by J. Sterling
I hated when guys manhandled me in public places. Did I give you permission to grab my arm, pinch my ass, or accidentally graze my boob as you reached for something you didn’t need in front of me? I never understood why men behaved this way, but it always pissed me off. I didn’t get angry often, but my Colombian temper showed up the second any of that kind of stuff happened. Britney always said that my face turned an unnatural color whenever I was angry, so she knew when to keep her distance.
Once we were at the other end of the bar, a door swung open and my Fisher god stepped through it. Frank was frowning, like he’d been working on a difficult problem behind those doors that no one else was aware of.
Breathless, I watched as he scanned the length of the bar before his gaze fell on me. It didn’t take long for him to find me, but once he did, all seemed right in the world.
I smiled, felt my mouth curving upward without my control, and the tension in his face melted away and a smile appeared. My heart rose back into its proper place, demanding kudos for being the one responsible for that smile.
“Claudia,” he said as he stepped around the bar and made his way to us.
“Hi, Frank. It’s a madhouse in here.”
I sucked in a breath as his arms slipped around my waist and he pulled me against him in a tight hug. I had no idea if Frank Fisher was a hugger, but I was currently on the receiving end of a really good hug and wasn’t about to complain.
Thrilled, I squeezed his muscles, my fingertips digging into his biceps as I pulled him close, refusing to let go. His nose dipped toward my neck, and when I felt him inhale, goose bumps prickled my skin.
“You smell good,” he whispered into my ear, and for a second, his arms were the only things holding me upright.
“Thank you.”
He pulled away slowly, like he didn’t want to break the connection any more than I did. “Hi, Britney.” He gave her a quick friendly hug, and her eyes met mine as it happened.
“Hey, Frank. Your bar is stupid successful,” she said, and he laughed.
“How unfortunate. What can I get you ladies? Same as last time?”
He remembered our drink orders? I tried not to read into that as I crinkled my brow, wondering if I should try something new this time.
Frank caught my eye. “What’s the dilemma, Claudia?”
How he could read me so easily? Was he in tune with my thoughts already? That couldn’t be possible.
Trying to play it cool, I shrugged. “I was wondering if I should get the same thing or try something new. What do you think?”
“Ryan is trying to create a new tequila-based drink. I’ll have him make it for you, and you can tell him if it sucks or not.” He looked at Britney. “Still want a No Bad Days, or want to try a rum-based drink instead?”
“Rum!” Britney shouted like a schoolgirl, and I smiled.
“Don’t go anywhere,” Frank said as he walked away.
Like I’d even dare.
“Well, I guess we know the connection is still there.” Britney raised an eyebrow at me. “My hug was pathetic in comparison to yours.”
“I noticed,” I said, not even pretending to play games. I called them like I saw them, and was happy that Frank hadn’t touched Britney the same way he’d touched me.
“He’s definitely into you.”
I nodded in agreement. I got the same impression from Frank, and the feeling was so very mutual on my end. But now what?
“What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” Britney asked, but Frank reappeared carrying two drinks before I could respond.
“Okay. Claudia, don’t hold back on this. If it isn’t good, you have to tell Ryan what you don’t like about it. And, Britney, you’re going to love this. Even I think it’s delicious, and I don’t like sweet drinks.” Frank’s green gaze touched on me when he said the word sweet.
“Just sweet girls?” Britney said with a laugh.
He bristled for a millisecond, but I noticed. Frank regained his composure, his gaze bouncing between us. “Eh, not too sweet.”
“That’s good, because Claudia’s mostly sour.”
I choked out, “Shut up. Frank, please don’t listen to her. She’s an idiot.”
“Like my brother.” He tipped his head toward Ryan, and I burst out laughing.
“Hey! Ryan’s not an idiot.” Britney defended him, her gaze finding Ryan at the bar. “Why does he have to be so hot? Ugh,” she said before taking a sip of her drink. “Shit. This is good.”
