laugh. But when she turned her face toward me, and I locked eyes with her, a memory popped into my mind.
I had seen her before…at my gym. It all came back to me—how I tried to find her after getting held up by a phone call, only to realize that she was gone. The only thing she’d left behind was a sloppy signature on our guest log and an email address.
“Jade something,” I muttered, not realizing I’d spoken until my brother clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“Jade something who?” His eyes swept over the crowd like a hawk searching for its next meal.
“No one,” I lied, moving on to grab a beer for a customer. Thankfully, Brad did the same on his end of the bar and dropped his questioning.
Regardless of the demanding drink seekers, my eyes kept popping over to where Jade continued to chat with her friend, only difference now being she seemed nervous and agitated.
“I’m back.” Gigi, dirty martini girl, took a seat that had just vacated and giggled. “So, what’s your name?”
“Max.”
“What time do you get off, Max?”
“Not soon enough,” I said with a tight grin. Misinterpreting my comment, her front teeth clamped down on her full bottom lip around a demure smile. When I followed it up with, “Excuse me,” disappointment morphed over Gigi’s heavily made-up face.
“Um…sure.”
I moved toward a dude with a full beer and asked, “Ready for another?”
He looked down, shrugged, and said, “Why not?”
While reaching into the cooler to grab an icy brew, my eyes again searched for Jade as I uncapped the bottle and slid it toward the man.
“Who are you drooling over?” Brad asked close to my ear while his gaze scanned every woman in the vicinity. Sometimes, the triplets knowing each other better than anyone thing got really old. “The blonde in green?”
“What? No. Go away.” Traitorously, my eyes again landed on Jade, cluing my annoying brother in to who it was that caught my attention.
A firm pat on my shoulder came before he said, “Oh yeah, Jade something is gorgeous. Her friend is superhot, too. Maybe we can both get lucky tonight.”
“Stop. And my getting lucky is not your concern.”
He lifted his hands defensively. “Just because you haven’t had sex in months doesn’t mean tonight shouldn’t be the night you give the boy some relief.” His eyes drifted down my jeans before he raised them along with his eyebrows pointedly.
“Stop looking at my junk, asshole. And how do you know I haven’t had sex in months?” I argued, even though it was true, I hadn’t.
“If I know my brother well, the day he learned that he put a bun in his friend’s oven was the day he stopped dipping his spoon into other bowls.”
I blinked a few times at his stupid analogy before pushing him away. “Get lost.” Meanwhile, the fucker had to go and remind me of my reality.
A: I had gotten my good friend, Tracey, pregnant.
B: I hadn’t had sex since she announced that news.
In just about five
months, I was going to be a father. That fact seemed to be affecting my ability to develop interest in someone. My life was crazy with a side of insane—back and forth from New York to Miami, keeping a business running while starting up a new one. And on top of all that, I had dad duties to prepare for now, and I didn’t take that lightly.
But also…I wasn’t dead.
Brad clapped his hands and said, “Showtime.” He scampered off toward the small stage set up at the other end of the room.
A few minutes later, my brother’s voice boomed through the speakers. “Hey, everyone! Welcome to Kismet Karaoke night. I’m your sexy host, Brad Navarro, who also happens to own this fine establishment.”
The place went nuts. Correction: every female in the place went nuts…except Jade. Even though her hair had been released from the bun and now draped over her shoulders in relaxed waves, she sat stiffly, sipping her drink and looking like she might throw up.
“Who’s ready to win some cash and maybe even meet the love of your life in the process?” Brad ate up the spotlight as the crowd continued to roar, forcing him to raise his hands in an attempt to quiet them down. “Okay, let’s get on with it. Tonight, we will be randomly pairing up five gorgeous women with five brave men who will be singing for your entertainment.”
He went on to explain the rules of the contest, reminding them that as an added bonus to the cash prize, if the couple sparked up a relationship from being thrown together in that fateful karaoke match, they would drink free on Kismet Karaoke night for each month they remained together…with social media proof of their relationship, of course.
Why these people would subject themselves to such humiliation for five hundred bucks and a few rounds of alcohol baffled me. Then again, the wall-to-wall body count proved Brad knew what he was doing.
One by one, he riffled through slips of paper, rattling off the names to join him on stage. There wasn’t a doubt they had all fueled up with enough booze to dull the mortification that would come. The group of them didn’t look the least bit deterred they were about to make fools of themselves…except for one.
“Do we have a Jade E. here?” Brad asked before he sliced his gaze to me and winked.
Motherfucker.
A few long moments passed, without one person claiming the spot. “Jade? Where are you?” Brad goaded.
While my eyes remained glued to her, I watched a slew of emotions cross over her face from terror to fury to embarrassment before she reached for her friend’s drink and slammed it down. She then slowly made her way toward my brother, her cheeks blazing. Once she came to stand beside him, he threw a casual arm around her shoulders.
“Jade, ready to wow the crowd?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes before a noticeably fake smile appeared for Brad’s benefit, and I chuckled. Served him right.
“Aw, come on. I have a feeling you’ll be great.” He lifted the last scrap of paper that looked nothing like the others he had already read from and frowned. “Hmm. Since I happen to know this person, I need to add a disclaimer that the prize money will be gifted to Jade if you happen to win.” Brad again looked my way and grinned. “Let’s get Max N. up here.”
Stubbornly, I stood my ground and shook my head.
This caused Brad to grin wider, nodding in tempo to my refusal. “Let’s go, Max N. The masses are waiting.”
“That’s you, dude,” Vic muttered with a sympathetic grimace, in case I hadn’t figured that out yet.
“No way. I’m not doing it.”
