Page 42 of Daddy By Design

I checked my phone and found a few missed texts from Avery and TJ about an on-site job we had tomorrow. We were doing a basement finish and outdoor landscaping on a new build in Crescent Gardens. Shelby was working on another project in Turnbull, so we were a little light on staff.

I answered the questions and then flipped the television on to distract myself but couldn’t concentrate on the canned laugh track of the old sitcom and just ended up switching it off again.Impulsively, I glanced at my phone and saw I might be able to get a meal at Lonegan’s before the kitchen closed. It wouldn’t be anything other than pub grub, but it sounded a helluva lot better than the Pop Tart I had left in my pantry.

Quickly, I swapped my lounge clothes for jeans and a tank against the heat that was simmering again. May was coming in hot and that didn’t bode well for the actual summer that wasn’t even here yet. I hit the stairs instead of waiting on the elevator and was out the lobby doors less than five minutes later.

The bar across the street from my building was doing a brisk business, as usual.

I gasped against the humid air and double-timed it across the four lane Kensington Boulevard. I waved to Colder Banks, one of my neighbors, who was behind the bar tonight. Pretty soon, he’d be overseeing the new speakeasy Velvet Noir, and we’d definitely miss him in our neighborhood bar.

“Bar or want a table, Dahl?”

I glanced around at the full tables and the equally packed bar. Then my gaze bounced back to one of the corner booths where a person with a very recognizable head of dark hair was seated. “I see someone I know.”

“I’ll have Cordelia bring you a menu.”

“Just a loaded cheeseburger and all the fries. Like all of them.”

Colder laughed. His stupidly handsome face took a girl’s breath. One of my other neighbor’s, Naomi Taylor, had snatched him right off the market. “You got it. Full basket of fries.”

“Oh, and that dipping sauce stuff.”

“On it.”

“You’re the best.” I thrummed my fingers on the bar. “Can I get a Firefly?”

“You’re nice and easy tonight.” He poured a pint of Firefly hard cider and slid it across to me. I started digging into my pocket and he waved me off. “I’ll add it to your dinner tab.”

“Now who’s making it easy?” I lifted it for a sip and hummed. “Thanks, Colder.”

He gave me a little salute and went back to the next customer.

I wound my way through the tables and waved to a few people I knew from trivia night. Between the trivia games at The Heights and Lonegan’s, I got a fair bit of non-work camaraderie out of my system. I’d missed it with my current obsession, that was the Barrows Mansion.

Speaking of obsessions…

I set my glass on the table and slid in the booth across from Nolan. “Hello.”

He sighed. “What are you doing here?”

“I actually live across the street. You’re in my territory again.” I folded my hands around my sweating glass. “What brings you out of the Cove?”

“Seven o’clock.”

I snorted. “That’s sadly true. Unless of course you want one of Mitch’s superior BLT’s or pancakes at the diner.”

He grunted and hunched over his plate—which was also a cheeseburger with an equally sweating glass of golden liquid. Guess we’d had the same idea.

“So, with or without the migraines, you stay in the grumpy mode.”

“I was having a very nice dinner all by myself.”

“Were you though?”

He relaxed against the wooden backing of the booth and took a sip of his...beer? He looked like a beer guy.

Two could play that game. I took a sip of my hard cider and stared at him. He wore a faded black T-shirt that was headed for charcoal, as well as another pair of those insanely dark jeans. New jeans. Which didn’t exactly fit his personality, especially with the stretched out and beat-up T-shirt.

I wasn’t sure why everything about him was fascinating to me, but it was.

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