Page 27 of Taking Root

She forced a smile, even though it wobbled. “Couldn’t keep me away. Where else can I get my gin fix?”

“Aviation?” he asked, tilting his head toward the full bar lined with glass bottles behind him. She nodded in response, not trusting herself to say much more, and he strode over to grab his metal shaker and went to work. The chatter of this place buzzed at a comfortable level, nothing like the shouts of a sports bar, but no matter where she roamed, she remained encased in granite. Couples sat in the two-seaters lining the wall, the dim amber light sharpening their features, and Danny couldn’t help the lance in her chest.

If she hurt, she couldn’t imagine how Adrian felt right now. He’d already been an open wound, and she drove jagged glass right into it.

Mitch stepped in front of her with the drink, his brows furrowed as if he prepared to ask a question. Danny braced herself—the guy seemed more than perceptive—but before he could state anything, someone shouted for him at the other end of the bar.

So, all he said was “Enjoy,” before darting away. Until he walked off, she hadn’t realized she’d wanted him to ask. She wanted someone, anyone to care.

Danny tipped back the Aviation, the crisp taste of gin coating her tongue. Not like it refreshed her. Right now, she wanted to drink herself stupid until her mind turned into cottonballs and oblivion. She shouldn’t. Not with her father so close. She needed to be alert and ready to pull a trigger on the man who raised her the moment he appeared. Because that wasn’t next level fucked up.

Screw sipping at her pale lavender drink—she inhaled it. Even as the cold liquid seared her throat, it didn’t do anything to numb the ache in her chest throbbing like a living, violent thing. The martini glass hit the counter with a click as she swallowed the remnants of her drink. She needed another one, stat.

Danny nudged it forward and leaned in, trying to catch sight of Mitch. He finished handing off a pint of Guinness and glanced down the bar to lock eyes with her. He gave her a quick nod, and seconds later he approached, spreading his palms flat on the bar counter.

“Rough night?” he asked, glancing to the empty glass.

“You have no idea,” she responded. “Keep ’em coming.”

Mitch grabbed the shaker and began making the drink, but he lingered by where she sat while he worked. “Word on the street is you and Adrian are a thing. Do I need to wring his neck?”

The mention of him caused her throat to tighten. No. He hadn’t done anything wrong. God, he was perfect and hurting tonight because of her. She had kept him at a distance, indulging in her own selfishness by dating him in the first place all the while knowing neither of them would be capable of keeping things casual.

“Come on now.” Danny forced her voice to stay steady and light. “Like it’s always got to be about a guy? Maybe I dropped some fucker in an alley, and I’m feeling a little remorseful about the rough-up.”

Mitch raised a brow as if he saw right through her shit. “After witnessing you deck a guy firsthand, I’d believe it,” he said. Danny let a breath escape in relief he hadn’t kept on down that trail. If she had to say Adrian’s name out loud, those tears would rush to the surface again. Mitch was a professional, though, and she should’ve expected he would allow her to float along the surface.

“Just flag me down when you need another,” he said, placing the next Aviation in front of her.

Two more later, and the numbness descended.

Where before, the emotions running through her were sharp and jagged, slicing without reprieve, now she floated along, the ache in her chest dulled to a slight throb. Even with this much gin coursing through her system, she couldn’t get rid of the pain. Tonight pried open the concrete wall she’d erected so long ago.

“Drinking by your lonesome tonight?” a voice came from beside her.

Danny blinked in surprise, realizing the guy next to her had changed over the past hour. She’d been so lost in her own bullshit she tuned the rest of the world out, only dipping back in to order another drink.

“That’s an every night occasion for me,” she responded, offering a wide grin that didn’t pierce beneath in the slightest.

A blond, trim guy sat in the barstool beside her, his tan suit making his bright blue eyes pop. Overall, he didn’t paint too bad of a picture, and he wasn’t hulking in on her space. The guy didn’t make her feel jack shit, but maybe that was the point.

Danny turned toward him, fingers perched on the rim of her latest drink. “Not the alcohol bit—more the permanently single bit.”

He shrugged before tipping back his pint of beer. “I’m not one to judge. I’ve been accused of eternal bachelorhood myself.” Interest flashed in his gaze like he snapped a picture. These were the guys she should’ve been going for all along—disinterested in anything beyond a single night. Ones who didn’t remind her of the bliss of being cared for. Ones who didn’t give her a second thought beyond a quick fuck.

Danny ran her fingers through her hair, trying to keep the room from spinning. Not like it helped—she spun round and round on a carousel. Holy hell, she had way too much tonight.

“Name’s Kyle,” he said, offering his hand to shake.

Danny’s blood ran cold for a moment, the mere name making her calves tense. “Did you say Kyle?” she asked. Her hand inched toward her purse, and she prepared to yank out her pepper spray on instinct. The alcohol might’ve dulled the rest of the room and caused the insistent paranoia to fade for once, but the fear slammed into her like a bus, ingrained so deep she could never divorce herself from it.

The guy’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head. “No, Liam. Are you okay?”

God, her head was a jumble right now. She grinned, the fake sort she’d mastered. “Yeah, it’s been a day, and I could use a distraction. The name’s Danny.” She didn’t know if her words came out seductive or slurred, but she needed to find some way to forget. Some way to purge this pain and fear threatening to bury her alive.

Liam cocked a brow, and instead of responding, he tipped back his drink. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he kicked back his lager until foam remained. The clink of his drink hitting the bar counter reverberated through her with a finality that made her feel a little ill. He met her eyes, his searching look filled with scorching intent.

None of the mind-searing lust she felt around Adrian descended, but this wasn’t about that. This reminded her of who she was: a one-night stand. She deluded herself in thinking she could try anything casual with Adrian, and now she paid the price.

Even through the numbness, guilt sank tipped claws into her as she stared at Liam.

“Want to step out for a moment?” he asked, and she knew what he insinuated. This would be a dark alley tangle, a quick fuck to sate them both in the instant but would never linger. They’d both operate on the surface, never allowing another soul to get close enough to hurt.

Time to forget.

Danny slipped a bill onto the counter to cover her drinks. “Lead the way.”

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