Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
COLGATE STREET WAS a ten-minute Uber ride from Elijah’s house, and when he was dropped off, it was a little after eight.
Once he found out this was a night out to celebrate Nash’s brother, he opted to get a ride, so he didn’t need to worry about how many drinks he had.
He was almost an hour early, so he could get something to eat before Nash was ordering rounds of drinks for George.
Weaving through the crowd, he took a seat at the bar. Patrick, the bartender, saw him and shouted out, “The usual?” to which Elijah just nodded. He enjoyed coming to Lighthouse because the staff knew his drink order.
A few minutes later, a whiskey on the rocks was slid over to him. Elijah brought his drink to his lips and took a sip. The first burn of the whiskey was replaced with warmth when he took his second sip.
Someone sat next to him, but he didn’t bother to look, not until he heard the sultry voice of a woman. “Wow, you didn’t even flinch. I’m impressed.”
He turned his head slightly to the left to catch a look at her. For the first time, Elijah debated his rule of not fucking the locals.
This woman oozed sex with her pouty lips, wavy blond hair, and deep green eyes. She cocked her head to the side.
“Do you also not talk?” the vixen questioned him with a smile.
Elijah swirled the whiskey in his glass. “You didn’t ask a question.”
She turned in her barstool to face him. Fuck, she was beautiful. “I’m celebrating tonight.”
“What are you celebrating?” Elijah asked, though he hadn’t fully turned to her yet.
“I got my first apartment,” she beamed. Damn, she was breathtaking. He swore his heart rate was going a million beats per minute. Her smile was perfection, lighting up the whole damn bar. “I need to brag because I have my own bedroom and an office.”
Elijah chuckled at her excitement. “That is something to celebrate. Are you drinking alone or with someone?”
“If you’re asking if I have a boyfriend, I don’t. But I have friends coming in about an hour,” the gorgeous woman told him, confirming two things.
First, a boyfriend wasn’t part of her equation.
And two, she had some time alone before her friends arrived.
This worked in his favor because he had some time to himself as well.
Maybe he would skip out on meeting Nash’s brother.
He’d understand if Elijah bailed because of a woman.
The guy was just nagging him about getting laid.
She bit her full bottom lip for a second before she spoke again. “Are you here alone or waiting for someone?”
The bartender made eye contact with him, so he nudged his head to the left. A non-verbal message to let Patrick know to come over when he had a chance.
“Same as you. Since you are celebrating, how about I buy you a drink?” Elijah offered, hoping like hell she agreed.
Her tongue snuck out quickly to lick the corner of her mouth. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
“Maybe you should have led with that?” Elijah arched his eyebrow.
Patrick knocked on the bar to get his attention. “What can I get you?”
Elijah looked over at the woman, gesturing with one hand to the bartender for her to let him know what she wanted.
Again, with another damn lick to the corner of her mouth.
“I’ll have whatever he’s having. Plus, a water for each of us,” she ordered, and Patrick walked away to make their drinks. She flicked a stray piece of hair over her shoulder. “Are you celebrating tonight?”
He shook his head. “Though I am meeting my friend’s brother for the first time. Does that count as a celebration?”
“Only if the brother’s friend isn’t a complete anal gland,” she sassily joked, and he dropped his jaw.
“An anal gland? That’s a different way to say asshole.”
“Or the medical way,” she said slyly just as her drink arrived. Patrick was smart and brought another whiskey for Elijah too.
“Would either of you like something to eat?”
“I’ll have a cheeseburger,” Elijah told him. “Instead of fries, can I have whatever side of vegetables you have tonight?”
Patrick nodded. “We have steamed broccoli. And for you?” He shifted his attention to the beauty next to Elijah. This time, Patrick gave her a smile, which he never did for Elijah.
She took a sip of her whiskey and winced. “I’ll do the same thing, but no bun for me.”
He walked off to place their food order, and Elijah smirked.
“What’s that look for?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink. Again, she winced.
“Why did you order a whiskey if you don’t like it?”
“I like whiskey, but no matter how many times I’ve had it, it still burns going down. Not all of us are as tough as you.” She was grinning.
