by Linda Kage
And, yep. Just like that, her mind was jerked elsewhere. Oh, the power of an adorable kid.
"What a little cutie," she cooed. "What's her name?"
My chest swelled out with pride—my boy certainly was a little cutie—right before I scowled. "His name is Julian."
She blinked, and then pointed at the picture. "But he's wearing pink. Why do you have a pink onesie on a boy?"
"Uh . . . he's . . . a big supporter of breast cancer awareness?" I posed it as a question, hoping I didn't have to confess that all of my kid's clothes were hand-me-downs from Mrs. Rojas youngest daughter.
Eva laughed, warming my whole heart with the amazing sound. "And apparently he's not at all insecure about his masculinity," she quipped.
With a snort, I shot back, "My boy? Oh, hell no. We Ryans invented masculinity, thank you very much."
She smiled at me, her entire face lighting up. "I think I'm going to like you, Pick Ryan," she stated, making my heart pound in my chest.
No, the real, live woman in front of me wasn't quite as I'd imagined she'd be for the last ten years. But some parts of her were even better. And that glow on her face was one of them.
I had a very bad feeling I was going to end up more than liking her in return.
"Yo, Pick!" Ten appeared, thrusting a cordless microphone at me. "You're going to emcee this thing tonight, right?"
"Sure," I said, glad to focus on him before I admitted something completely embarrassing to Eva.
"Well, let's get to it, already," Ten pressed. "I've got some cash to win, fucker."
I turned back to Eva as I took control of the microphone. "I gotta go," I told her, not wanting to leave her side.
Her return smile was sad. "So I see."
I would've stayed, just a second longer. I needed more time with her. But Ten was already dragging me away.
Chapter 10
PICK
As Ten climbed onto the bar's main countertop, dragging me behind him, I sent Eva a small smile of farewell and followed him up. Once I was higher than everyone else in the place, I waved my hand to get their attention. Then I turned on the mic and called into the sound system.
"Hello, everyone! We've got a little something planned for all you sexy things out there to celebrate ladies' night this evening. Can I get a hell yeah?"
A round of screams followed, a bunch of chicks waving their drinks in the air and getting in on the fun.
I smiled and pointed at the rowdiest bunch. "Yeah, that's what I like to hear, right there." Crooking my finger at them, I motioned them closer. "So, I'm going to need all you single honeys in the house who're desperate to burn some cash on your favorite bartender to shift closer to the front, please. We're going to have us a little auction."
The women who'd been through this before screamed and scrambled toward the bar. After waiting until a good portion of the room had shoved their way to where they wanted to be to watch the main event, I explained the rules of the auction. And then I introduced the players after motioning Mason and Quinn to join Ten and me.
"Let's get to know your favorite bartenders then. To my right, most of you may remember Wild Thing Tenning. Football star for ESU and crazy freak in the sheets, according to the ladies, Ten likes long walks on the beach and slow, passionate kisses."
Ten's groupies squealed in approval as he lifted his hands to wave and wink. Then he turned his backside to them and twerked out his ass until feminine fingers were reaching up, trying to cop a feel.
Laughing, I shoved him in the shoulder until he straightened up and whirled back to face the front again where he blew more kisses at another screaming brood of women.
"And then we have my sexy self right here." I slid my free hand down my side to put on a provocative display. "But seriously? Who needs any more introduction than this hunka-hunka burnin' love?"
A trio of ladies right below me called my name and reached up their hands to pet my knees since they couldn't seem to get any higher.
Wanting to keep them in my corner but also get their paws off me, I clasped their fingers like some kind of rock star on a stage who was greeting his fans.
But my supporters got a little too enthusiastic and tried to pull me down off the bar and back onto the floor with them, yanking me forward until I was bent over double and my head was at their level.
"Ladies, ladies," I called in the microphone. Laughing nervously, I tried to calm them. "A little decorum, please." Next to me, Mason grabbed my arm to keep me from tumbling off the mock stage, but greedy feminine hands kept pawing at me. Someone caught hold of the baggy shirt I was wearing, and before I quite knew what was happening, the women had ripped it off over my head.
