She shakes my hand. “Hi, Gabe. It’s...nice to meet you too,” she says, giving me a tentative smile.
“So, what are you girls drinking tonight?”
“Beer for me,” Liv answers, tapping her nails on the half-empty Michelob Ultra bottle in front of her.
“You want a glass?”
“Tastes better straight from the bottle.” She picks it up and takes a swig.
“I see you still like that watered-down stuff.”
“Some things never change,” she says, giving me a wink that hits me square in the chest.
Trisha empties her glass and places it on the table. “Cranberry and vodka for me, please. Thanks.”
“All right. I’ll be back.”
I make my way over to the bar and wait patiently for the bartender’s attention. I glance back at Liv and see her and Trisha engaged in a lively conversation. They’re whispering back and forth and laughing. Liv glances up at me and smiles. She looks relaxed and happy. I can’t help but smile, watching her from across the bar.
“Sorry,” I say when I bump into the girl standing next to me.
She looks up at me and smirks. “You should be more careful with those big shoulders.”
“Oh. Um.” I’m not sure how to respond. “Sorry?” I offer, and turn my attention to the bartender, who’s looking at me expectantly. “A Mich Ultra, your IPA on tap, and a cranberry and vodka. Thanks.”
I pay for the drinks, tip the bartender, and return to the high-top table, where Trisha and I engage in polite, guarded conversation for the next several minutes, until Liv tells her about my furniture line. Then it’s all industry insights and twenty questions as she brainstorms ways to work it into some new designs at her interior design firm. I entertain the idea to get in Trisha’s good graces, but I can barely keep up with the demands at Southern Coastal right now.
“I have to use the ladies room,” she says to Liv. “Want to come with me?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“Okay, I’ll be back.”
Trisha disappears into the crowd and I’m grateful for a few minutes alone with Liv.
“So, how was your week?” she asks. “And don’t say busy.” She knows I’ve been avoiding her.
“Yeah, sorry I was MIA.”
She smiles one of her shy smiles. “I thought maybe you got sick of me already.”
I lean in close and say honestly, “I could never get sick of you.”
“Good”—she smiles again—“because I miss Roxy.”
I stifle a laugh. “She misses you too. She’s been pining for you all week.” I gaze at her, hoping against my better judgement to convey the truth. I’ve been pining for you all week.
“I know the feeling.”
We stare at each other for several long seconds, until the loud music and noisy people around us fade to white noise in the background. All I see is her, my Liv, sitting across from me, staring at me with those beautiful green eyes. I watch her mouth part as she draws in a breath and I fight the urge to lean across the table and press my lips to hers—lips I’ve kissed a thousand times, lips that have touched every single part of my body.
“Oh my God, I love this song!” Trisha shouts, dropping her purse on the table. “Come dance with me!” She pulls Liv off her barstool and drags her to a spot on the floor where several high-top tables have been pushed aside and a small crowd of people are dancing.
I stand up and lean against the table, keeping my eyes on Liv. She looks amazing in her jeans, filling them out in all the right places, and her legs go on for miles in her high heels. She won’t escape the eyes of a single guy in here. I watch her as she sways back and forth to the music, her long brown hair teasing the curve of her back when she moves. She twirls under Trisha’s hands and laughs, and her smile lights up the whole room.
I feel a long, skinny arm slide around my waist. “Long time no see, Gabey-baby,” Stacey McGillis says, smiling up at me.
I glance down at her briefly and then peel her arm off me. “Stacey,” I say, keeping my eyes on Liv.
“Well, can I get a hug?”
I ignore her.
“Is that Liv Dalton? When did she get back in town?”
I continue to ignore her and watch Liv.
Stacey huffs. “Are you still not over her?”
“She’s not the kind of girl you get over.”
Stacey crosses her arms over her large, fake breasts. “Well, I guess that makes me chopped liver.”
I glance down at her blankly, affirming her assumption.
She huffs again. “You can be a real asshole, Gabe. I don’t know why I ever wasted my time with you.” She spins around and stalks toward the bar.
Stacey McGillis falls into the category of sad, lonely mistakes I made after Liv left. I let her into my bed a few years ago and she’s been trying to get back with me ever since. Asshole or not, maybe now she’ll realize she was just a mistake I made on a lonely night.
Two guys are standing in front of Liv now, blocking my view. They’re bouncing around like a couple of idiots. I think they’re trying to dance. I kind of feel bad for the one guy. He couldn’t keep up with the beat of the music to save his life. I inch a little closer so that I can see Liv again. She and Trisha seem completely oblivious to the two doofuses intruding on their dance space. One of the guys leans in and says something in Liv’s ear, and it bothers me more than it should. She smiles and shakes her head, and he walks away. Another guy moves in and I watch this one try the same thing. Liv politely waves him off too. Another one tries and is deterred. I watch four different men approach Liv, and whether it’s warranted or not, it’s really starting to piss me off.
“I got dibs on the brunette,” someone slurs in my ear. I look over at the idiot standing beside me wearing a trucker hat and a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off.
“What did you say?”
“The brunette. What I wouldn’t give to see her on her knees...right here,” he says, holding his hands out in front of his hips.
My heart thunders in my chest as my fist flies through the air and slams into his jaw, sending him to the floor.
Suddenly, everyone is yelling and people are moving in around me.
“Gabe?” Liv shoves her way through the growing crowd and sees the guy lying on the floor, holding his jaw. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“You’re out.” A bouncer grabs my shirt and starts shoving me toward the exit.
“Gabe?” Liv hurries behind him. “Wait!”
“It’s fine, Liv. Go back and have fun.”
“What? No!”
The bouncer shoves me outside. “Don’t come back tonight.”
Liv steps around him and grabs my shirt. “What happened? Did you hit that guy?”
“It’s not a big deal. Just please, go back inside and enjoy the rest of the night with Trisha.”
She looks hurt and confused.
“I’m sorry. It was stupid.” I shrug. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
She nods, but her eyes are filled with disappointment.
Dammit. How do I explain that I knocked the guy out defending her honor, when the truth is, it isn’t mine to defend?