“I knew you’d like it.” Frank smirked before looking at me. “Your turn.”
I felt pressured, like I was under the microscope as they both watched me sip on Ryan’s latest creation. I really hoped it was good as I eyed the orange wedge perched on the rim of the glass before taking a sip. The tequila hit my taste buds, followed by bitters, and then a hint of something else.
“Is there banana in this?”
Frank smiled. “There is. Do you like it?”
“It’s unbelievable. It’s so good,” I said before taking a gulp instead of a sip.
“Ryan!” Frank shouted.
Ryan’s head shot up. He pointed a finger in the air to signal one second, and headed our way once he finished the drink he was working on.
“What’s up? Hi, girls. I wondered what the hell Frank was doing out here.” Ryan’s blue eyes met mine, and I felt myself blush.
“Claudia loves your new drink,” Frank said proudly as Ryan’s face lit up.
“Really? You like it?”
I smiled. “It’s so good. I don’t know how you make these flavors blend so well together, but it’s amazing.”
“Yes!” Ryan pumped a fist in the air.
“Do you already have a name for it?” Britney asked, and I was practically on pins and needles, waiting to hear the answer.
He smirked. “Nick came up with this one.” He paused before looking at Frank. “Awkward Moment.”
Britney cried out, “Yes! That’s awesome!”
“It’s perfect,” I said with a laugh. “And fun.” I took another big sip, almost finishing it off.
Ryan leaned toward Britney, and I swore I heard her breath catch. “Do you like yours?”
“It’s delicious. Does it have a name?”
“Of course it does.” He looked over at Frank, who rolled his green eyes. “It’s called Jazz Hands,” Ryan said with a laugh as he wiggled his fingers in the air.
Frank just shook his head.
“You don’t like the names?” I asked him.
“They’re so stupid half the time, but people seem to love them.”
“He doesn’t understand because he’s not creative,” Ryan said. “He’s all finance and smarty-pants up here.” He tapped on Frank’s head and Frank jerked away, glaring at his younger brother. In response, Ryan threw his jazz hands in the air, taunting him.
“Don’t you have drinks to make?” Frank shoved him, and Ryan snickered.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re just trying to keep the pretty ladies all to yourself,” he said before walking away to take more orders.
“I should go help.” Frank nodded toward the bar, which was still packed. “But I’ll get you both another first.” He smiled again, and I swear I melted at the sight.
“You’re in trouble,” Britney whispered.
I swallowed hard because I was, and I knew it. I had never been so sure of anything.
She’s Back
Frank
Seeing Claudia’s face when I walked out of the office lifted my entire mood. One look into her eyes, and I knew it was going to be a good night just because she was there.
Somehow, she changed things for me. I had no fucking idea why or how, but it didn’t make it any less true. Seeing her made me happy, making me realize just how foreign that feeling had become for me. I didn’t know how dead I’d been inside until the sight of her brought me back to life.
Nothing about this made any sense, and I tried to fight it but failed. My brain told me to
walk away, to give her a curt smile and stay behind the bar making drinks. But my legs refused, taking me to her instead. My mind said one thing, but my body did whatever the hell it wanted.
I cared for all of two seconds until I had her in my arms. Then I couldn’t have cared less if the bar burned down around us. That’s how much this woman affected me.
“Hey, I need your Moleskin,” I shouted, and Ryan and Nick both turned toward me.
Most bartenders in the business had their own Moleskin notebooks that they carried around with them everywhere, making notes as they tried to blend new cocktails or came across a recipe they really liked. I carried one too, but it was filled with the cost of inventory items and where I could try to negotiate a better deal. Mine probably didn’t a single drink recipe in it, and Ryan would probably freak out if he knew.
“For what drinks?” Ryan asked with a smirk.
He was going to make me say the names out loud . . . in front of everyone. Sometimes I really hated my brother. I frowned, but Ryan wasn’t deterred.
