Page 21 of The Gathering Storm

“Just a dance, huh.” Casey sighed, then stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “Well if this just a dance gets out of hand, let me know and I’ll help you handle her.”

He snorted out a laugh. “In your dreams, creampuff.”

“Ooo. Just you wait ‘til Mom gets back,” she gritted out, and he swung her up into a bear hug right there behind the bar and peppered sloppy kisses all over her face until she managed to wiggle out of his arms, protesting the whole time.

Will’s mood improved after that, and stayed exactly where he liked it through the first rush of after work customers and the bigger rush of an after supper bunch. Moira and Tom came in not long after and worked their way through the growing crowd, him toward his usual table where the other Professorteers sat, and her toward the bar.

Will poured her a cold cup of filtered water, added a slice of lime to the rim, and set it on the bar in front of her as she approached.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Water.”

Her delicate features twisted into a grimace. “Feckin’ water. What’re ye doing, treating me like a tot?”

“You’ll get water until the baby’s here,” he said, and forestalled her next comment with a firm, “I don’t care if beer is mother’s milk in Ireland.”

A grin broke through her grimace. “Aye, ye’re quick on the uptake there, boy-o.”

“I have to be around you,” he retorted, and hustled off to help another customer.

Around nine, some poor sap slid a quarter into the jukebox and keyed in a slow love song. The first few measures cut through the noise of chatter and laughter and clinking glasses, subduing it, and whoever was nearest the main light switch dimmed it, right on cue. Will glanced through the throng of people streaming on and off the dance floor, searching for Chana, and spotted her playing pool with Favi, Maya Bellegarde, and another Daughter whose back was turned to him.

He filled an order, set it on the bar, and just as he was thinking of taking a break to dance with Chana, the doors opened on Sigrid.

His heart stuttered to a stop in his chest, and he cursed it under his breath. Damn it. When would he ever learn?

She sauntered toward him, slicing through the crowd like it didn’t exist as he built a lager for her. He set it down in front of her just as she settled against the bar.

“Hello,” she said, and her lips tilted into a soft smile.

Moira took one look at Sigrid, shot the other Daughter a sour glance, and pivoted away from the bar, marching as if the very devil were on her heels.

Will attempted a welcoming smile for Sigrid, and when his mouth refused to cooperate, settled for a stiff nod. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Her smile deepened. “As a matter of fact, I do. I came to claim a dance.”

A laugh huffed out of him before he could stop it. “Right. Well, I’m busy tonight.”

“Not too busy for me.”

Her matter of fact tone pricked him harder than it should’ve. He leaned toward her across the bar and lowered his voice, for the sake of propriety if not her sensibilities, or his own hide. Daughters tended to swing first and ask questions later at the first hint of an insult thrown their way, whether one was intended or not.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said. “Somebody else beat you to the punch.”

He let that sink in for a minute, waited for her to react. Her smile slid off her face and was replaced by the careful scrutiny of a scientist regarding an unusual specimen, nothing more, nothing less. No matter how hard he searched, he found not one sign of interest or temper in her expression, not one Mother blessed sign that Sigrid had a problem with him dancing with another woman.

He rocked back on his heels and tried not to let her indifference hurt, yet there it was, throbbing in his heart like it always did.

Fuck it. If she didn’t want him, another woman would.

He nodded as politely as he could, then turned away in search of someone to fill his spot at the bar. A deal was a deal. Chana would get her dance, and if she wanted more, he’d do his damnedest to figure out how to give it to her.

Sigrid sipped her lager as she turned her back to the bar and scanned the people on the dance floor. It had taken all her discipline to keep her expression under control during her conversation with Will.

So, the woman he had his eye on had come around, and at one of the worst times possible.

Instinct warred within her, pushing her in opposite directions. Fight for the boy, leave him to the other woman. This was why Daughters were better off taking lovers they could never be personally interested in.

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