Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
“Earth to Gage.”
My attention is pulled back by Keeley, who looks at me with one dark eyebrow arched.
“What?”
“I said, would you like some alcohol with those limes?” She looks pointedly down at the glass in my hand, which is filled with about twenty lime slices.
“Shit.” I put the glass under the bench and grab another to start the margarita all over again, apologising when I finally hand it over to the woman waiting for her drink.
I look to the door once more, but there’s still no sight of those golden curls I’m itching to see. I love when Isabelle has them piled up on top of her head, usually with a bright scarf, her creamy neck on display, like an invitation for my teeth or my hands.
I’m losing my mind. I need her like a hit of adrenaline, and I’m crashing out.
I can feel myself growing agitated, knowing that she’ll be here soon, but not wanting to wait any longer.
Fuck, what is this hold she has over me?
I’m normally the one with the control. I demand it, expect it.
My phone feels like it’s burning in the back pocket of my jeans, calling out to message Isabelle and find out when she’ll be here.
I’m seconds away from caving when I glance at the door yet again, and my eyes zero in on a halo of glowing spirals.
I watch as it navigates through the heavy crowd, slowly making its way toward the front of the bar and finally, the crowd parts enough that I can see Isabelle’s face.
Her hair is down, hanging over one shoulder and fuck, she’s wearing that tan suede corset I saw her in a few months ago.
An honest to God shiver runs down my back as I stare at her beautiful figure.
Modest breasts pushed high on her chest, and that silver chain with the rose quartz she wears all the time glitters in the light.
Dark blue denim hugs her hips and thighs, begging for me to grip them.
When I make it to her angelic face, those blue eyes render me speechless.
A soft pink is painted on her pouty lips, and there’s something shimmery dusted on the tops of her cheeks, but that could just be her. She lights up every room.
I move down to the end of the bar, where stools are set up, right as Isabelle gets there and props herself up on a seat.
“Can I get you anything?” I ask. My heart pumps, both calm and erratic, as I place my hands on the bartop and stare down at her. Maybe I need to get that looked into.
Isabelle grants me a sly smile as she picks up the cocktail menu resting beside her.
“Hmm, how about a leg spreader? I’ve never tried that cocktail before.”
I drop my head, puffing out my amusement, before straightening my face and looking at her again.
“No?” she asks, as if she’s so innocent, then goes back to browsing the menu. “How about a creamsicle?”
My fingers drum on the surface of the bar, and I run my tongue over my bottom lip, flicking the ring through the middle. Smug satisfaction fills me as I watch her eyes track the movement.
“One creamsicle coming up,” I say, then grab a chilled glass from the fridge under the bench and start filling it with ice and vodka.
I keep letting my eyes stray to her as I search through each of the garnish tubs before finding the sherbet.
I drop to my haunches, reaching into the underbench freezer to grab the lemon sorbet, and when I pop up again, I find her watching me intently.
One hand propping up her chin, and a cute little smile on her face.
I top her drink with orange juice, a bit of prosecco, and stir it all up before placing an orange twist on the side.
“One creamsicle,” I say and put the bubbly, citrus concoction in front of her.
“Thank you.” She smiles and plucks a straw from the holder beside her. Dipping it into her drink, she brings it to her lips, and with her eyes on me, she sucks.
“Did you have a good day?” I ask, and I revel in the way her eyes go from flirty to sweet.
“I did. I spoke to Dylan earlier, and Legacy Malt is moving along at a nice pace. He’s excited to come up in a few weeks, to spend a night behind the bar here. Seeing what the energy is like in the city versus a small town. ”
“It’ll be nice to get to know him a bit better. Although, soon enough, I think I’ll know him more because of his connection to Lex and Caleb rather than Legacy Malt.”
“Yep.” She nods. “I think future brother-in-law is more accurate than business partner.”
“Did you see the ring Caleb got Lex for Valentine’s Day?”
Her eyes bug out, then she places her drink back down, wiping the condensation from her hands. “It’s beautiful. And that was just a promise ring!” She shakes her head. “I’ve never dated a billionaire, but Caleb is quickly showing me normal dating rules don’t seem to apply.”
I pull the towel off my shoulder, wiping my hands so I have something to do. “What kind of men have you dated?” I ask, without meeting her eyes.
Silence follows. I don’t know why I’m asking. I don’t want to know about her with other men. I just want to know her. What she likes. What she needs. Why she’d been single so long. Because there was clearly something about the men in her past that made them not right for her.
I flick my tongue over the ring through my bottom lip again, a nervous habit I picked up since I got it years ago, and make myself look up at Isabelle.
There’s a soft smile on her face, her head tilted thoughtfully, making her look so sweet as she stares at me with sparkling blue eyes.
“I’ve dated career-driven men and men with a free spirit. Men who were funny and playful or intellectual and curious.” She swirls the straw in her icy drink, watching the motion. “But they all had one thing lacking in common.”
I lean into her, needing her next words. “What?”
“A passion for me. I’ve never felt like I had chemistry with someone that was so intense, it was stifling.
Wanting to know what the other person was doing, or thinking.
Counting down the minutes to seeing them.
Finding someone who becomes the first one I think of when I have something I want to share.
And those moments when we’re alone, being unable to keep our hands to ourselves. ”
It’s like she’s slipped inside my mind and flayed me open, exposing my inner thoughts. Those are all the things I feel for her.
“Passion, huh?” I ask.
She nods slowly while she picks up her cocktail and brings the straw to her lips. Her eyes never leave mine as her tongue darts out, licking up traces of her drink that have spilled onto her lip.
I wipe the back of my hand against my forehead from the sudden influx of heat that ignites me.
My head leans in, bringing my face inches from hers. “You see that door behind me? The one marked staff only?”
She looks over my shoulder, then back at me with a single nod.
“Go.”
I see her squirm in her seat slightly before she finishes the rest of her drink, then slips off the barstool. Casually, she makes her way through the crowd and over to the door. I watch her the entire way over there, trying to command a shred of that serenity myself. But it’s left the building.
Isabelle looks over her shoulder, just as she pushes the door open and slips out of sight.
“Keeley!” I shout as I notice her pass just behind me.
“Right here, boss.”
“I need to step into my office for a bit.” I throw my towel in the sink.
“No worries. We’re good here.”
Thank fuck for that, because I’m done waiting to have this woman again. She says her other partners have lacked passion. For her? Challenge fucking accepted.