Gaping down at my torso, I found myself completely shirtless. I yanked away, straightening up, and lifted my hands. "Okay, enough of that now, you shameless things. Behave your naughty selves. You gotta actually win before you can sample the goods."
Next to me, Ten tugged off his own shirt, obviously feeling the need to compare chests. More ladies screeched their approval and urged both Mason and Quinn to take theirs off as well. But the two do-gooders refused to budge.
I cast a glance toward the end of the bar where I'd last seen Tinker Bell. Covering her mouth, she laughed so hard, tears trickled down her cheeks. I winked at her just as it hit me that I was shirtless. If she were close enough, she'd be able to read the names tattooed over my heart. But fortunately, she wasn't. To be on the safe side, I turned slightly away from her.
"Moving along to the modest members of the group." I hitched my thumb Mason's way. "We have Family Man Mason. But watch out ladies, he's about to be a daddy."
When I motioned to the very pregnant Eva, Mason spun to me, his glare beating the shit out of me.
"What the hell?"
"Relax," I told him out the side of my mouth as I dropped the mic to my side. "I'm trying to make you look less appealing so no one will want you."
He didn't exactly relax, or stop glaring, but he didn't pounce and try to physically pound me into the ground either. The women reached for him as well, but he stepped to the very back edge of the bar so they couldn't lay a finger on him.
"And last, but certainly not least, we have Hamilton . . . the virgin."
Ten hooted and hollered, laughing his ass off, while Quinn's mouth dropped open, his face turning a very bright, scarlet red.
"Oh, that was harsh," Mason said into my ear, shaking his head in disapproval.
Ignoring him, I asked the crowd, "Any ladies out there willing to deflower this delicate little petal and show him what having a woman's all about?"
When a hell of a lot more feminine voices than I was expecting catcalled, claiming they would gladly take him on, I cringed, hoping my plan to make him look less appealing hadn't backfired on me. But shit, who knew women actually preferred inexperienced men?
I checked on Eva again, wondering if she was as pissed at me as Lowe was by my unappealing introductions, but she was still smiling. She shook her head as if to scold me, but her smile clearly said she forgave me for using her pregnancy for Mason's benefit.
"So, let's get this party started, shall we? Is anyone willing to buy one of us as your very own personal bartender for the rest of evening?"
About fifty woman lifted their hands, cash clutched between their fingers. "Ten bucks," some shouted.
I heard fifty and twenty from a couple of other directions, but I didn't react until a hundred was tossed out among the melee.
Holy shit! A hundred bucks? This was going to be a good auction.
I pointed that way. "Did I hear a hundred? I think I just heard a hundred."
"One twenty," another girl called, rattling me by how easily it had gone over a hundred.
"One twenty-five!"
And we were on. The bidding quickly escalated. We reached two hundred dollars in a matter of seconds. My palms started to sweat, so I rubbed one against the hip of my jeans. More than half the crowd of ladies dropped out at three hundred. But some kept go
ing, hot and heavy. By the time we reached four-fifty, a bead of sweat anxiously leaked down the side of my temple because I was certain the tall redhead below me, who was one of the big bidders, would choose me. But when the price went up to five seventy-five, that woman dropped out. It came down to two ladies I'd never seen before.
"Do I hear six hundred?" I asked, pointing at the woman whose turn it was to raise the price.
She bit her lip, looking undecided and called, "five-eighty," right before her contender immediately said, "seven hundred."
No one wanted to top that. I kept the bidding open a few seconds longer, pointing out past women who'd thrown out a price before, but no one would go over seven hundred dollars. Not that I blamed them. Seven hundred was a lot of fucking money. I glanced at the blonde who was about to win the auction and tried to figure out which bartender she preferred. But I couldn't read her at all.
Unable to help myself, I checked on Eva again. She chewed on her bottom lip, studying the blonde winner as well.
