Page 5 of Snowed In with the Bosses

We spent the next several minutes eating in relative quiet. Liam and Ethan let me do all the heavy lifting in the conversation, but they would be the ones writing up the proposal. I gave Liam a silent nod, and he switched from drinking his wine to tapping on his phone.

“We appreciate you coming by on a Sunday.” I broke into the quiet and offered a smile.

Clara took the figurative olive branch with dignity. “Missing my Sunday afternoon movie is worth the chance to get in on a project like this.”

Liam gave me a thumbs-up beneath the table. “Harrington would like to meet with the four of us tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.” Clara sat back with a satisfied smirk. “I look forward to hearing more details about the project.”

We wrapped things up, said goodbye, and parted ways. I’d never felt the desire to linger with a woman the way I did with Clara. Which meant I’d better get my ass out to the bar. I rushed home for a change of clothes, swapping my suit for a more casual pair of jeans and a cashmere sweater nearly the color of my eyes. I’d been complimented on the similarity more than once and knew how to use it to my advantage.

The parking lot outside the bar was packed with an assortment of vehicles, but I managed to pull my Bentley into a space and slid out into the crisp night air. My breath fogged in my face. Brian—the bouncer who’d been employed here as long as I could remember—let me in with a nod and a grin. “Liam’s tending bar tonight.”

“Great.” Liam’s family owned the bar, and though Liam had no need to bartend, he enjoyed it and had a deft hand with the cocktails. “How many women have hit on him tonight?”

“Three.” Brian chortled and closed the door behind me.

Three. Odds were pretty good then. Someone had cranked the music, so I made my way through the crowd of surging bodies. I ended up at the bar and sank onto the stool. When most people thought of bars, they envisioned dank, musty places with deer horns on the wall and men with beer bellies hitting on girls barely old enough to be legal. Not Liam’s place. Liam and his family brought the bar into the luxury realm with swanky lighting, a full stage for local performances, and not a single deer head in sight.

About the time Liam passed me a beer, a woman in a red dress sidled up next to me. Her breast brushed over my shoulder, the move so intentional a blind man would see it. She tossed straight black hair over her shoulder and sat beside me. Long, slim legs crossed at the knee, which pulled her skirt up her thigh.

She caught me looking and raised a brow.

This was why I came to the bar. Women at Liam’s came with low expectations and even lower inhibitions.

“Not a bad night.” She raised a fruity cocktail to her lips and swallowed, watching me over the rim.

I shrugged and propped my elbow on the bar so that the left side of my face was aimed in her direction. A test I forced every woman to pass before I took her home.

“Looks like that hurt. What happened?” She leaned in toward me, eyes locked on the scar cutting across my cheek.

“Bike accident.” I picked up my beer and drank deep. “What brings you out tonight?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear her say it.

“Seemed like a good night to have a little fun.” Narrow shoulders moved up and down in time to the music. “What about you? Bad breakup?”

Did I look like the kind of man who drank after a breakup? I scowled around the mouth of the bottle. “Not a chance in hell.” That should’ve notified her that I didn’t do lasting relationships, but she flicked a glance at my left hand when I raised it at Liam to let him know I needed another drink. Cautious then. Even better.

“You know, whatever it is that’s bothering you, I bet I could make you forget.” Sliding off the stool, she stood beside me. Her tits bounced with the sudden landing, and her skirt had ridden up to her ass. More than one man shot me a dirty look full of envy.

Any other night, I’d have her halfway out the door already. “I’m sure you could.” I lingered over a soft smile that melted most women on the spot. “But I’m meeting someone in a few minutes.”

Liam passed me a beer. His eyebrows rose a bit when he caught the conversation.

“You sure?” She practically purred in my ear, and her hand slid down my chest toward my cock.

I moved away just enough to keep her at bay. “Positive.” I hooked my chin toward a man in the back corner eyeing us from a booth. “You could ask him, though. Jack’s a good guy. He’ll take care of you.” I’d never passed a woman over to another man before, but looking at this stranger and imagining us in bed together sat sour in my stomach.

Pouting, the woman followed my line of sight. Seeing Jack, she grabbed her drink and winked. “Good call.” She sauntered away.

Liam snorted. “Pretty sure she thinks you’re gay now.”

“Let her.” I drained the first beer and started on the second. “I’m not going to talk about this, Liam.”

He had that look in his eyes, the one that always came over him when he felt like he needed to watch out for me. He’d been that way since my fiancée slept with my best friend.

Liam palmed the bar, his face expressionless and collected in a way I envied sometimes.

Fuck. I sighed. “It’s been a long time since I felt the way I did this afternoon with Clara.”

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