Page 4 of Chips & Checks
The bartender looks right past me to the petite woman who just materialized at my side. I do a double-take. She’s not just short—she’s tiny. Like, blink-and-you-miss-her tiny. Like Disney princess ran away to Vegas tiny. I’d be surprised if she’s even five feet tall, but there’s nothing small about her presence.
She’s fragile yet dangerous to my equilibrium, the kind of woman who makes men rewrite rules they swore never to break. I’m already in trouble, and she hasn’t even noticed me yet.
“What can I get you, Vi?” the bartender asks.
“Limoncello. Duh.” The tiny hot chick grins at him, all ease and sparkle, like this is her place and we’re all just lucky to be orbiting her lemon-scented sun. “Make it a carafe for the table.”
The bartender nods once and moves like he’s been issued orders from the queen.
“How did you do that?” I ask. “You can barely see over the bar.”
She turns those eyes on me—Jesus. Electric blue, framed in thick lashes, and so full of mischief I feel it in my bloodstream.They’ve gotta be contacts. No one has eyes like that. I have to blink a few times to break the spell.
Her light brown hair falls in long, soft waves down her back, and she’s got that delicate, retro glam thing going—like if Zooey Deschanel and Florence Pugh had a baby and raised her in a cocktail bar with a feminist manifesto in one hand and a martini in the other.
She’s not just gorgeous. She’s… interesting. Unique. Like she wandered in from a dream I forgot I had.
I’ve spent my whole life afraid of ending up like my dad—losing myself in someone else. But as this woman with eyes bluer than Minnesota ice smiles at me, I’m suddenly more afraid of what might happen if I don’t take the risk.
“What are you drinking?” she asks.
I gesture to the empty stretch of bar in front of me. “Nothing. Yet.”
Her full mouth quirks up at the corners. “Cute. What do youwant?”
“Beer. Guinness, preferably, but I’ll take whatever.”
The bartender returns with the woman’s carafe of yellow liquid. Apparently, that’s the popular drink around here.
The woman places one hand on my arm and shouts over the chatter of the other patrons. “For the purpose of this conversation, my friend here would like the closest thing you have to a Guinness.”
The bartender nods and,finally, acknowledges my existence. “Be right back.”
The tiny woman takes her carafe and starts to turn away, but I tap her shoulder before she can go too far. “Thanks for that. I’m new around here. Would you mind if I sit with you?”
Her eyes flick up and down in a once-over. “I’m here with a friend.”
I smile at her. I’m told this is a very effective smile. The ladies love it. “I thought I was your friend.”
She licks her lips. I can tell that she doesn’t know how to feel about me yet, but that’s fine. Even if she’s not interested in a hookup, I’m never going to complain about spending time in the company of a woman as stunning as she is.
“Buy a round of shots for the table. Two for us, one for you.Thenyou can be my friend. And that’s assuming my original friend likes you enough to let you stay.”
Friend,she says. Not date. “Any preferences?”
Her blue eyes rise to my face. She’s not wearing contacts, I realize. Her eyes really are that blue. “Surprise me,” she says, before turning on her heel and striding back to her table.
Oh, yeah. Tonight’s going to be fun. I just hope that this mystery woman is okay with the rules, because I can already tell that she’s exactly my type.
Smart mouth. Ridiculously pretty. Half my size but somehow takes up the whole damn room. She doesn’t fall for the smile—at least, not right away. Which only makes me want to earn it.
I turn back to the bar, heart thudding like I’m already on a breakaway. Joey slides my beer toward me without a word, and I raise it in a silent toast in her direction.
To Vi. Whoever the hell she is.
I should be careful. I know that. So tonight’s just drinks. Banter. Maybe a kiss if she’s feeling generous.
And if I play this right? She’ll never even see me coming.