I drew in a breath. "Well, it looks like we have a winner, weighing in at seven hundred big ones. Give me your hand, sweetheart, and climb on up here with us."
The blonde reached up for me, and I helped her step onto a stool and then the bar top so she was standing between me and Ten. "What's your name, precious?" I asked before lowering the microphone to her mouth.
She was an attractive thing, tall and slim with big breasts. Ten would have a field day with her if she chose him.
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she leaned forward to announce, "Cora."
"Well, congratulations are in order to you, Miss Cora. You won yourself your very own bartender for this evening. So, who's the lucky guy going to be?"
I held all the air in my lungs as she leaned past me, turning away from Ten. Shit. She was going to pick Lowe. Already trying to figure how to let her down easily, I was shocked senseless when she gestured at Quinn instead.
"Him," she said. "I want him."
I lifted my eyebrows and took in Quinn's reaction. His mouth fell open, and I swear the poor virgin fell into lust that very second. Instantly changing his tune, he stepped past Lowe and grinned shyly at Cora, his face bright red with embarrassment but also glowing with wonder.
"Uh . . . okay," he said.
Still standing between them and holding the mic in my hand, I announced. "Well, okay then. I hereby announce Cora and the Virgin, bartender and wife. May you two live happily ever after . . . or at least 'til the end of this shift. You may now serve her whatever alcohol she prefers."
Motioning Quinn to move past me, I nudged him and the blonde together as I told everyone else the auction was hereby closed, and thanked them for participating.
"Just for the record, you suck as an emcee," Ten growled into my ear after we were all on the floor again and ready to return to our regular duties. "That chick with the purple hair totally wanted to throw down some major cash for me."
"Hey, she had a chance to give her bid. I'm as pissed as you are, bud. I totally could've used an extra three hundred and fifty bucks tonight."
"Yeah, well, you still suck."
I rolled my eyes, and we parted ways. Lowe stayed behind the bar. I had a feeling he was never going to go out on the floor when it was ladies' night.
Fine by me. The tips out here rocked.
"I second Ten," he told me as I slipped my own damp shirt back on and tossed him his dry, borrowed one back. "You totally suck. Almost a daddy? What the hell was that about?"
"Hey, the winner didn't pick you, did she?" When he merely scowled, I nodded my head. "I rest my case."
Then I got my ass to work, because all that time we'd taken for the auction had shorted me out of that much tip money I could've been making.
Twenty minutes passed, things returned to normal, and Eva stayed seated on her stool at the end of the bar, sucking down water and orange juice. Mason wandered her way every once in a while to check on her, but mostly she was left to her own devices. I gnashed my teeth, wondering where the hell her cousin was and why she hadn't shown up to get my girl home yet. No one had picked on her, but the longer she stayed the higher the likelihood rose that she would be targeted.
I was busy as fuck, with only Ten and me working the floor and a flustered Lowe taking care of all the drinks. There was no time at all to stop by for more than a, "how're you doing?"
Eva simply smiled and shook her head as if amused by my concern. "Same as the last time you came by," she kept answering.
She must've grown bored sitting at the bar by herself, or maybe she had to use the bathroom. When she slid off her stool, I freaked. What the hell? Where was she going?
But she merely moved to the old-time jukebox against the wall, and I relaxed.
A table full of drunk girls kept me busy for a couple minutes. One was bemoaning the fact that she'd just caught her boyfriend cheating on her.
"He's an ass," I chimed in, agreeing with her friends. "You deserve so much better than any douche who can't hold it in his pants until he sees you again."
Suddenly, I became the main attraction at that table. In the middle of telling the poor girl what kind of qualities she should look for in her next guy, the first song Tinker Bell had chosen on the jukebox started to play.
I lifted my face to the nearest speaker, my breath catching in my throat. Then I whirled away from the man-bashing table. Eva still stood at the jukebox, flipping through song choices, her back to the crowd.
"Excuse me," I murmured, distracted. Tucking the round serving plate under my arm, I wound my way through too many people until I reached her.
