Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
NATE
“I hope you like the inside as much as you like the outside,” I mutter as I pull into the alley leading to the back of the bar.
I drove Savanna around the front to show her what it looked like, and she seemed rather enthralled. I’m curious to know what she’ll think of the inside.
My uncle styled the bar country and western. I always appreciated the rich brown mahogany floors, burnt barnwood bar, and booths and tables that match the bar, complete with black chairs and stools. The place always felt homey and comfortable to me; somewhere to come and kick back with friends to relax, or drown troubles with strangers.
“I’m almost positive I will,” Savanna says, quick to unbuckle and open her door to jump out. “I love the outside with all the wooden beams and the wooden sidewalk out front. It reminds me of an old western saloon. I’ve never been to a place like that, not even back home.”
I laugh as I meet her around the front of the truck and lead her to the back door. I let us inside where we’re quickly assaulted with laughter and shouts from the boys in the back of house.
When the door closes behind us, three of my employees turn, a hush falling over the room. I know it’s my presence. The same thing can happen at the firehouse, even though I’m friends with all the guys on my watch.
“Boss man!” Jeremy, my sous chef, says, breaking the silence after an awkward beat. “What’s up, bro?”
“Don’t let me kill the party, guys,” I say with a smile, leading Savanna further into the kitchen.
I turn towards her and make the introductions. As I suspected, Savanna is gracious and sweet, taking it all in with wide, curious eyes. After a quick update from Jeremy about the day’s events, I feel pretty good about taking it easy, though I’ll make my final decision on whether I’m leaving Savanna at the bar alone once I talk to my head waitress and bartender.
“Come on, I’ll show you the bar,” I murmur to Savanna, taking her hand. The same shock runs up my arm causing me to shiver and glance in her direction. Her round eyes are larger than before, taking me in, and I know she felt it too, but I keep my mouth shut as I lead her towards the swinging doors to the pub.
We make it a few feet when I feel resistance against my hand and turn to find her attention pulled towards my office, looking aghast.
“Nate…” she says, appalled. “That’s… that’s… this explains why your cupboards are all a mess. I think it might also explain the disaster in your dining room.”
I glance inside and cringe. It is pretty bad, with files, paper, and boxes all over the place. In the last few weeks a bunch of it has migrated from the bar to my house and has taken up residence in my dining room. Despite her assessment of my coffee cup situation, I’m a relatively organized guy. I like things neat and orderly, in their own place.
My office is the furthest thing from that. My face flushes and my hand is clammy in Savanna’s. For some reason, I don’t want her to see this side of things. Brushing the boxes and paperwork off at home had been easy given Savanna’s exhausted state earlier today, but she’s wide awake now.
“It’s not that bad,” I say, running a hand brusquely through my hair.
It is that bad, and she gives me a look that says as much.
“You know, I’m really good at organizing… if you wanted, I could help you out,” she suggests with hope.
“I know it looks like a disorganized disaster, but it’s like my kitchen. If you touched it, it would screw me up for days and I wouldn’t be able to find a mug in the morning. But I appreciate the offer,” I tell her, offering as much of a smile as I can muster. “Now c’mon. I’m starving.”
The mountain of work can wait. The responsible side of me says it can’t. I should be getting it more organized because the clock is ticking. Putting it off is stress inducing, but I shove the feeling down. Tonight is about getting to know this beautiful woman that intrigues me more than any other in years. As much as I know the work needs to be done, maybe Jordan and Liam are right—maybe I do need to have some fun. Even if the only place it can lead is learning a little more about Savanna.
Tomorrow. The work can wait until tomorrow.
Tugging Savanna towards the swinging doors, I push the right side open before coming to a dead stop in the middle of the doorway. Liam and Brody are both sitting at the bar, something I should have thought about prior to this moment. Normally I would have, but I’m distracted by a certain blonde currently running right into my back.
She bounces off me, her surprised gasp hitting my ears as I quickly turn, grabbing her by the elbows to keep her righted.
“Shit! I’m sorry!” I say at the same time she says, “What the heck, Nate?”
A second later, with both of us just inside the kitchen, the door swings open and hits me in the back. There’s a yip of alarm, and then a crash of dishes hits the floor.
“Fuck! Nate, what the hell? Why are you standing right there?” Bryn, my head server curses again as she sets down a stack of dishes on one of the counters.
The crash turns out to be one broken plate. I’m not sure how she managed it, but it’s one of the reasons I love her so much and rely on her as the glue that keeps this place together. When she finishes school in a few months and goes to work as a massage therapist I’m going to be lost without her.
Bryn is shaking her head, her chin length brown hair swaying around her face while she picks up some of the larger pieces of the broken dish. Savanna is kneeling beside her a second later, helping, and I’m torn between making an introduction and grabbing a broom for the rest of the mess. I’m a firefighter at heart, though, and getting hazards out of the way takes priority over niceties, so I go for the broom, returning a moment later to find the two women making their own introductions.
Bryn slides her eyes over to me when I return, an eyebrow cocked in question. I choose to ignore it, sweeping up the leftover bits of plate instead.
