Page 6 of On His Knees

Shit. Don’t go there, dude.

“Hey, Henry, you want to take over the bar for a bit? I’ll take the floor.”

“Sure,” he says, and gives me an understanding nod.

I tug the cloth from my shoulder and slap it onto the counter, giving it a little scrub as I plot my next step with Summer. A drink is a great icebreaker, and since I promised her one, it gives me a reason to go to her and start up a conversation. If I could turn back time, I never would have grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. I shouldn’t have put my hands on her like that. It was a snap decision, a stupid one, because now, I can’t help but want my goddamn hands on her again. I clench down on my teeth, and whip up three strawberry daiquiris, taking a chance it’s their drink of choice, like most other snow bunnies, and set them on the tray. I wipe my hands on my apron and carry the drinks across the room.

“Hello, ladies,” I say, and all eyes turn to me. I hand Summer the first drink. “On the house, as promised.” She smiles up at me, and it messes with my equilibrium. My hands shake and the drinks on my tray wobble. I make a quick adjustment, and I’m abl

e to rebalance before making a damn fool of myself. I hand the other drink to her blonde friend, and catch the way the men at the table beside me are staring at the three ladies, most focusing on Summer. Not that I can blame them, she’s the hottest girl in the room.

Her friend accepts the drink, and takes a sip, then nibbles on the straw. I hand the third woman a drink, and her lips twist into a grin.

“A daiquiri for copping a feel,” she says, and leans a little toward me in a conspiratorial way. “What would you give her if...you know...” She holds both hands out, and cups them. “You got an actual, full-on feel.”

“Amber,” Summer says, and whacks her friend. The slap reverberates through me, settles into my balls.

“Ouch.” Amber pulls her hand back, and her other friend laughs. Summer’s face is as red as her drink when she glances up at me. Something inside me softens as dark lashes blink rapidly over big mortified eyes.

“It’s okay. I hear lots of comments working in a place like this,” I say, brushing it off to put Summer at ease.

Amber looks me over. She must like what she sees because she bobs her head and makes a lip-smacking sound. Does Summer like what she sees?

Jesus, Tate. It doesn’t matter. You’re not here to sleep with her.

Why do I have to keep reminding myself of that?

“I bet you get lots of offers for lots of things,” Amber says, pointing a finger at me, and running it up and down.

I grin, and Summer clears her throat. “Tate, this is my friend Amber. Amber is obnoxious and doesn’t have any filters.” She points to her other friend, who is still nibbling on her straw. “This is Cara. She’s the nice one.”

“Hey,” Amber says. “I’m nice, too.” Without missing a beat, she turns to me. “So this friend you were looking for earlier. Was she your girlfriend?”

Summer opens her mouth, no doubt to yell at her friend again, but I hold my hand up to stop her. I turn to Summer. “No, just a friend.”

“Well then, I’m not so certain a drink for a grope is quite enough,” Amber announces.

“You’re right,” I say. I brace one hand on the table and lean into Summer. I catch her floral scent, and breathe her in. “Have you eaten?”

She sits up a bit straighter, my offer taking her off guard. “No, not yet. But I had plans—”

“I think I’m getting a cold,” Amber says, and nudges Cara as she fakes a cough. “I think I caught it from Cara.”

Catching on quickly, Cara coughs, too, and I can’t help but grin at her friends’ antics. If the circumstances were different I would probably really like them. “We’re going to skip dinner, and just get soup delivered to our room.” Amber takes a big sip of her daiquiri. “After I finish this delicious drink of course.”

Summer is staring at her two friends like she’s going to kill them. I touch her arm, to bring her attention back around to me, and she nearly jumps out of her chair.

“Sorry,” I say. “No touching. I get it.”

“No...no, it just surprised me.”

“I get off in a few, why don’t you let me buy you dinner.”

“You don’t have to buy me anything, and we can pay for our own drinks, Tate. Seriously, today was just an accident.”

She wants to pay?

Okay, I totally didn’t expect that. Then again, Granddad’s probably set her up with a nice bank account by now.

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