He appeared to be a bad boy straight from the wrong side of town. But there was something not bad boy about him. He simply didn't look like the type who didn't give a damn about life. His deep brown eyes held too much compassion and vivacity.
Then he winked at me, confirming he was definitely no typical careless, brooding antihero. "Let me get you a fresh batch, Tinker Bell. Who knows what kind of filthy fingers have been in these all night."
Nice. My pajamas had just won me a stupid pet name. Go me.
I began to roll my eyes, but I stopped, my mouth falling open as he jumped over the bar. Like jumped over the bar, the same way Sam and Woody had done in all those Cheers reruns I'd seen. It was so hot I might've drooled a little.
After he tossed the old bowl, he pulled up a big box full and sprinkled out a new pile. Just for me. When he slid the untouched beer nuts my way with an indulgent smile, I continued to stare at him in utter awe.
That might've been the sweetest, most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for me.
But seriously, who was that sweet and thoughtful to a complete stranger?
I'd had plenty of guys be nice to me before when they'd wanted to get into my panties, but that was seven months of pregnancy ago. He surely knew there was zero chance of scoring with me now, and why would he even want to score with a pregnant girl? Maybe he was a total creeper.
I guess he could've been acting decent because I was so obviously knocked up. People did smile and hold doors open for me a hell of a lot more now than they had before. Even so, I was overwhelmed with how charming, yet totally suspicious his actions were.
Around us, the conversation continued, but I didn't hear a word of what anyone said. I was too busy caught in a staring contest with Mr. Considerate. He stared right back with a blatant curiosity that made my knees weak.
I had listened to Mason describe his coworkers to Reese when he'd first started. I knew of some guy named Gamble. He was the star football quarterback at the university where both Reese and Mason took classes. And then there was someone called Ten. There was also a Bick, or Rick, or Dick, something like that. He hadn't mentioned a fourth male coworker, though.
The man before me didn't look like quarterback material. I wouldn't have called him scrawny by any means, but he didn't have the usual beefy bulk of an athlete. His muscles seemed wiry, lean, scrappy and street savvy. Yeah, I'm not sure what I meant by 'street-savvy' muscles either, but the term seemed to fit him.
So, he probably wasn't Gamble.
Mason had referred to Ten as squirrelly and loud-mouthed. This guy didn't seem to fit that bill either. He was too laidback and . . . I don't know, friendly and open.
"I think she was lying, too," said the only other woman present besides Reese and me.
"Exactly." Whirling toward her, I sent her a thank you gesture for backing me up. Stuffing nuts into my mouth because Mr. Considerate was still staring as if I was some kind of ghost, and making my stomach churn even more than it already was, I went on. "I mean, hello. She'd have to be nearly as far along as I am, right?" When I glanced at Reese for verification, she nodded. Right. So . . . "Everyone I needed to tell about my baby was told months ago. Why would she wait this long to drop the bomb now?"
Reese turned to Mason, her body vibrating with eager hope. "Eva has a good point. And what about her fiancé? How does she know it's not his?"
Mason merely winced as if he didn't want to get his hopes up. "Maybe it took her a while to find me."
"Yeah, right." Reese snorted. "You know good and well that bitch has known every step you've made since leaving Waterford. She found out everything there was to know about me within a month. There's no way she lost track of you."
"So wait, wait, wait." One of the other bartenders stepped closer, waving his hands. "Lowe, you seriously fucked another woman, maybe even knocked her up, and you," he set his gaze on Reese, "aren't pissed as hell right now?"
Now that guy was definitely Ten, I decided.
"Oh, I'm pissed," Reese told him. "But not at Mason. Besides, this particular . . . event happened before we hooked up." Then she cleared her throat and lowered her face before mumbling, "Technically."
Looking helpless, Mason smoothed his hand over her hair before leaning over the bar to kiss her temple. "I can't believe this is happening. You are the only person I've ever wanted to have babies with. Jesus, Reese . . . " He squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his brow to hers. "Can't we just rewind everything so I can do it right the first time?"
Again, I had to look away. Their misery was just too intense. But when I turned my attention forward, Mr. Considerate caught my gaze. His brown eyes filled with sympathy, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something to soothe me.