“I’ll finish that if you tell me why the hell you were standing there in the first place,” Bryn says.
“Yeah, I’d kind of like to know why you stopped so abruptly,” Savanna chimes.
Christ, now they’re ganging up on me.
If I tell them the truth, Bryn will laugh her way back to Liam and Brody and tell them all about this. At the same time, I do want to warn Savanna about my friends before we head into the bar. They’re like brothers to me, but they can be a handful, especially together.
Actually, it’s Liam. I’m worried about Liam.
Brody is a beast of a man who half rocks the surfer look—only the top half of his hair is long because of regulations at work—which is fitting considering he’s a surfer. He’s a quiet soul. A year younger than I am, but in many ways older. Losing a wife can do that to a person. A couple years ago Heather was killed in a car accident. It was crushing for him, and for a while I wasn’t sure he would make it to the other side, but these days he’s doing better. A part of him didn’t make it out, though, and I don’t know if he’ll ever truly be able to move on.
Liam, on the other hand, requires a warning before meeting. While he’s the most loyal person I’ve ever met, and is the one I’d call on to help bury a body, the guy is a shameless flirt. He’ll pry into what’s going on the second he sees Savanna and me together. If I let her walk out there without a word of caution, it would be like sending her into the lion’s den.
“It’s fine, I can finish this. Go deal with your tables,” I tell Bryn, nodding over my shoulder towards the pub.
I can feel her hazel eyes on me, and I clench my jaw to keep from looking up. Bryn has worked here for years and knows me well. She’s also perceptive as hell, and I don’t need to give her any insight into what I’m thinking.
“Okay,” she says with a shrug. “Suit yourself. Savanna, it was nice meeting you. Next time just shove him through the door.”
“He’s like a brick wall,” Savanna laughs. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to do that.”
“You could try slapping his ass. I know that always makes me move,” Bryn smirks before disappearing through the door separating the kitchen and the pub.
I choose to ignore Bryn, instead focusing on the mess, depositing it into the garbage. “See? I told you I’d help out if needed.”
Savanna tries hard to contain a snicker, but she isn’t doing a great job, and my comment causes her to give me a full-blown laugh. “You caused this! You deserve to clean it up!”
Only when I’m done with everything do I turn fully to her and explain. “I didn’t want to send you out there without proper warning,” I say, ominously.
She steps closer to me, eyebrows furrowing as she stares intently. She’s so close I can feel the heat from her body, and see little flecks of brown around her pupil that I hadn’t noticed before.
“The guys are sitting at the bar. Liam and Brody.”
“The ones I’m lucky didn’t rescue me,” she says so seriously that I bark out a laugh.
“Yeah, those ones,” I concur, giving her a toothy grin. “They’re going to recognize you, and they’re going to be really curious.” Turning solemn, my eyes dart towards the door. “They probably won’t be able to help themselves, and there’ll be questions. And when I say they, I actually mean Liam. Brody will be interested, but he’s more the strong silent type. Liam, on the other hand, is outspoken. But they’re family. With everything we go through together, he’s become a brother to me. They both have, so I put up with them.”
Giving me a firm nod, Savanna gestures towards the doors that lead out front. “I got this. Lead the way.”
Her confidence gives me confidence, and I hope to hell she’s right. It takes a strong woman to take on the two men I’m about to introduce to her.
“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence!” Liam bellows over the music as we walk through the swinging door.
Savanna is right behind me and judging by the look on both Liam and Brody’s faces, they haven’t spotted her yet.
The two of them are sitting at the end of the bar closest to the kitchen doors, and there are a couple of barstools available beside Liam. I’m still trying to decide if that’s a good or bad thing when Liam elbows Brody and I know they’ve both noticed Savanna, who has stepped out from around me.
“I know, I know. I’m a little late,” I start, and then immediately recognize my mistake as I come to stand at the end of the bar.
Savanna joins me to my right, standing close to where Brody is sitting. I’m damn thankful that it’s Brody sitting at the end and not Liam, but then again, the open seat is next to Liam, so I’m not entirely sure how thankful I should be.
Liam’s grin lights up his face and he leans over a little further so he can see around Brody’s large frame. I swear I can see smoke coming out of his ears as the gears turn in his brain at the woman standing beside me. “And we can see why. Your reason is more than acceptable, dude.”
“You must be Brody,” Savanna says, her attention on the closer man, and Christ, I could kiss her for it. I don’t know how she knows to play it off like Liam isn’t even there, but it’s the best thing she could do.
Brody, in all his tiny man-bun glory, swings his head towards her, surprise flashing in his brown eyes that she voiced his name over the man sitting next to him. His eyes dart to me before he looks back to her and gives her a slow smile, extending a hand to her. “That’s me.”
Savanna returns the expression and takes his hand, giving it a shake. I’m positive she’s winning points with the large man. “Savanna. I hope you don’t mind me joining Nate for dinner.”
