Page 13 of Made For You
“Here you go, babe,” the bartender said as she set out my dinner, and I saw a sneer fester on the face of the man beside me.
“Thank you.”
I cut a slice of the meat, the perfect amount of pink on the inside, and took a bite. There was nothing I could do to mask the moan that escaped from my lips. The steak was heavenly. Right up there with Rolan McEntire’s.
“I’d love to hear you make that sound later.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, covering my mouth with my hand as I chewed and faced the man beside me.
“Yeah, I bet you’d make that sound with my dick in your mouth.”
As I finished my chewing and swallowed, I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. This man beside me really thought he had done something extraordinary as he gazed at me with a cocky grin.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but does that line usually work?”
His eyes widened in surprise at my retort. I couldn’t believe there were men out here who thought something like that would make a woman want to fall into bed with him.
“Look here, bi—” he started, but the bartender quickly stepped up to us.
“Finish that sentence, and I’ll have you kicked out of this hotel. Now, as she clearly made it known, she’s not interested, so I suggest you leave this bar with what little dignity you have left.”
His gaze darted back and forth between me and the bartender before he grumbled, “Must be a cat chaser,” as he slunk off the barstool.
“I wish,” the bartender said as he slammed a twenty-dollar bill on the bar and pushed through the crowd to the exit.
“Sorry about that,” I apologized as she cleared away his half-empty beer and the cocktail glass with only ice left in the bottom.
“Not your fault. I witness it more times than I can count. You just sit there and enjoy your dinner. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
Checking the time on my watch, I noted it was closing in on seven at night. I texted my family while I was waiting to check in to the hotel to let them know I arrived safely, and they replied in the group chat that they were all going to the ice-skating rink in town as a treat for my soon-to-be official nieces, Eloise and Molly. Even though I was on vacation, I felt the tiniest ounce of homesickness.
I bet my mother would have loved this hotel. People in town always talked about how classically beautiful she was. It had been mentioned to her numerous times how she looked like the late Grace Kelly when she arrived in the town of Ashfield with my father. I could see her now, floating into the lobby with an air of classic Hollywood, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. My sisters, Autumn and Alex, took after her in that regard. Eyes always followed their every step. It would have been easy to hate them for it, if they hadn’t been completely oblivious. Men were just happy to be in their presence.
My younger sister, Aspen, and I took after our father. Our faces weren’t as soft, and our bodies were less graceful. If it weren’t for our mother’s blonde hair, we wouldn’t look related to our siblings at all. I laughed to myself as I remembered how similar Aspen and I looked to our half-brother, Andrew, who was our mother’s son from her first marriage. Though we looked more like our dad, we could’ve been triplets with our brother. Genetics was a funny thing.
The bartender—Fiona, I learned was her name—set another martini in front of me as I finished my meal and ordered dessert. There was a chocolate lava cake on the menu that I absolutely couldn’t say no to. I almost ordered the sorbet but briefly recalled Alex divulging what she and Nate had done with the chilled treat, and I knew I’d never be able to eat it again.
Fiona cleared away my plate and my empty glass as I went back to looking at the list of grants. There were a few I starred with my pen to look back over, but there was one in particular mentioned in the seminar that I wanted to learn more about.
“Ah! There it is,” I said gleefully just as Fiona set the dessert in front of me, the ice cream already melting atop the warmth of the decadent cake.
“That excited about dessert?” she asked with a smile, and I giggled.
“I am, but no. I was looking for an education grant specifically for agriculture and education in this huge packet, and I finally found it.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about that, but I do know you’ll enjoy this lava cake. It’s my favorite. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” I watched as she took a few other orders and then scurried over to the large man in the corner who had yet to leave his post. I began to wonder if he worked security for the hotel. With the large crowd in the lounge, it made complete sense to me. She was nodding at whatever he said, and I knew with his furrowed brows and the wrinkles in his forehead that it was important.
“Mind if I sit here?” a voice that sounded smoother than the chocolate ganache in the center of the cake asked from my right.
“Um… no… I mean….” The man had robbed me of conscious thought. It felt like I was sinking into the depths of the ocean, and the only sound was my heartbeat. The entire lounge drifted away as I turned toward him. After a deep breath, I replied, “Sorry. No one is sitting there. Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” He smiled as he settled his body on the stool and all the noises in the lounge rushed back in to overwhelm me.
This man stared forward, waiting for Fiona to amble over for his order, but kept his attention on the game playing on the television screen. I first noticed his hair was slicked back and tied at the base of his neck. It was dark, with just the lightest hints of warm tones throughout the strands. I bet it was gorgeous when it was loose.
The dark hair complemented his tanned skin, looking like he spent just the right amount of time in the sun. He didn’t appear to be a beachgoer, nor someone who used a tanning bed. He probably had a boat. With the perfect fit of his suit, I imagined it was custom-tailored for him. So, he probably had a yacht.