“I need to know which pages to show you. Just tell me which drinks?”
“Jazz Hands and Awkward Moment,” I all but growled out under my breath, and he cracked up.
Ryan grabbed the small black book from his back pocket and flipped through it. “Here and here,” he said as he dog-eared two pages for me.
Focusing on the list of ingredients that was barely legible, my mind found itself on a temporary Claudia reprieve. Her presence consumed me, and I wasn’t the type of man to be consumed by any woman. For a moment, I was thankful that trying to read Ryan’s handwriting was a feat in itself. That didn’t last long, because I made the mistake of glancing back toward the girls and found Claudia watching me.
I was going to royally fuck up these drinks.
“Want a little help?”
Nick appeared at my side, and I breathed out in relief.
“I can’t read half of this,” I complained, and he took over.
“I was here when Ryan first made them. I know how he did it,” Nick said.
I wasn’t sure if he meant it or if he was only trying to make me feel better. Either way, I didn’t care. Nick was making the drinks, which meant they’d be drinkable.
I busied myself with a few beer orders, a whiskey sour, and a vodka cranberry. Those were the kinds of drinks I could handle. No frills.
“Here you go,” Nick said as he slid the finished concoctions toward me.
“Thank you.” I shot him a smile, then grabbed the drinks and headed toward the other end of the bar. The girls hadn’t moved.
“Sorry that took so long,” I said before handing them each a fresh drink.
“Don’t apologize,” Claudia said as she sipped it. “Thank you for this.”
“Yeah, Frank, thank you,” Britney added.
“It’s no problem. Have fun, okay? Don’t leave without saying good-bye.” I directed the last part to Claudia. I wasn’t even sure where that had come from, but it slipped out before I could stop it.
“Never,” she said back, her tone confident, flirty even.
I needed to get away.
Berating myself, I went back behind the bar and handled more orders. The place was packed, which was great for business, but seemed to wreak some kind of havoc on my mind. I found myself needing to know where Claudia was at all times. I scanned the bar several times throughout the evening, looking for her in all the chaos. And each time I found her, just like that, I felt centered again.
Nick sidled up next to me and tilted his head in Claudia’s direction. “Just go talk to her.”
“I’ve already talked to her,” I said, trying to sound cool.
“You watch her,” he said, and I turned my head quick to shut him up, my jaw flexing. “I just meant that you watch her the same way I watch Jess when she’s here, making sure she’s safe. Just an observation, bro.”
He made a face at me before his gaze shifted and his entire expression changed, brightening in an instant. I knew that look.
“Speaking of,” he said, his focus not wavering, “my reason for existing has now entered the bar!”
People cheered and laughed, but everyone—and I mean everyone, guys included—watched as Nick romanced Jess.
Ryan stepped next to me. “Think he’ll ever stop doing that?”
“Think you’ll ever stop taking your damn shirt off?” I snarled at him a little, but he just grinned.
“Touché.”
I had my answer. Ryan would be taking his shirt off every night until we were old and gray. Great.
“You’re just jealous,” I added, rubbing salt into the wound that was my younger brother’s heart.
You wouldn’t know it by watching Nick in this moment, but Ryan was definitely the most romantic of us three. I wasn’t sure if he’d watched Disney movies on the sly growing up, but he was dying to find his one true love. It killed him that he hadn’t found the love of his life yet.
I never understood his overwhelming need for it, but then again, I wasn’t really one to talk. Maybe I didn’t understand romance at all? Apparently, I wasn’t very good at it, as I was learning.
“Damn straight I’m jealous,” he said with a smirk.
“This girl right here is my entire world,” Nick said.
He wrapped an arm around Jess and kissed her like no one else was in the room, making her cheeks redden the way they always did whenever he made his public declarations of affection for her. I think Nick secretly loved embarrassing her.
“I love her more than anything, my brothers excluded. I hope you all get as lucky as me someday.” He planted a kiss on Jess’s cheek. “But not with her, because she’s taken and I’ll kill you.”
