Minding my own business, I feel someone press against my back. Quickly I turn around as the voice of a woman speaks.
“Excuse me, sorry, didn’t mean to rub against you like a magnetic science experiment,” she apologizes, and I can’t help but smile to myself at her odd reference.
Looking at her and I draw in a breath. Wow, she must be a product of a science experiment.
Her long black hair is as shiny as a hair shampoo ad with a few strands of brownish sun-kissed hair, her blue eyes perfect circles of small Caribbean seas, and her mouth…well, it should be a crime what her smirk is making me think. Her black lace top gives me an inkling that she inches on the side of bohemian but isn’t fully pledged.
“Uh, no problem. It’s crowded,” I manage to say, but our eyes meet and already they’re locked in and committed for more words.
“Yeah, for a weeknight, it is a little crazy. But I guess it’s Wednesday, nothing like hump day, right?” she mentions, and her lips attempt to smile at her remark.
“Hump day…right.” I forgot about that phrase, but fuck, I think I might want to take it out of context tonight.
I’m well aware that I am pushing mid-thirties and that I should make my Ma happy by settling down with a wife that she can dote on. More than that, I’ve got my shit together so why not find the right Mrs. Max Katz?
And I’ve tried.
I’ve attempted to date women I’ve met when I’m out with friends, women I’ve met at the supermarket, hell, I even let my mother set me up with someone’s granddaughter from her book club. I’m willing to give romance a shot.
…it’s just, I have fun too.
I have fun because these dates are end-of-the-world horrible. As in, by main course I am begging the guys to send me fake emergencies. It’s excruciating. The fish out there in the local sea should be put on an extinction list. It ain’t pretty.
In front of me now is this creature and I can’t decide what move I should make. But she already sucked my air away and that’s new for me.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” I comment, and her mouth hitches up. She seems satisfied that I am continuing our conversation.
She bites her bottom lip, but not in a nervous way. No, she seems like someone who is too confident for that. Instead, she bites her lip to draw me in, and it is freaking working.
“Oh? I’ve been here a few times now. The girls from my yoga like to come here.”
“That is kind of funny. Meditate away the toxins then come here to drink something toxic.”
She gives me a side-slant smile as she takes a drink from the cocktail in her hand. Something lime and iced. “Mmm. I don’t do that type of yoga. I am more the ‘on your head doing splits’ kind of yoga gal.” She gives me the sexiest look that I think I have every witnessed as she waits for my head to connect what that all could mean.
Something tells me it could involve some interesting positions for activities that involve two.
My cheeks tighten and she must see my dimples as I have a satisfied grin on my face. “That sounds interesting,” I manage to muster.
She playfully lets her finger circle the rim of her glass as her eyes roam my face. “I take it you’re not new around here?”
I scratch my cheek with my thumb and briefly look back at Lucas and Jake who are in deep conversation then return my gaze to the woman in front of me. “Born and raised here in Sage Creek, Colorado actually. Matchbox just happens to be owned by a friend too. So, I’m here a lot.”
There has been no reason to leave Sage Creek, except for when I was in college. The quaint main street, the river that is great for the summer, and the view of the mountains is top notch all year round. Everyone that lives here does well, as proven by our first-class bistros and restaurants.
“Wow, a true local. I just moved here for my job and like it so far. This is a nice bar. I can imagine you have a lot of stories from nights here.”
I smile as I think back to some great times. “True.” I look at her and our gazes get a little lost on one another.
Just then, Nate returns with glasses and pours my whiskeys.
“Sorry it took a little longer. Your tab? Tell my brother the ‘on the house’ rule doesn’t apply to him,” Nate reminds me, and I give him a grin.
“Yeah yeah yeah, story of our lives,” I say as I grab the drinks between two hands, returning my gaze to this woman who still seems to be captivating me. “Can I get you a drink? I need to drop these off, but I could do with a cocktail actually.”
Her smile spreads and her fingers gently touch and glide along my arm. “That sounds good, but I need to get home. I have a big day tomorrow with things to do. But maybe I will see you around. I guess I can find you here.”
I quirk my lips knowing this is my play now. “I normally don’t do this.” A little bit of a lie. “But can I have your number? Maybe I can show you around our quaint little town.”
She does that sexy lip attack again with her bottom lip stuck between her teeth as she tilts her head to the side. “That is a tempting offer and hopefully it comes true. But let’s let fate decide if we meet again.” Her hand moves to my upper chest and she gently pats my blue button-down shirt as if she is encouraging me. She starts to walk away.
I quickly call out, “Can I at least have a name?”
She turns to glance over her shoulder back at me. “Harper.”
“Max.”
“Well, I hope to see you around, Maxwell.” She smirks and her eyes give me a glint before she walks out of my night but not out of my mind.
