“What’s too many?” she asked. “You’ve been coming here for weeks, Janus. And every night, you drop these small, mysterious comments that just don’t make sense.”
He smiled and Stevie felt a jolt at the appearance of that secret dimple.
“I don’t mean to be mysterious,” he replied, his voice sexy and husky. He pulled her closer so that she was standing between his long, powerful legs. “But I really like it when you touch me.”
Stevie wanted to laugh. And she knew that her manager would be appalled if he came back into the bar to see her touching one of the customers so intimately. But Stevie couldn’t seem to pull away. In fact, was he pulling her closer? Impossible! She didn’t lean against men! That was…completely inappropriate.
Good grief, the sensation of his hard chest against her breasts…
“You’re so soft,” he muttered.
“You’re not,” she whispered back.
He chuckled, those huge hands of his sliding lower, holding her in place against his strong body.
“I shouldn’t be touching you.” Not here, while she was working! And yet, she didn’t pull away.
His smile widened. “I’ve been wondering what you would feel like for weeks. So, I think you should stay right here.”
Oh goodness! The things he said! They made her mind whirl. Unconsciously, Stevie licked her lips. His gaze moved to her mouth. Her eyes moved to his. The tension increased. Awareness throbbed between them. The piano played softly in the background.
“Stevie, would you mind…?”
Stevie jerked out of Janus’ arms as one of her customers came to the bar from the restaurant.
“I’m sorry,” Jeanine Bryant chuckled. The seventy year old woman’s eyes sparkled as she looked between Stevie and the man sitting at the bar. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, dear.”
Stevie blinked and scooted back behind the polished, wooden counter. “You didn’t interrupt anything, Ms. Bryant,” she replied, taking in a deep breath to clear the sensual haze. “What can I get you?”
The elderly woman smiled, pulling her crocheted shawl higher onto her shoulders. “I just wanted another glass of that lovely white wine you served us earlier, dear.”
Stevie nodded, already reaching into the small fridge for the bottle of wine. “Of course. I’ll bring it to your table.”
The elderly woman beamed. “Oh, thank you!” She turned her smile on Janus. “I sincerely apologize young man,” she said, laying a hand on Janus’ upper arm. Then her eyes narrowed. “You look vaguely familiar. Do I know you?”
Stevie smothered a smile. This seemed to happen a lot. Janus must have that look about him because many of the customers had asked that question over the past few weeks.
Immediately, Janus turned on the charm. Taking Jeanine’s hand in his, he lifted it to his lips, gently kissing her bony knuckles. “Oh, if I’d ever met a lovely lady like yourself, I don’t think I would have let you out of my sight!”
Jeanine laughed, playfully swatting him. “Oh, goodness! You’re good, young man!” she replied back. “Stevie, I’ll take the wine with me. You stay here and continue enjoying this handsome man!”
And then she was gone, glass of wine in hand as she made her way back to her table.
They watched her leave before Janus turned to Stevie. “Nice lady.”
Stevie stayed behind the bar, feeling her cheeks heat up. “Yeah, she’s one of my regulars. She and her husband come in every Friday night. They have a glass of wine here at the bar, then move into the restaurant for dinner. She orders the salmon. He gets the steak. They generally leave by nine o’clock.” Stevie glanced down at her watch. “Since its nine-thirty, they must be celebrating something special.”
His dark eyebrows lifted with her explanation. “Do you know the names of all of your customers?”
Stevie laughed and grabbed the whiskey, pouring it into a crystal glass and setting it down in front of him, knowing that he preferred the good stuff. “I know the regulars.”
He took a sip of his whiskey. “Their names as well as their preferred drinks, right?’
Stevie shrugged, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Maybe it was the look of admiration in those silver eyes. “Well, it isn’t hard. It’s not like I have a huge crowd of customers every night. And this isn’t really a place that the tourists would easily discover. So, the ones that show up every weekend are easy to remember.”
“That’s good customer service,” he said. “I bought another restaurant the other day.”
Stevie’s mouth fell open. “That’s the second place you’ve bought in the few weeks that I’ve known you, Janus.”
He shrugged one of those amazing shoulders. “This one was a mess,” he explained. “Awful customer service and the food was barely edible. I love taking over a place and turning it around,” he continued, smiling. “The worse that the food and service are, the bigger the challenge.”
“What’s the name of your latest acquisition? What’s it like?” she asked, bracing her arms wide on the bar top.
“It’s a place called Jimmy Joe’s over on Ninth Street.”
Stevie knew the place. She’d heard that several people had gotten sick after eating there. “By the stadium?” she asked, noticing a pattern. “Isn’t your other bar over by the stadium as well?”
He nodded. “It’s all about location. The restaurants are also located close to several businesses. So, they get a good deal of traffic during the week. Plus they’re convenient to the stadium, so they get slammed after any kind of game or concert.”
“I’m not denying it makes good business sense,” she replied, smiling. “But I guess you have ‘a type’. Or maybe you just like the huge crowds?”
Janus grunted, looking down at his drink for a moment. “I’m not a fan
