Page 29 of One Unexpected Gift

Nick pulled up his accounts payable program and worked on the mundane job of budgeting, ordering, and paying his employees. He liked playing around with numbers and could multitask. Good thing because there was no way he was going to get Skylar out of his mind.

She’d called him on his reckless behavior, whether she realized it or not. He’d never sat down and psycho-analyzed what drew him to it. Since he was a kid, he enjoyed riding dirt bikes. That naturally led to motocross.

When Billy Johnstone’s family got a fancy boat and invited Nick to come along, he had instantly fallen in love with water skiing. Then it was wakeboarding. In the winter, when in Maine, he spent all his time on Sugarloaf skiing and snowboarding.

As he got older, he found a group of guys who liked to push the limits and ski unchartered territory. He loved a good challenge and never even contemplated backing down. He didn’t fear getting hurt or dying. If anything, he considered himself indestructible.

A broken arm after colliding with a tree meant he had a new challenge: snowboarding with a cast. Easy.

A broken ankle made it a little more challenging but it had been summer and so he found another way to get his adrenaline fix. He bought himself a jet ski. He wasn’t supposed to get the boot wet, so he bought a backup to wear while the one he used in the water dried.

There was always a way.

But not anymore. Nick rubbed the back of his head. Too much screen time and not enough fresh air was giving him a headache. He leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes while he rubbed his temples.

It had been four days since he’d seen Skylar, not that he was keeping track of the days. Moreso the nights. Nick opened his eyes and sat up. Again with the sentiment. Well, not sentiment exactly but the itching toward a relationship.

Nope. Not a relationship. He bolted out of his chair and paced his tiny office. Sex. That’s all he wanted with her. Sex. He sat at the edge of his desk and remembered—quite vividly—how gorgeous she looked bent over it.

Scrubbing his hands across his face, he got up and paced again. Maybe it was old age getting to him. Not that thirty-five was old, although he felt it in his bones lately. And his head. Rubbing his temples again, he sat down in his chair and swiveled toward the mini fridge he kept in the corner. He took out a water out and chugged it.

The headache must have been from dehydration. He hadn’t done anything wild and crazy in close to a year. Even in the gym he’d kept it low-key. Thirty minutes on the elliptical, and enough weight to not make him look like a pansy but not enough to raise his blood pressure or hurt his neck.

God, he was old if he had to be concerned about his blood pressure. Jerking open the top drawer of his desk, he took out two Tylenol and washed them down with water. It was going to be a long Friday night if this headache didn’t ease up.

Colby had called out sick and it was raining out, which meant The Zone would be busy. Good for the bills he had to pay, bad for finding time to call Skylar.

Four hours later, the dinner crew and families with little ones had cleared out leaving the bar and lanes open to the eighteen plus crowd. It was a way to draw in the big spenders. The more they drank, the more action his cash register got.

Nick snorted. His register was seeing more action than him. In the long run, it was better that way. He scanned the bar area, smiling to himself. Every table was filled and every seat at the bar was taken. There wasn’t a moment to even take a sip of water for the next hour. Business was good and he’d almost forgotten about the nagging headache.

“We’ll take another round of tequila shots,” the woman with the bright red nails purred at him. She’d been flaunting her cleavage his way all night. While Nick had no problem flirting it up with the women, he wasn’t into the overly aggressive types. The ones who came off a little too desperate.

The three other women she sat with giggled and flashed their cleavage as well.

“I thought you said you were the designated driver tonight,” he said to red nails.

“We can find a ride home.”

“Not in this neck of the woods.” Angel Springs didn’t have public transportation or a taxi service. Someday someone would start up Uber service around here, in the meantime, they were pretty much dependent on each other.

“Well then.” She dragged her claws across the bar top in what she probably thought was a sexy move. “Since you’re the big bad responsible bartender, maybe you could give us a ride home. Or better yet.” She leaned forward, and her double-D’s—that he’d bet tonight’s tips on weren’t real—rested on the bar. “I can give you a ride.”

It wasn’t a line he hadn’t heard before. Forcing his flattered grin, he tapped his code into the register and printed out their receipt.

“That’s a mighty fine offer, but—” he was about to tell her he wasn’t interested when a familiar flash of red came into view. “I’m already taken.”

He lifted his chin to Skylar and Charlie, who took the two empty stools next to the drunk chicks.

Not taking the hint, red claws lurched out and grabbed his wrist. “I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

“Just because I don’t have a ring doesn’t mean I’m not taken, right, darlin’?” He stepped over in front of Skylar and reached for the back of her neck, drawing her across the bar top to meet him halfway before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “I’m happy to see you,” he whispered in her mouth.

A collective group of gasps surrounded him. He felt Skylar’s and heard Charlie’s and red claw’s in each ear. He let go of Skylar, their gazes locked as she lowered herself to her stool.

“And hello to you too, big fella,” Charlie said.

Nick winked at her. “How you doing, Charlie?”

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