Leslie lifted her beer to Avery. “To new friends.”
Liam kept himself ducked in a back corner of the bar, his eyes trained on the one woman in the place who didn’t belong. He’d been staring at her so hard for twenty minutes, it was surprising she didn’t feel the heat of his eyes.
Blonde wasn’t normally his thing, but he could see making an exception for her. He couldn’t see the color of her eyes, but he did notice how much they took in everything around her. Guarded or observant? She leaned against the cocktail table, listening to the woman she was seated by, and while she looked at home tilting the beer back, he found himself watching small details others wouldn’t catch. Like how she picked up the bar napkin and wiped the edge of the table before leaning against it. Or how she kept her foot on the strap of her bag, which sat at her feet. She wore designer jeans, and the watch on her wrist glittered in a way that said it wasn’t cheap. High cheekbones and a body that wasn’t shy on curves.
Liam wondered just how fast he could make her smile.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d picked up a woman in a bar, but maybe he needed to try his hand and see where it led.
The blonde’s companion stood and motioned toward the bathroom and then waved toward the bar, which was now packed with customers vying for the bartender’s attention.
As the friend left toward the toilets, the blonde walked three steps in the direction of the bar while keeping an eye on the bags left at their table.
Liam watched as the bees started to swarm.
He wasn’t the only one in the room attracted. He wondered if he should cut the others off before anyone stepped in before him. Before the thought managed to leave his brain, competition was already sliding in.
The blonde turned toward a customer who opened a conversation. Even though Liam couldn’t hear it, he could read the woman’s thoughts by how she eyed the man up and down and shook her head before looking back toward the bartender.
As Liam started to push his chair back, a second man pushed right up against her and said something close to her ear. Liam glanced at the lack of personal space between them and noticed her flex her hands. She took a small step back, and the admirer said something over her shoulder to the first guy she’d turned away. With her somewhat caged between the two men, Liam thought it was as good a time as any to step in and make the men stand down. He could see the stiffness of her jaw from two yards away.
Then, without warning, the man on her right slid his hand onto her hip. In a blur, the woman wrapped his unwanted arm in hers, came up over his shoulder, and effectively buried his head in the bar.
All conversation stopped.
“If I wanted your hand on my ass, I would have asked for it.” She pulled up higher on his arm. The man moaned. “Got it?”
“Got it, lady.”
“You okay, Avery?” the bartender asked.
She shoved the man away.
Several men at the bar started to chuckle.
“I’m fine. Just looking for another round.”
Liam stood rooted in place. She could have easily broken the man’s arm, even though he was a full head taller and had at least fifty pounds on her.
This was a woman he wanted to know.
She glanced around the audience she’d attracted by defending her space. Her hazel eyes landed on him and paused.
His fingers tingled.
She stared.
She blinked and turned back to her table. There, she grabbed her bag from underneath and pulled what looked like a fifty-dollar bill from her purse. She went back to the bar, dropped the money, and hiked her bag onto her shoulder. “Tell Leslie I had to go.”
It took less than ten seconds for the man she’d humiliated, and what appeared to be his friend, to get up and follow her.
Liam stepped in. “Can I help you?”
They eyed him as men do. As expected, they stood back. “Just getting some air,” said Contestant Number One.
He took a step as if walking around.
Liam lifted a hand to the other man’s chest, stopping him. “Well then, you can just wait a few minutes, can’t you?”
Mr. Humiliation eyed the door and drew in a deep breath.
“Fuck.”
“I think you two should go back to the bar and have