This woman had a spark that drew him in. It wasn’t just her sexy smile that had him pining for more of her attention. Without a doubt, something was special about her, something that made her stand out.
“What do you do when you aren’t at the bar,” the blond bombshell kept talking, “and doing a crap job of picking up women?”
She was a firecracker, that was for sure. And if she played games, he would too.
Elijah scooted his chair closer to her. “You think I’m doing a shit job at picking you up?”
“Let’s see here.” She lifted her hand to count off all his misses but managed it with a grin.
“I had to come to you and initiate conversation. Then I had to wait a long time before being offered a drink. And I swear my back hurts from doing all the heavy lifting with questions for us to get to know each other.”
He moved closer to her with his mouth hovering near her ear. She was close enough that if he wanted to, he could kiss her. “My name is Elijah. I’m thirty-eight. I’ve lived in Landmere for a decade and am a lieutenant firefighter. Unless you object, I’m going to kiss you.”
Elijah gave her a minute to digest all the information, and her eyes blinked heavily. Fuck, he needed this woman like he needed his next breath.
Instead of leaning in so he could taste her, she scooted back on her chair to put space between them.
Elijah grabbed her hand, an attempt to hold on to her so she didn’t run away.
“What just happened?” he asked. How did she go from sultry and flirtatious to annoyed and distant?
She rolled her dark-green eyes as if he was the one acting like a petulant child.
“Did you say you worked at the fire station?”
He let go of her arm. “I do more than just work at a fire station. I’m a firefighter. Do you have something against firefighters?”
Crossing her arms, she slanted her gaze at him. “What was the name of your friend’s brother you were meeting tonight?”
He didn’t like the turn their conversation was taking. This was the last time he was ever contemplating a hookup with someone in his town.
“Not that it makes a difference to you.” Elijah stared her down. Much to his dismay, even when she acted annoyed, she was still hot as hell. “But his name is George.”
Then she laughed in his face.
OF COURSE THE hottest guy she’d ever met was a firefighter. And not just any firefighter, one who worked with her older brother.
“Do you have something against the name?” Elijah asked, taking a gulp of the amber liquid. He was calm, cool, and collected, though the way he narrowed his eyes showed something else. Like he was pissed off.
Good, that made two of them.
“Remember when I said you were doing a shitty job of picking me up?” Georgia lifted her chin in defiance.
Instead of using words like a normal person, he nodded. Was it even considered a nod if his head only moved once? The hot firefighter who at first seemed sexy and broody was actually a caveman who happened to be friends with Nash.
“You’re making it hard for me to find the silver lining,” she muttered under her breath.
“Is there a point to this?” Elijah brusquely asked, sounding more like a warning.
She threw her hands up in frustration. “You’re a complete idiot. When you meet someone, you ask their name.”
Silence.
Wow, it was like he needed instructions for everything. He probably needed an instructional manual on how to get her off. Good thing she wasn’t trying to go home with him. Well, not anymore anyway.
“This is when you ask me for my name,” Georgia prompted him.
He, not so gently, put his whiskey glass down. His eyes, a dark ocean blue, peered around casually, as if he was bored with her.
Screw him!
“My name is Georgia,” she told him with an attitude.
She waited for it to dawn on him…but nothing. Not a stitch of recognition.
“Georgia, nice name,” Elijah told her, watching her like she was a wild animal about to let loose.
The bartender came over and dropped their food off, but they didn’t end their stare down.
“I hope you’re a better firefighter than you are at connecting the dots,” she threw at him.
He took a bite of his cheeseburger, then took all the time in the world to chew before he spoke again. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Before Georgia could explain, her brother walked in.
“Elijah, my man!” Nash clasped his hand on his idiot friend’s shoulder. “Looks like you didn’t need me to introduce you to George, my baby sister.”
Elijah’s eyes grew wide, and his mouth dropped open. Finally, he connected the dots. George was her silly nickname.
“We were actually just getting to names,” Georgia told her brother. She then pulled her attention back to Elijah. "I prefer to be called Georgia, but that doesn’t happen at home.”
Nash turned around to say hello to someone when Elijah groaned, dragging his hand over his face.
The whispered fuck she heard made her smile.