Vic didn’t look convinced, especially when Brad added, “You gonna leave this gorgeous girl up here alone? I’ll just have to pick someone else, then. Maybe I’ll sing with Jade.” A sick feeling swelled within me, and it had nothing to do with the stunt my brother pulled. It was the hurt expression on Jade’s face that forced a realization I would be singing in a few minutes.
Resigned, I mumbled, “I’m going to fucking kill him.” On my way out from behind the bar, I asked Vic, “Can you handle it for a few?”
“Sure, man.”
For whatever reason, maybe to spare Jade the misery based on her expression, or maybe to enable my own salacious intentions, I gave in. Not allowing a conscious thought to interfere, my feet carried me right toward her.
She tracked my approach, and once I stood beside her, she whispered, “It’s obvious you don’t want to do this.”
“Sure, I do,” I said with a wink, then I leaned closer and added, “Let’s just go with it.”
Her big brown eyes widened. “Why?”
“Maybe I believe in kismet.”
I focused on the amused pucker of her lips, ones I really wanted to taste…and if we weren’t still on stage, I would have. Instead, I took her hand and positioned us on the side, ignoring my brother’s obnoxious expression as he further explained what was about to happen.
Of course, we were up first, and the lyrics for the song we were assigned appeared on the monitor. While we sang along with Jason Mraz, the crowd’s enthusiasm became dull background noise, and all I heard was her sweet, melodic voice.
Knowing the song well, while her eyes remained glued to the lyrics scrolling, I stared at her. The applause thundered around us, and I could only guess embarrassment was what caused her cheeks to flush pink as she remained stone-still. She didn’t seem the type to relish in attention, and that made her even sexier to me.
Impulse had me pulling her into my hold, rolling our hips seductively to the music and earning the audience’s boisterous approval. Shit, if we were forced to do this, I might as well give the crowd what they wanted. Her wide-eyed reaction melded into something else…something smoldering and electric. She suddenly stopped singing, and I finished the song by myself before dipping her to end our performance.
“I’m kissing you,” I announced and waited a pause for her to refuse me…but she didn’t. With our lips a breath apart, with the tether between our eyes crackling like a live wire, I impulsively closed the distance with a searing kiss.
I swallowed her surprised gasp, one that quickly turned into a moan that spurred me to keep the kiss going. But then, when one particular voice projected above all others, she snapped out of our moment and back into reality.
“Yeah, go, Jade! Woot, woot! Nine inches, baby! Nine!”
Jade’s cheeks flamed even deeper red. “Oh my God,” she muttered, covering her face with her hand.
“Nine inches?” I asked, amused, only imagining the innuendo behind that comment.
“That’s how long the blade will be that I use to stab her with,” Jade deadpanned, and I cracked up.
Side-by-side, we spent the rest of the contest waiting for the other four couples to compete while stealing silent glances between us.
Once this stupid thing was over, I’d be done playing bartender. Brad thought he was funny. Well, that jackass who looked just like me lost his backup bartender for the rest of the night. Miss Jade E. and I would be getting to know each other.
A torturous eternity later, she released a gasp when we were crowned the winners, still gawking at me like I’d lost my mind.
My brother handed her both prize envelopes with a cocky smirk. “Like I said, it’s all yours.”
“I can’t take this,” she said, glancing from Brad to me.
“Sure, you can. We won.” I leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Are you sticking around?” When I straightened, the way her tongue poked out and skimmed her full pink lips caused a twitch in my crotch. Fuck, what was it about this woman?
In an instant, she composed herself by folding her arms across her chest, with her cash prize clutched in her hand. “Fine, but only because I have a ton of questions for you, Max N.”
“Navarro.” I offered her my hand, which she accepted. “I look forward to it, Jade E.”
“Easton,” she clarified.
“Nice to offi
cially meet you.” Lifting her hand, I placed a kiss on it before heading back to the bar with my brother hot on my heels.
“You’re welcome,” Brad wisecracked the minute we were back behind the bar.
“You’re right. Thank you,” I said, and he grinned. Now that the contest was over, and a crowd three-deep surrounded the bar to get another round, I dropped my bomb and said, “Bye. I’m off to get to know Jade now.”
Sure enough, the grin fell off his face.
“Wait…what? We have a ton of people waiting for drinks, and I need you to…”
“Sorry, but I didn’t make the rules of Kismet Karaoke. You did.” I waved then sauntered over to where Jade had resumed her seat, animatedly speaking to her friend.
For the first time in weeks, someone had managed to stir things for me below the belt. Maybe Brad forcing me to sing with a stranger in front of a roomful of people would become a blessing in disguise?
Chapter Three
Max
Her chocolate brown eyes landed on mine the moment I reached their table. I really had no idea what I thought would happen, but I hoped it involved some level of physical contact. Hey…a man had to try.
“Hi,” the woman sitting with her said, a ravenous expression on her face. “I’m Amy, the BFF.”
“Sure, you’re also the nine-inch girl.”
Amy grinned. “That’s me.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Amy, the BFF. I’m Max Navarro.” I shook her hand, but my focus remained on Jade.
“So, I really have to go,” Amy announced. “I have an early flight in the morning. Can I trust you’ll take good care of my girl?”
“Amy,” Jade scolded.
Ignoring Jade, she went on. “I’m staying at a friend’s place tonight. I’d appreciate it if you make sure she gets back to our apartment safely.”
Jade’s mouth hung open as she smacked the worn wood table. “Amy!”
“Happy birthday,” Amy said, again paying no attention to Jade’s ire before grabbing her bag and giving us a flippant wave. “Have fun, kids.” And with that, she took off, leaving us alone.