Chapter 27
27
RONAN
“I thought you’d be happy to be getting a breather tonight.” Darius sets down a beer flight as he comes to join me at the table where I’m sitting alone.
I give him the stink-eye. “Happy? You’re an even worse babysitter than Nicky.”
For one, he doesn’t have Nicky’s killer tits or her bum that’s shaped like a peach or her sassy comebacks.
Darius is my chaperone tonight here at The North Node. My older brother thought he was doing everyone a favor when he showed up at my place and gave Nicky the night off from supervising me. Then he dragged me here to the Starlit Beer Hop.
My twin brother’s bar is even busier than it’s been in a while. A lot of tourists are in town for this festival, traveling from one Starlight Falls bar to the next to indulge in the different brews from our town and the surrounding areas.
This festival was loads of fun last year. I’m definitely not having a good time tonight, though. I just feel grouchy without Nicky around.
Usually, this is my favorite table here at the back of the North Node. But tonight, it just feels like something’s missing.
Darius sits across from me, observing me keenly. “You know, I can already see a difference in you.” He takes a sip of one of his beer samples.
I quirk an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain.
“You’re…I don’t know…calmer. Grumpy tonight, for sure, but overall, you’re calmer. You don’t fly off the handle with the press as much. In the locker room, you’ve been better with the players, too. A better team captain. And you sure as hell have been playing better on the ice these past few games.” He claps my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, little brother.”
“Yay, me!” I shoot ironically.
Outwardly, I may not be willing to revel in Darius’ praise. But on the inside, I’m definitely basking in it just a little. Not too long ago, when this whole thing started, my brother couldn’t stand the sight of my face. It’s nice that he’s proud of me for a change.
The door to the bar swings open and my eyes happen to travel in that direction. Karli steps inside, laughing with Daphne and Layla as usual. But when I see a third face in their little crew, I feel something inside me shift.
Nicky is with the girls and she looks so damn good. Her hair is pulled back from her immaculate face. She’s wearing a short wool jacket and leather pants that hug her delicious curves like plastic wrap.
She’s the prettiest woman in this whole town. And all the men here tonight know it. I see how their eyes all trail after her as she and the girls sit at the bar.
When she looks my way, she sees me. For one heated moment, our eyes meet. Then she quickly glances away, like I’m nothing at all to her. That stings.
Darius is still yammering on. “All I’m saying is, Nicky is already rubbing off on you,” he’s saying now.
“Not as much as I wish she’d rub off on me…” I mutter absently.
And then I want to bang my head on the table because I realize that I actually said it out loud.
My brother’s gaze goes sharp and suspicious. “Wait…” he pauses and I can see the gears turning in his head. His focus bounces from me to Nicky and back again. Then it settles on my forehead like a bull’s eye. “You’re not messing around with Nicky Westbrook, are you?”
“What?” I’m stalling.
“Ronan! Tell me you’re not messing around with Nicky Westbrook!” he semi-shrieks. “Your personal assistant?…The hockey team’s newest employee?… My business partner’s freaking sister ?!!”
He’s gripping my shoulder and shaking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this outwardly worked up.
I shrug him off me. “No. Of course not. I’d never.”
Darius’ face tells me he doesn’t believe me one bit. “Not anymore, you’re not,” he threatens me. “Whatever is going on with you and that girl, it stops right now.”
“There’s nothing to stop,” I grumble miserably. Nicky already put an end to anything between us before it really got started.
“Ronan, she is my business partner’s little sister. My partnerships with Cash Westbrook are some of the most lucrative in my portfolio. If you mess this up for me, I will hurt you. Physically.”
I exhale roughly. “Darius—there’s nothing going on with me and Nicky,” I insist, suddenly exhausted.
And it’s definitely not for my lack of trying.
Some guy approaches Nicky at the bar. Looks like he’s offering to buy her a drink. I don’t even know the guy. But instantly, my palm is scratching to slap him across the face like a little bitch. What the hell is wrong with me?
I find myself rising from my seat. I don’t want to sit here and watch these losers hit on Nicky all night. That’s some additional torture I don’t need. I’d rather just go home and sulk in peace. “You know what? I’m ready to leave.”
Darius rises from his seat, grabbing his car keys. “Fine. I’m ready to call it a night, too. You just gave me a fucking headache.”
I put a hand out to stop him. I’m not in the mood for company right now. “I’ll get a taxi.”