Page 97 of The Holy Grail
“The one you said was …” he trailed off to give her a pointed look, before finishing with, “really hot?”
She nodded.
“You said you’d thought about dating him but didn’t because he was off limits.”
She nodded again.
“But if hehadn’tbeen off limits like you’d thought he was, youwouldhave.”
“Yes.”
Malcom mulled that over, now having a name and a very attractive face to attach to a conversation. “He obviously really likes you.”
“Yes. When I told him I was seeing someone, he wasn’t happy about it, and it’s been awkward between us since then.” She cleared her throat, then added, “Especially while I was working for him.”
He tilted his head. “You were working for him? When?”
“Recently. He co-owns the bar, Three Amigos, with his brother and sister, and I’ve been going through the books for the past few months.”
Malcom slowly nodded his head as a few puzzle pieces fell into place. “All those late nights. That’s where you were.”
“Yes. At first I had to go in only when Evan was working, because he didn’t want his brother and sister to know what I was doing, but after the bar meeting …” she trailed off for a second. “After the bar meeting, he texted it was hard to be around me and switched my schedule to when his sister was working, so he and I wouldn’t come in contact with one another.”
“Was that why you were so upset when you got to my place that day?”
“Yes. He was having a hard time, and it was difficult to know I was basically the cause. Knowing how much I’d hurt him, even inadvertently, hurtme.”
After staring at her for a long moment, he said slowly, “You care about him, don’t you?”
Jules nodded, her eyes prickling a little. “Yes, I do.”
With a heavy sigh, he took her face in his hands, the almost-forgotten fennel pressed between them. “Remember the story about Gwen, me, and the bartender?” he asked.
“Of course. It was only a couple days ago,” she replied.
Malcom stood there, simply looking at her, and as the weird silence settled over them, she began to frown, only to have her eyes widen as a few of his words and phrases bubbled to the surface of her brain.
Charismatic.
Charming.
He had that ‘it’ factor.
Jules had said she knew someone like that … and as her gaze shifted over in the direction Evan had gone, her heart skipped a few beats, then started thundering away. “Evan was the bartender, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.” Malcom swallowed hard. “Which means you and I will need to have another conversation.”
She turned to face him once more, finding his expression guarded and a little troubled, giving her the impression the conversation they’d need to have had the potential to be uncomfortable. “Okay.”
“Not today, though,” he said. “I need a little time to work through some … things.”
She could tell he legitimately needed some space, so she quickly agreed. “All right. We’ll have that conversation when you’re ready.”
Chapter 30
George Clooney’s tequila
JULES: I need to talk to you.
