He took the challenge. Strolling up to the bull. Natalie pressed in. “Oh my god.”
My words exactly because as much as I had no intention of riding the bull, there was something really sexy about him riding it. “I need to record this,” Natalie whispered.
Yeah, she did.
He finished, they were talking, heads together, so I told them I was heading to the bar. I wasn’t really drinking; the memory of my last evening out was still too fresh, so I ordered a diet coke. Many of the faces at the bar I’d seen in town. I didn’t know their names, but there was something comforting about being surrounded by the same people. In Manhattan, you were lost in the crowd; here, it was like a sort of family.
The thought had just left my head when a familiar face strolled up to the bar.
Killian.
People said hi as he passed. He nodded in greeting. Even in a crowd, he seemed like an outsider. I’d never met anyone like him. He commanded attention but preferred the shadows. I was guessing he was coming from his sheriff role. Tomorrow morning, he’d be at my place working magic. How he’d come to do either job and were they what he wanted to do or had he fallen into the positions?
He scanned the bar. I noticed he did that every time he entered a place, probably the cop in him. His blue gaze landed on me, and, to look at him, I could be a complete stranger, but he moved around the bar to my side. He dropped his elbows on the old wood, his head tilted slightly to me. “Cedar.”
“Killian. You just getting off work?”
He nodded.
“Busy day?”
“Not really.”
“Picking up dinner?”
Another head nod. Some might call him rude, but I was beginning to understand that he just chose to speak with an economy of words. If he were rude, he wouldn’t have walked over to me. He just didn’t feel the need to fill the silence.
“You here alone?” he asked.
“No.” I gestured behind me; his blue gaze followed. “Liam and I were celebrating.” I turned into him. “He told you right? About the tavern?”
“That you want to buy me out.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” I reached for my soda. “We’re celebrating. I brought Natalie.”
His gaze moved to behind me again. “About time.”
Getting the confirmation that I wasn’t setting Natalie up for heartache felt good.
“I guess you’re the third wheel,” he said.
“Yeah, but happy to be so.”
“Want a ride home?”
It was just a ride home, but my body tingled like he’d offered for me to ride him. My words were a little breathy. “Yes, please. Let me go tell them.”
He nodded then turned his attention to the woman bringing his dinner.
Liam and Natalie were against the wall. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but I didn’t want them wondering where I was when they left their happy little bubble. Natalie glanced over and smiled.
I took the opening. “Killian is going to give me a ride home.”
“Are you sure?” Liam said, looking behind me and lifting his hand.