“Bloody hell, Vi. That’s him, all right,” I whisper under my breath. Preparing myself for our inevitable encounter, I stand up straight and smooth down my shimmery gown. I grab a tissue and dab the slightly smudged makeup beneath my eyes as I recall the first time we met.
Two weeks ago, I had just returned from a work trip to China, and Leslie rang to invite me to the soft opening of a pub called The White Swan. Reyna and Liam are the new owners and had implemented several changes, so they wanted to do a dry run with some close friends. I hadn’t seen Leslie since she had the baby, but I’d been away from Bruce for too long and couldn’t bear to leave him my first night back. When she told me I could bring him along, I sort of lost my excuse to say no.
On my way there I happened to be rounding the corner at the same time Hayden was, and we slammed into each other like two freight trains. I had Bruce in tow and his leash went flying. The three of us twisted together like a fishing lure around a tree branch. It was a mess. I certainly did not inherit my brothers’ athletic agility. Bruce was lapping all over Hayden’s face. I didn’t even get a proper look at him until Reyna had come outside to find us all tangled up.
As soon as we broke apart, we locked eyes and…it was weird.
Like, mega weird.
Like I knew him from somewhere kind of weird. He is tall and fit without being overly muscled. He has coppery blond hair that is cut with just a bit of length left on the top, which was stylishly gelled every which way. The angles on his face are chiseled and masculine. The tautness of his jaw is very stern. And his eyes…Bloody hell, his eyes. They are an intense grey that make him look both mysterious and dangerous.
He looked like he could see right through my clothes…and he liked what he saw.
When he introduced himself as Hayden, it didn’t ring any bells at first. It wasn’t until later when I was inside the pub that Frank had told me Hayden was Theo’s younger brother. Then it all clicked. Of course he was Theo’s brother. They both have that same intimidating, brooding way about them. Aside from their eye colour—and Hayden being a bit taller and leaner—they really do look a lot alike.
The rest of the night at the pub, our gazes kept finding each other like magnets. And every time we’d lock eyes, he’d look almost angry. I swear he even scoffed once, like he was annoyed with how often I kept looking at him. Me! The cheek of him considering he was the one molesting me with his eyes as well! I felt like a young girl on a playground who got sand thrown on her by a mean boy and it only made her want to play with him more. I think the fact that we were communicating all this angry, sexual tension without uttering a word to each other was what made it all so thrilling. It was like a silent, sexy game of cat and mouse. But I wasn’t sure it was two-sided. Watching him with everyone there, I could tell he was uncomfortable. Like he was dying to leave.
Later, we both happened to be leaving the pub at the exact same time…Okay, I’m full of shite. I saw him getting ready to leave and I wanted to talk to him, so I decided to say my goodbyes then as well. What can I say? I’m glutton for punishment and the bugger was drawing me in with his sexy, half-mast, grey eyes. We stepped outside and I was just mustering up the courage to ask him if he wanted to grab a drink. Suddenly, Bruce stopped dead in his tracks right in front of me and off I went. Hayden caught me mid-fall in a close embrace, and I quickly blurted out my awkward invitation. His bemused eyes turned icy cold. He quickly let me go and stuffed his hands in his pockets, muttering some unintelligible excuse. He turned on his heel and took off, leaving me standing there like an absolute prat with my cock-blocking animal, Bruce.
The past couple of weeks I had sort of written him off. I assumed I was mental and had manufactured the odd chemistry between the two of us. Now, after hearing him speak tonight, I realise I hardly knew a thing about him. He’s obviously got a lot on his plate as it is, so I’m sure he’s not at all interested. Best to just let sleeping dogs lie.
But bloody hell, he’s still hot as sin and, honestly, the darkness of him just adds to the mysterious attraction. I shake my head confidently at myself in the mirror. “Just a normal night, Vi. Let’s get on with it.”
I stride out of the ladies’ room with my head held high, and Leslie comes bustling past me in the dark hallway with a large tote thrown over her shoulder. “What are you doing, Leslie? What’s that?”
“Oh jeez. This is my freaking breast pump. My boobs are engorged to the point of blowing up right now! Look at them. Theo calls them my porn star tits.”
The corners of my mouth turn down as I glance at her cleavage that is spilling out the top of her red corset dress. “Wow, you aren’t joking. Those are massive!” I have to prevent myself from reaching out and poking the luscious mounds.
“Freaking nuts, isn’t it? I produce more milk than a Holstein. Are you having a nice time?” she asks, her eyes wide with curiosity.