Page 6 of The Charmer

I mentally gasped. The hot guy is Julian? That just couldn't be. I knew I should've googled him to get an idea of who I was looking for.

"I'm honored," Julian replied.

"Hey, dude, it's my turn. I ordered my drink before him," a pissed-off customer said.

Julian looked directly at him. "I’ll get yours next, and this one is on the house. How about that?"

"Well, I like that," the guy said. “You’re okay, dude.”

Julian smiled, averting what could've been a touchy situation.

So, Julian did have people skills. He simply didn't want to deal with me. And why was he so hot?

Oh, stop focusing on how hot he is, Georgie. That doesn't change anything. I kept my eyes firmly on him as I advanced in line. He moved his hands with dexterity, which told me he bartended often. When I heard that Julian LeBlanc spent time in the bar, I assumed he was somewhere in the back or just enjoying the music, not actually working. That earned him points in my book.

No, damn it, Georgie. Zero points. Zero!

I didn't want to antagonize him, though, so I needed to find a good approach. I needed him to actually talk to me long enough so I could plead my case.

My turn arrived a few minutes later.

"What can I get you?" he asked.

"Nothing, thank you. I need to speak with you. I'm Georgie." I swallowed hard. "From Books & Beads."

He narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't ring a bell, but I can get you a drink on the house."

Doesn't ring a bell?

"I emailed you a few times about the float decorations you canceled."

His eyes turned instantly cold, the smile he’d had for other customers falling. I knew it had been too good to be true. It had all been for show. Pity, because it had been mesmerizing.

"I need to talk to you about your order," I persisted.

He shook his head. "I have a full house tonight. I can't afford to waste any time discussing what’s already happened. The order has been canceled. If you would excuse me, there are paying customers behind you."

"No problem. I’ll just wait until the place clears out, and we'll talk then."

"The place won't clear out. It's a Saturday evening," he said slowly.

Did he think I was stupid?

"I can wait until there’s a lull or something." I was determined not to back down.

"There is nothing to talk about."

The two guys he’d been chatting with before zeroed in on me.

"What's wrong?" one of them asked.

"Nothing, Anthony. I'm handling this.” He turned back to me. “Our lawyers already explained that we’re within our full rights to cancel our order."

"But why do that when we can get everything you need for the float in time? We told you that from the beginning." My voice cracked. Lord, I was nervous. "We’ve been preparing your float for generations, and we're the best at it. We know what you want."

"Well, we found another vendor quickly enough."

I winced. Vendor! That felt so cold. We were more than that. My grandmother had a relationship with his grandparents all these years. How dare he just blow us off like that! I was getting pissed and knew I needed to keep myself in check.

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