Jess tossed back her head and laughed, then looked for a place to sit as Nick made his way back behind the bar.
Ryan caught my eye. “I want that. Don’t you want that?”
I cleared my throat, casting a glance at Claudia, who happened to be looking right at me. No, I didn’t want that. It wasn’t my style.
“Or maybe you have that?” he added. “Nah, you and Shelby are like a miserable old married couple.”
“Shelby and I aren’t cheesy and twelve years old,” I said with a scowl.
“No, you both act like you’re eighty. And you can’t stand each other, yet you stay together. It kills me for you, especially when I see the way you look at Claudia. I’ve never seen you even look at another girl before.”
“Can we do this later?” I growled, not wanting to have this kind of discussion ever, but especially not while the bar was open and packed with people I didn’t want knowing my personal business.
“Count on it,” Ryan said before disappearing.
A couple cleared their seats at the bar for Jess and her crazy best friend, Rachel. I made my way over and greeted them both with a quick hug. If I ever tried anything less, Rachel would do something insane like hop on my back the second I turned around and claim that I was her horse as she waved a hand in the air. I always pretended to be annoyed by her, but the truth was that she was a lot of fun, and I loved it when she was around.
“Frank, ready to date me yet?” Rachel asked. She was always flirting with me, but it was all in good fun. She had a mad crush on Ryan that she knew was never going anywhere, so I got the brunt of her playfulness.
“I’ll take you out tonight if you’ll let me,” I said, flirting back. Hell, it was easy to play with someone when you didn’t really mean it.
“You sweet-talker.” She winked before shouting at Ryan, “Why is your shirt still on, Fisher? Don’t you know I come here for the free show?”
“Please don’t encourage him,” I begged.
Rachel leaned toward me. “I can’t help it, Frank. If you took your shirt off, I’d encourage you too. But you’re all,” she frowned and waved a hand up and down the length of my body, “covered up all the time.”
Jess laughed. “Oh my God, please ignore her.” She ducked her head and covered he
r face with her hands.
“He couldn’t ignore me if he tried. Frank loves me.” Rachel batted her eyelashes, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
My gaze left the girls momentarily in search of Claudia, and I noticed that she and Britney were talking with a group of guys. I ground my teeth, not liking the idea of someone else getting Claudia’s attention, or that she might like it. I must have looked for a minute too long because both Rachel and Jess turned around, curious.
“Who are you looking at?” Rachel asked, and Jess pursed her lips.
I stayed silent, refusing to answer the question. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I realized in that moment that Nick had told her everything. Jess knew all about Claudia, but mercifully kept the information to herself.
Rachel kept glancing around, clearly taking stock of the women in the room. “Please tell me, Frank. I’m dying.” She coughed into her fist. “See? Literally dying to see what your type is.”
“My type?” I asked, somewhat baffled.
“Yeah. What kind of girls do you find attractive? I want to know my chances, duh,” she said as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.
“Frank, I’m sorry. She should never be allowed to leave the house,” Jess said in a rush, but Rachel refused to be deterred.
“Ay, dios mio, please tell me it’s not that stick-figure bleached blonde in the corner?” She pretended to gag in mock disgust.
I turned to search out who was referring to, and it wasn’t long before I spotted the typical Southern California blonde. I had no idea who she was and had never seen her before.
“No. Definitely not her.” She couldn’t have been more different from Claudia in every way.
“Aha! So you were looking at someone!” Rachel clapped her hands with delight. “But really, thank God it wasn’t her. I would hate it if you were that cliché.”
When Jess cleared her throat, Rachel’s eyes widened. “No offense, amiga. You’re not cliché just because you’re blond and have blue eyes. You’re smart and don’t look like you’re searching for a sugar daddy.”
“Admit it. You would totally hate me if you didn’t know me,” Jess said, pretending to be offended.
