Her smile sends fire to my stomach, and I adjust in my seat, trying to rid myself of this feeling.
I do not pine for women. I’m the heir to the Boston Irish Mob, and I do not fall for pussy.
Though her smile is beautiful, it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She seems to have a sorrowful gloss over them.
Michael moves his arm from Haley’s shoulder and pours our glasses. He bumps Haley closer toward me, and she blushes as our knees touch.
I down my glass in a gulp, and Haley chases hers just as quickly. Tense shoulders make her come across as nervous, and she still has a slight hue of pink to her cheeks.
Shy isn’t my usual type, yet I’m curious about her. I quickly come up with a way to get her alone. “Right, well. Come outside for some air with me, lass.”
″I’m good,” she says. And of course, she would be. What sane woman just ups and leaves a public area with a man that makes her uncomfortable?
Christ, I’m a fucking moron. I refrain from dragging my hand down my face. She doesn’t need to know I feel like a smacked ass.
″You should really go with him, Savi,” Michael says.
″I said I was good.”
″And I’m telling you to get fresh air.” Michael shoves her out of the booth.
She huffs, eyebrows scrunched but follows. When we reach the exit, I pull my suit jacket off and throw it over her shoulders to keep her warm. The brutal winter isn’t quite over in Boston, so the nights are still cold.
My fingers brush against her arm, and she shivers away from me. I push down the burning feeling in my gut, and we step outside.
″Do you smoke?” I press a cigarette to my lips, lighting it as she leans against the wall.
Haley shakes her head and kicks at a rock on the ground. Her eyes dart around, taking in her surroundings, but she never looks at me.
″So you’re a doctor, eh?”
″That’s what Griff said, right?”
I ignore her short tone. “Aye. Where do you work now?”
″Massachusetts General.” She crosses her arms, relaxing a bit. “They’ve got quite the load of traumas running through there. Keeps me busy.”
″You don’t have a Boston accent. Where are you from?” I always figured since Paddy and Michael were deployed together, they kept people from the same location together. But, what the fuck do I know about government military procedures? Fuck all.
She tenses, staring at me with wide hazel eyes that scream caution. She doesn’t trust me, and she’s right not to, but I fucking want her to.
The only response I get is, “I’m not from Boston.”
I finish my smoke and toss it in the outdoor ashtray. When I reach for her arm to bring her back in, she blushes and pulls away before I can touch her.
She shrugs from my jacket and hands it to me. “I should get going. Tell Murphy I said happy birthday.”
Our fingers brush as I take it from her. Warmth follows, and she gasps. I know she feels it too, whatever energy is stirring around us. For whatever reason, she doesn’t want to admit it.
″The party is just getting started, lass. Stay and have another drink with me.”
″No.”
Haley turns and hurries away as if she’s running from a monster. I fight the urge to follow her, not wanting to upset her, even though I want to convince her I’m not that bad of a person.
I shake my head, because what the fuck? I am a monster, and she’s got the right idea to stay away.
Chapter three