"How the hell did you know this was our song?" I demanded from directly behind her.
She let out a startled squeak and whirled around. When her big blue eyes blinked up at me, my chest tightened. It took everything I had to keep from cupping her face in my hands and kissing her senseless.
Setting a hand on her hip, she arched an eyebrow. "Our song?"
I pointed to the jukebox where the Supremes were bellowing out Baby Love. "Hell, yes, our song. We're going to dance together to this at our wedding reception."
I didn't mean to blurt that out, but I was just so discombobulated that she'd chosen this song on the jukebox. Out of all the fucking songs listed, she'd chosen this one. The words had just tumbled out of my mouth.
I didn't panic, though. No way would she think I'd actually foreseen anything. She'd assume I was flirting and teasing.
Good. Great. That was perfect. Let her think I was a tease.
But then I pictured her in the sleeveless wedding gown, the pearls glimmering in her hair, the ecstatic sheen on her face. It all sucked to the forefront of my head until I fell into a surreal state of déjà vu. The room seemed to spin around the two of us, and the two scenes—the here and now in Forbidden, and ten years ago in my glimpses—melded into one.
Oh, shit. I realized in that moment that our wedding reception would take place here, inside Forbidden. How had I not recognized that the first moment I'd walked into this place? I guess I'd always been so focused on her in my glimpses I hadn't paid that much attention to where we were. But why would our reception be here? Forbidden never hosted that kind of event.
I shook my head and blinked again until the here-and-now returned.
A fully pregnant Eva frowned up at me as if I was insane. "Did you just say our wedding reception?"
I grinned and nodded.
“But you’re already married.”
“Pff. Details.”
Deciding to just roll with it, I set the serving tray on top of the jukebox and captured her waist with one hand. Then I took her fingers with my other. When I spun her out onto the floor for a dance, she gaped in surprise.
I think she caught a hold of my shoulder more to balance herself than she did to actually dance with me, but that didn't matter to me. We were in the perfect position for a waltz, so I started a bizarre kind of two-step with her.
She didn't sho
ve me away, which was promising, since she was watching me as if I was completely mental. Tucking her in close until her protruding belly was nestled against me, I swayed us back and forth just as the song hit an intense part.
"All of my whole life through," I sang along with Diana Ross, pitching my voice high and putting my gut into it. "I never loved no one but you. Why you do me like you do?"
Shaking her head, Eva laughed. "Oh my God. You're crazy." But she kept dancing with me as I spun her around and bumped her back to me. Laughing again, she wrapped her fingers around my shoulder. "Seriously, do you flirt like this with every woman?"
I pretended to think about her question before shrugging. "Pretty much, yeah. Though to be fair, that eighty-year-old bun-head I helped carry groceries to her car last week might've been the love of my life. I mean, she had a cart full of fruit. I love fruit. We could've been meant for each other. Who was I to risk letting her go without testing the waters a little with a couple winks and a pinch to her ass?"
Tinker Bell laughed again. I really liked making her laugh. "Please tell me you did not pinch her ass. Did you?"
"Hey, she pinched mine first." When she laughed again, I winked and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "It was surprisingly firm."
"Oh my God." She had to cover her mouth with her next round of chuckles. "You really are an uncontrollable flirt. You must have one confident wife if she doesn't mind your teasing ways."
With a proud lift of my chin, I preened. "She claims it's my best quality."
Eva opened her mouth to respond, but a little bump nudged me in the stomach, interrupting her.
"What the hell?" I stopped dancing and stepped back.
Color flooding her face, Eva covered her stomach with her hands as if embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. She must like the music."
My mouth fell open. "Are you saying that was the baby that just kicked me?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I—"
"Oh, cool." I dropped to my knees in front of her and found myself eye level with her stomach as it shifted again. Mouth open in wonder, I placed my hands reverently on either side of the baby bump.
Tristy had never told me when Julian had been kicking her, but I hadn't ventured that close to her to find out, either. No way was I staying away from Eva's belly, though, not after her child had just made contact with me.
