Page 34 of Fireworks & Forehead Kisses

“It’s okay. It’s recent. Very recent.”

“Oh. Okay.” She nodded. “Well, I better get back to it. Good seeing you.”

“You too.” I started walking toward the elevator bay, but something stopped me. The last thing I wanted to do was walk upstairs and sit in my room alone.

One drink. I’d go to the bar and have one drink.

Or should I go down the street to have a drink? Drinking in my own hotel was probably not a good look. I’d never done it before.

Fuck it.

I didn’t want to go down the street. For one thing, I never knew the sanitary conditions when I went to eat or drink at other establishments. That was a problem for me. Here, I had control of that. Control of my environment.

With the decision made, I removed my coat and walked over to the front desk. “Can you have this brought up to the penthouse?” I asked Regina.

“Of course, Mr. Wolfe.”

I rolled up the sleeves of my button-down as I walked into the bar. There were twelve patrons. Four women were seated in a booth along the wall. Three businessmen in suits were tying one on at a four-top. A young couple was practically on top of one another at a high-top. An elderly couple cozying up, sharing an appetizer platter at the far end of the bar. And there was a single woman who caught my eye at the corner of the bar. Thick, long, red hair hung down her back. From my vantage point, all I could see was a hint of her profile, the slender curve of her shoulder, her arm, her elbow, and her wrist. The hourglass shape of her waist as it sinched in and flared out at her hips.

Despite her face being partially obstructed, I was experiencing a strong physical reaction to her. My entire body was aware of her presence. The hairs on the back of my neckwere standing on end. My chest tightened like it was in a vice. My palms were damp. My heart was racing.

Before I could process the effect that she was having on me, one of the suits got up from his seat and stumbled over to her. I watched as he tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around to face him. When she did, it was as if a spotlight shone on her. Or the heavens opened. Nothing else existed but huge, sparkling blue eyes surrounded by dark, thick lashes, and full ruby red lips sat below a cute, turned-up nose framed by high cheekbones with a delicate bone structure. Her skin had a luminous effect that gave her an ethereal glow.

I was momentarily paralyzed. Time stood still. I’d always heard that expression and thought it was just a turn of phrase. It was not. She captivated me, holding me hostage by her angelic beauty. Everything around me ceased to exist; it was only her frozen in time.

Then she smiled, and I blinked. I took a breath again. Once I did, the spell was broken, and everything started to move again. I couldn’t hear what the man said, but her smile dropped, and she shook her head, clearly giving him the brush-off. He was not deterred. He placed his hand on her arm, and she jerked it away from him. The man grabbed her arm again.

Every protective cell in my body roared to life. I started to cross the room and made it two strides before Lucas, the bartender, intervened. I stopped in place and watched as he quickly persuaded the man to return to his seat, promising the next round of drinks would be on him. It was exactly what he was trained to do. He de-escalated the situation, and I knew he would serve the men watered-down drinks before closing out their tab. It was exactly what we trained our employees to do. As a boss, I was happy with his performance. As a man, I wanted to drag that customer out by his neck and throw his ass out in traffic.

Lucas was busy making those drinks when I approached the bar and sat down in the seat next to the redheaded angel. As soon as I did, I felt her tense beside me. She hadn’t looked in my direction, but I assumed she must have thought I was going to be another man giving her a hard time. That wasn’t the plan, but damn, I did just want to be near her.

When Lucas returned, he set another drink down in front of her.

“Sorry about that. It’s on the house.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that. But thank you.”

The sweet, melodic tone of her voice flowed through my body like a cold stream of water on a hot summer day. It was refreshing and soothing. It instantly caused my body to relax. It soothed me and also enticed me. I wanted to hear more of it.

I was dumbstruck by the effect it had on me when Lucas noticed I was seated beside her, and his energy changed.

“Oh.” He stood taller. “Mr. Wo?—”

“Jack and coke, please,” I cut him off before he could say my name. It was a reflex. I hadn’t planned it. In that split second, I didn’t want her to hear my name. If she did, there was a good chance she’d put two and two together that I owned the hotel. People acted differently when they found out who I was. My brother had always used our last name to his advantage. He dropped it any chance he got. I was never comfortable with that.

Lucas dipped his chin in a nod and walked to the other end of the bar.

Beside me, I heard her sniff, and when I glanced to my left, I noticed that she was crying.

“What the fuck did he say to you?” I demanded, as I stood to go kick him out or kick his ass; it really depended on what he had said to her. It could be both.

“No!” She grabbed my forearm and looked at me for the first time as her fingers tightened around me.

I felt all the oxygen escape, and my heart jumped into my throat. Her eyes had been striking from across the room, but up close, they were so much more. They were crystal clear in the center, with a dark outline around the edges. The contrast was mesmerizing. Like one of those pictures that you looked at, and suddenly an image appeared.

The feel of her skin on mine was something indescribable. There was an energy exchange between us. A jolt. A surge. Something that was both pleasurable and also shocking.

“Sorry.” She gasped as she quickly removed her hand from my arm.

---