Raking a hand through his closely cropped hair, he let out a long breath as he started to think about some possible ways to broach the subject.
And his mind went completely blank.
“How is that possible?” he muttered. “I’ve dated dozens of women over the years. How the hell can I have no idea how to do this?” It was a bit mind-boggling how nervous he was and how badly he wanted her to say yes.
But seriously, what was he going to do if she said no?
How would he face her? Would she even want to talk to him afterward or would she even come back to McGee’s ever again? Would her friends all glare at him or mock him?
“Great, that’s just perfect. Psych yourself out with every worst-case scenario. Awesome.”
And yet…that’s exactly what happened. It seemed his brain was in rejection mode and all Levi could envision was getting his face slapped, Willow running from the pub, her friends kicking him in the nuts, and everyone in the pub looking at him with a mixture of pity and disgust.
“Okay, so maybe tonight isn’t the night…”
There was a knock on his office door and his assistant Anthony came in. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know your girlfriend just came in,” he said with a knowing smirk.
Closing his eyes, he grimaced. Had he been that obvious all this time?
Opening his eyes, he forced a smile. “Thanks. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Want me to tell her that?”
“What? No!” he cried. “I mean, not unless she asks for me. Which, let’s be real, she won’t. She doesn’t, right? She never asks for me when she gets here with her friends. Are her friends with her? Is she alone?” With a snort of derision, he went on, “Of course her friends are with her. Why would she come here by herself?” Slapping himself in the head, Levi let out a string of curses. When he noticed Anthony’s wide-eyed stare, he snapped, “What?!”
Hands up defensively, Anthony said, “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’ll just leave you and your multiple personalities to work it all out.”
“Shut up.” Standing, he kicked the chair away from him. “And I don’t have multiple personalities.”
“That dialogue you just had would say differently.”
“You’re crazy. I was talking to you.”
“Were you? Because you asked questions and then answered them yourself. I had very little to do with any of it.”
Walking around his desk and toward the door, Levi muttered, “You’re a dick.”
Chuckling, Anthony replied, “Tell me something I don’t know.” Together they walked down the hall that led out to the pub. “You ever going to ask this girl out or what?”
“None of your damn business.”
Another low chuckle was Anthony’s response before adding, “You really should make your move or someone else will.”
Levi immediately glanced around the pub to see if anyone was looking in Willow’s direction–other patrons or anyone on his staff–but luckily, they weren’t. Obviously they were all blind because his eyes were always immediately drawn to her.
Because we’re friends and I’m just looking out for her.
No big deal.
“If you’re looking to worry about something, go make sure Dex isn’t breaking anything. At the rate he’s going, we’re going to have to restock all of our glass inventory.” Luckily, Anthony took the hint and walked away. Meanwhile, Levi felt like his feet were glued to the floor. Willow and her friends were sitting at one of the high tables near the front corner of the room. In a minute, one of them–whoever drew the short straw–would go up to the bar and buy the first round of drinks.
And that meant he needed to get behind the bar pronto and play bartender.
Okay, he wasn’t really playing. He was the bartender.
Groaning, he walked over to the bar and nodded to Maxi and Eric, the other bartenders. Friday nights were always busy, and it wasn’t unusual for him to step up and make drinks, but he’d taken a renewed interest in it lately.
No sooner was he in place and wiping down the bar than Willow was approaching.
Perfect. Timing.
He looked up and smiled at her and noticed the slight flush in her cheeks. Her lips were pink and glossy, her dark hair fell past her shoulders, and her curvy body was wrapped in faded blue jeans and pastel pink top. She looked way too soft and feminine to be hanging out in a pub and she wasn’t a big drinker–neither were her friends–so he had to wonder why they kept coming back.
Part of him was hopeful that maybe he was the reason, but…he was also a realist. Willow didn’t flirt with him or show any interest beyond their friendly conversations over the bar. That couldn’t possibly be enough to keep her coming back week after week, could it? Did she feel obligated because he had helped her up when she had fallen?
God, I hope that’s not the reason…
She smiled at him as she stepped up to the bar. She had a fantastic smile.
“Hey, Levi,” she said. He could barely hear her over the noise and wanted to shout out for everyone to shut up.
That wasn’t an option, so he just made sure he leaned in close to hear her when she spoke again. “Hey, Willow. Did you have a good week?”
Resting her arms on the bar top, she shrugged. “It was okay, I guess.”
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good. The big dogs giving you trouble again?”
“Scout had a bit of a run-in with a squirrel that I got dragged into–literally–and Matthias ate one of my hats, but other than that…” She shrugged again.
“That sounds like a bit of a nightmare for his owners.”
“Nah, he didn’t eat it whole. Definitely got some big pieces of it, though. But they’re used to it. Apparently he’s famous for eating socks.”
“Those poor people.”
“Yeah, but they love him.” She let out a soft sigh as she looked down at her hands.
“You sure
