Page 22 of The Hot New Bartender in Town

“No,” I repeat, giving him a look. “Not officially. But I’ve seen you around town. At Sparks! Right?”

Riley nods. “Right,” he says, going along with it. “We’ve… seen each other at Sparks.”

“And we’re meeting tonight for the very first time,” I say, doing my best not to panic.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, Riley,” Mom says. “Your father has told me so much about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Riley says. “My father hasn’t mentioned you at all to me yet.”

“Then, it sounds like we should all pour some drinks and chat a while!Tish.”Mom bumps me with her elbow, playfully scolding me. “Why are you making our guest stand out on the porch? Invite him in.”

“Would you like to come in?” I spit out.

“Sure,” Riley replies.

“Come on in, Riley,” Mom says, taking charge with the wave of her hand. “Your dad is just in here.”

As he walks by, we make eye contact for a split second; a second laced with a lot of internal screaming.

While Riley continues into the living room with Mom, I stay behind in the front doorway, in the fresh air, allowing a moment for this to sink in.

What is happening?

What is going to happen?

What—

“Junior!” I hear Richard greet Riley. “How are you, son?”

“I’m good, Dad,” Riley says. “You?”

Damn. Part of me still hoped this was just some kind of misunderstanding, but addressing each other asJuniorandDadare as nail in the coffin as it gets.

Taking a deep but unsatisfying breath, I follow them back to the living room as my mother finishes offering Riley an old-fashioned glass half-full of some amber-colored booze. She’s currently talking it up, lamenting at how expensive the bottle was, but she just had to have it after tasting it the other night at a restaurant in Big City.

She pores me a glass and walks it over to me. “Go on and take a seat, won’t you both? There’s still a few minutes before dinner is ready.”

Noting the hidden order in her voice, I flash a smile and make my way over to sit on the couch next to Riley. Not too close, of course. I shift to one side, hugging the armrest, and he does the same.

Meanwhile, my mother returns to the loveseat across the coffee table from us and sits next to Richard. Once again, they sit close enough for their knees to touch, and Richard wastes no time in perching his hand on top of hers on her knee.

I glance at Riley. Despite the distance between us, I catch a hint of his scent. It’s a clean, manly scent that instantly thrusts me back in time. I was propped up on his table with his tongue inside of me not ten hours ago.

“So, Riley,” my mother says.

Snapped back to the present, I look forward as Riley clears his throat.

“Tish mentioned seeing you at Sparks Pub?” she says.

“Yes, ma’am.Tanya,”he corrects, making her smile. “I just started working there, actually.”

“You tend bar?”

“I do, yes.”

“Part-time?”

“Full-time,” he says. “I don’t have much else going on right now, so I spend it working.”

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