Shaking his head, Brody releases her hand, his grin growing the longer Savanna ignores Liam. He’s getting as much pleasure out of this as I am, and even though Savanna doesn’t know either of them very well, I’m certain she’s almost as amused as we are.
Liam is sitting there, his jaw on the bar, staring at the interaction going on like it’s the most baffling thing he’s ever witnessed. And for Liam it might be.
The guy commands the attention of females with his good looks and buoyant personality. Women fawn over him, wanting to know his name, be on his arm, have his attention on them. None of us shame him for it, or hold it against him. That’s how he is, and we wouldn’t change him for the world, but it must be a humbling experience for me to show up with a woman, and for her to introduce herself to Brody without giving Liam a second look.
Finally, she puts him out of his misery. I watch as she tilts her head to the side and looks at Liam on the other side of Brody, giving him an appraising look. “Which makes you Liam.”
Now that he’s not floundering from being ignored, he pulls out the signature Liam charm, giving her a smile that has melted countless panties in this bar.
“The one and only,” he says, leaning towards us as he extends a hand across Brody.
Savanna takes it, but instead of a handshake, he takes her hand in his, his index finger resting beneath her palm.
“If I didn’t have the big lug between us, I’d be inclined to sweep my lips right here,” he says, and I don’t need to look at their hands to tell his thumb is running along her skin.
Rather than answer him, Savanna turns her head to me, forehead crinkled, gray eyes deadpan. “You made him seem like a ladies man. Do these moves actually work on most women?”
Brody damn near spits out his beer, and I crack up with laughter, while Liam looks too stunned to form an actual sentence. I’m thrilled Savanna is more than holding her own with my brothers, vanquishing all the worries I had about sitting with these two. Every layer that gets peeled back from her only encourages me to like her more.
“Girl got jokes,” he finally says, and nods with appreciation as he lets go of her hand. “Okay. I see you there.”
Savanna finally laughs, her forehead smoothing while her eyes light up as she looks between the three of us. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. Nate hasn’t told me a lot, but he’s told me enough.”
“That’s one sided. He hasn’t told us a thing about you,” Liam says, eyeing me. I can feel Brody’s eyes land on me as well, both wanting to know what’s going on.
“Why don’t you take a seat,” I say to Savanna, nodding towards the space next to Liam. “I’ll get us a drink.”
She does as I suggest, and I move behind the bar. As I do, my head bartender, Martin, makes his way over to me. We have a brief chat about the evening and how it’s going—steady for a Thursday night, but not so busy that he can’t handle it by himself for the time being—and then he’s gone, back to the other end of the bar.
I hear Liam mention Savanna’s shirt looks like something he’d seen Jordan wear; why the hell he remembers that, when he can hardly remember a girl from the night before, I don’t understand. I don’t question it, though. Mostly because I don’t want to know, but also because I trust the guy wholly.
“So,” I interrupt Liam and Savanna. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Uhm,” Savanna hums, chewing on the inside of her lip, drawing my attention to them. I’d rather it be me nibbling on that full bottom lip, but if all I can do is watch her do it, I won’t say no.
“Oh,” Liam pipes up in a calculating tone, “Something hard. He loves that.”
Sliding my gaze to his, I find a devious glint staring back at me. Christ. This bastard. My eyes narrow at him, and I have the sudden urge to punch him in the face. The guy loves to ride my ass about finding a date, but the second I show interest in a woman he’s all about trying to embarrass me.
Savanna doesn’t seem to catch Liam’s innuendo, her excitement evident as she asks, “Do you have something special you make? Something hard?”
I can see in her face that the only thing she’s thinking about is a drink, but Brody and Liam erupt in laughter before I have a chance to say a word. It’s only then that Savanna realizes what she said, and what Liam must have meant, and I watch as her face turns twenty shades of red right before my eyes. It’s fucking gorgeous on her, and despite her embarrassment, I might be a tad happy over Liam’s annoying behavior.
“To drink! I mean do you have some kind of special hard drink! You know, like bartenders make signature things!” she explains, gesturing with her hands wildly as the two men beside her continue to crack up.
“Savanna, ignore these two. Their brains stopped developing at the same time their dicks did when they were twelve. You two are cut off,” I tell them, turning towards Martin at the other end of the bar. “Liam and Brody are cut off!”
I get groans from both of them, but it does what it’s intended and sobers them up.
Liam turns on his stool towards Savanna, an apology etched into his facial features. “Savanna, I sincerely apologize. It’s just that, well, you see… the last time our friend Nate, here, brought a girl into a bar, it was six years ago.”
“Screw you, it was not.”
“Oh, so you bring girls into the bar often then?” he shoots back, eyebrows raised at me.
“No! Jesus. Savanna, I’m sorry, he gets carried away,” I say, turning to look strictly at her, ignoring the look of triumph Liam is sporting.
“You don’t need to apologize, Nate,” she says, chuckling. “You told me they were like family. Brothers. I have two of my own, so I know what it’s like.”
Then she leans across the bar towards me, arms folded in front of her, her breasts resting on top of them. The sweetest, most innocent smile blinds me as she practically hums, “So, do you have something hard for me?”