“An Irish prayer?”
“I’m three-quarters Irish. We take our alcohol seriously,” he said with a wicked grin.
We chuckled for no particular reason, then smiled.
“I should get going. I’m coaching a practice for Gabe.” I stood, pulling my wallet from my pocket.
“Put your money away. That one’s on the house.”
“Thanks. I’ll buy you one in the mountains this weekend. What day are you driving up?”
“Friday, but—”
“I’ll see you there.” I smiled.
Drew met my gaze….and blushed. That was when I knew for sure that he felt the pull too.
I’d been riding a high on that damn blush for the past few days. It might not mean anything, but it made me think there was a decent chance he’d show up at this hole-in-the-wall bar in the mountains to have a drink with me.
“Who are you looking for?” Jade asked.
I took a slow pull from my beer, casting one last look toward the front of the bar before setting my bottle on the cramped table. “No one. Why?”
Jade tossed her long hair over her shoulder and snorted. “Your eyes have been glued to the entrance since we got here.”
“Just checking out the scenery.”
“Liar. Who is she?”
I twisted to face her, which required a contortion exercise and a risk of knocking knees and elbows with my buddies.
“Nah, you got it wrong. I’m not looking for a girl. Drew told me he was going to be here this weekend with his brother. I invited him to meet us for drinks tonight.”
Her forehead creased in confusion. “Drew? Oh, right. I remember. I doubt he’ll show up.”
I was beginning to think she was right. I’d texted him when I arrived earlier this afternoon. A simple See you at The Saloon at 7. Be there. He didn’t reply. And he hadn’t come by.
I didn’t know what time it was now, but our party had taken over three high tables in the middle of the bar a while ago. We’d outlasted our neighboring tables and had eaten our way through two orders of nachos, wings, sliders, and three pitchers of beer. Food didn’t last long around my friends, though. And this was a big group.
There were ten of us: seven guys, three girls, and if I’d heard my buddy Colin correctly, we had another two friends joining us tomorrow. I wasn’t sure how the sleeping logistics would work. Colin’s parents’ mountain getaway was big, but I had no idea if there was really enough space to accommodate twelve adults. Our normal solution was to double up in whatever beds were available. We were usually exhausted after a full day on the slopes and happy to pass out anywhere warm with a blanket.
The only possible issue this time around was that there was an odd number of girls, which meant one of them would need a partner to bunk with. And the last time that had happened, Jade and I had a horny one-night-only experiment. We were both on the same page after the fact and agreed to just be friends. However, she’d been more attentive and extra touchy-feely lately. Maybe I was misreading the signals. I hoped so.
I didn’t want any distractions when Drew arrived. If he arrived.
I glanced over my shoulder again and caught Jade’s probing side-eye. Great.
“Earth to Liam.” Jade waved her hand in front of my eyes.
“Yes, Earthling?”
She giggled, leaning against my bicep. “If Drew shows up now, you’re on your own. Chad is closing out our tab, and Michaela is organizing Uber rides. Last one to the cabin is probably sleeping on the sofa.”
“Not the sofa,” I whined. “That thing is lump central. You can get a sore back just from watching TV or—”
“Hey. How’s it going?”
I turned as much as I could in the cramped quarters and did a double take. Okay…now I was the one blushing.
I grinned at Drew. A big, silly grin that made me feel slightly dizzy. “Hey, you made it.”
He smiled, setting his hand on my barstool. “Yeah, I was out on the slopes with my brother and his wife all day. I wasn’t sure you’d still be here, but I thought I’d stop by just in case. Hi, Jade.”
Jade shimmied out of her chair, leaning over me to give Drew a one-armed hug. “Hi, Boss. Are we skiing with you tomorrow?”
“Uh…I don’t think so. A beer sounds good, though. What are you having?”
When Drew pointed to my almost empty glass, I rattled off a random name brand and drank in the sight of him. Fuck, he looked good in the mountains. His light-blue sweater fit like a glove…not too bulky, not too snug. And it made his silvery-blue eyes pop.
Dammit, stop staring.
I made a production of finishing my drink while conversation buzzed around me. My friends gathered their belongings, shuffling chairs out of the way to make a path to the exit. They paused to say hi to the newcomer on their way out. But it was too loud and too crowded to linger.