Page 33 of Totally Off Limits

She hadn’t caught the original question because she was trying not to swallow her tongue while looking over the prices. Nursing paid well, but there was no way she would spend her hard-earned money at a place like this.

Was Austin trying to impress her?

“Um…I’m not sure.”

“What would you recommend?” Austin asked the woman serving them—and then Sierra realized the question he’d actually been asking.

“I think it depends on what you prefer. Some folks would rather have a martini than a glass of wine. Just personal preference. But…if you want my preference about actual drinks? I’d recommend the martini or either of the pinots if you’d rather have wine.”

While Sierra would much rather drink a simple bottle of beer, she’d learned to enjoy martinis over the years. They were an acceptable drink in her mother’s eyes, far more refined than chugging gin or vodka straight out of the bottle, but still quite potent.

And she could stand to chill a little more.

“Sierra?”

“A martini sounds great to me.”

That tiny twitch at the corner of his eye—Sierra was pretty sure it registered disappointment. And why did she care? This was mere obligation.

“Make that two.” After the server darted off, Austin said, “I didn’t imagine you to be a martini drinker.”

She wasn’t about to tell Austin she needed some serious firepower to take the edge off what should have been a low-key date. Instead, she told him the rest of the truth. “I know my mother would prefer that I drink wine—and Iwillwhen I need to—but it’s not my drink of preference.”

“Martinisare?”

Sierra flashed a tiny grin before dropping her eyes back to the menu. “Not really, but my mother doesn’t hate them. But give me a Blue Moon and a shot of Jack Daniels any day.”

Austin laughed. “Really?”

“Well…maybe not so much anymore. Since Mia came along, I only drink on special occasions.”

“Like this?”

Something about Austin’s voice—perhaps melancholy or wistfulness—made her look in his eyes.

Was ithope?

She wasn’t about to dash it. Like a faithful dog, he at least deserved a bone.

“Yes. Exactly like this.”

CHAPTER12

“Isthisbetter?” Austin asked as he held the door for her, allowing her to step into the off-the-beaten-path bar. She’d seen it dozens of times—Marvin’s Place—but it was on a side street off of Main. If any place had earned the titledive barby the looks of the outside alone, it was this place.

And here they were in a dress and suit sauntering through the front door.

But it was so dark and uncrowded—plus the regulars scattered here and there were properly soused—that no one seemed to notice their attire.

“Yeah, I think so.” In fact, the only thing Sierra really didn’t care for was the loud country music being piped out of speakers that had probably been state of the art back in the day. The problem wasn’t the speakers, though; it was the song itself, something meant to be sexy, but Sierra couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it, partly because the vocalist with a heavy southern accent pronouncedrightlikerat. “Come ‘ere rat now, girl, and I’ll show you what I’m talkin’ about.”

Notsexy at all.

Of course, Sierra was biased, and thinking about bands she didn’t like made her think of ones she did—and sexy Mickey. Nowtherewas a band that made her blood grow warm.

By the time she and Austin approached the bar, she felt horribly guilty. He’d just dropped three figures on a meal that was delicious but not worth the price tag. They were charging for presentation, reputation, brand, and possibly a world-famous chef. Really, though, prime rib was prime rib, no matter what you did with it.

The gesture, however, was not completely lost on her, and she planned to enjoy the time to catch up with her friend.

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