Champagne Toast (5 page)

“
You
’
re too much, Armour.  Seriously
.” 
He smiles warmly.

“
Oh really?
”
I persist.  Evan and I are smart-asses, this much is clear.  Shawn isn
’
t a smart-ass.  Shawn is b
oring as hell.  We’ve been datin
g for about four months, and in those four months
,
I think he has made me laugh once.
Once!
  That
’
s it.  Evan has made me laugh more in ten days than I ever thought I could
,
and I
’
m starting to crave the laughter he brings into my life.  Hell, I
’
m starting to crave
him,
period.

“
Yep,
”
Evan laughs, his dark eyes drawing me in,
“
you just can
’
t admit that in the short time I
’
ve worked here, I
’
m already getting as many tips as you, if not more.
”

“
Well, we all know why that is,
”
I say, making no attempt to hide my sarcasm.  Evan loves when I
’
m sarcastic.

“
And why is that?
”
he asks, moving closer to me, stopping where the bar begins.  We are separated by just a couple feet of oak wood.  The tension is palpable
. . .
I can feel it on my skin.  He is daring me to answer.

“
Because you flirt with the girls like crazy,
”
I reply.
“
Seriously, I
’
ll bet half of those girls get fall-down drunk because they keep ordering from the
‘
swoon-worthy
’
new bartender.
By the way, I
’
m not saying that. It
’
s a direct quote from the blondies who came in here earlier.
”

Evan runs his fingers through hi
s hair and whoops with laughter.
“
Yeah, somehow I don
’
t see you ever using the word
swoon
, Kate.
”

“
You
’
re right, because it
’
s not in my vocabulary.
”

“
And because you don
’
t do it
,
” 
Evan says matter-of-factly.

“
Do what?
”
I ask, pretending to be confused.

“
Swoon,
”
Evan says with a grin.

“
That
’
s not exactly true,
”
I flirt.

“
Oh really?  So, have I just not had the pleasure of watching you in action?
”

“
What, watch me swoon?
”
  I ask, leaning my elbows on the bar.  Evan mirrors my actions and leans in, as well.

“
Yep,
”
Evan says, licking his lips.
I can hardly stand it as his well-defined lips slowly form a sexy smile.  I feel my face go red and I know he sees it.  Shit.  I don
’
t want him to know he
’
s affecting me so much.  He
’
s breaking down my resistance.  Suddenly, I want to go bounding for the door.

“
Well,
”
I begin, but my voice comes out hoarse. I coug
h, trying to restore my vocal c
ords.  Evan chuckles softly to himself and I raise an eyebrow in response, as I stand upright once again. 
“
Me swooning is something to see, mostly because it hardly ever happens.
”

“
You mean, except for right now?
”
Evan presses.

“
In your dreams, Maxwell.  Seriously, I am so far
from swooning
.” 
But, his eyes see right through my retort, through my denial.  He shakes his head knowingly as he chuckles.  And in this moment, I know he sees everything.

“
We
’
ll see, Kate.  We
’
ll see,
”
Evan says as he makes his way behind the bar.
With each step he takes, my resolve is breaking down
,
and I know I
’
ll kiss him if he gets close enough.  Thank God
,
Bree went to the back room.  I can
’
t stand sharing this moment with anyone.

Evan walks closer so that we are only inches from one another.  He glances at the top of my head, before slowly smoothing my hair down with his hands.
My brow knits as I struggle to figure out what he
’
s doing.  He places the pads of his fingers on my cheek, brushing lightly before pushing my hair behind my ear and placing my long thick hair behind my shoulder.

“
What are you doing?
”
I whisper, my pulse racing so fast I feel like I might faint.

“
Swooning,
”
Evan smiles softly as he looks me in the eyes.  My heart stops. 

“
Oh,
”
I reply, swallowing hard, attempting to hide my emotions and failing miserably.  He knows I want him as much as he wants me.

“
I want to kiss you, Kate.  But, I don
’
t think I should
. . . ”
his voice trails as he explores my features with his eyes.

“
Why?
”
I ask, completely under his spell.

Evan caresses my face gently with his fingers and then cups my chin with his hand. 
“
Do you still have a boyfriend?
”
  I nod with an apologetic glance.

“
It
’
s okay, I want you to,
”
I say, my words betraying me.

“
Not my style,
”
he says, shaking his head with a deep frown.  He leans in and kisses me gently on the cheek. 
“Good
night, Kate
,” h
e says softly before walking into the back room.  I hear him saying good-bye to Bree and Vince.  Slowly, I slide down the bar until I
’
m seated on the floor, in a complete daze.

Every bit of me is on fire, my skin, my hair, my bones.  I didn
’
t know I was capable of swooning.  But, Evan Maxwell has gotten under my skin in a way I never knew was possible.  So, if Kate Armour swoons, this is how she does it.

Evan

November 17, 2007

She
’
s doing it again.  She
’
s purposely bending over right in front of me just to get me to check out her ass.  Am I complaining?  Absolutely not.  But, she
’
s driving me crazy.  We
’
ve been working together for over a month now
,
and the tension between us has been growing steadily since I walked through the door for my interview.  Some days I can hardly stand to be near her, like I
’
m afraid I won
’
t be able to keep my hands off of her.  And others, I just can
’
t stay away.  It
’
s fucked up.

She
’
s still dating a guy named Shawn, which I seriously don
’
t understand.  I
’
ve seen them together and they make no sense at all.  He
’
s an angry guy who seems to want her on his arm for nothing more than to be a decorative ornament.  He sits at the bar, waiting for her to get off work, driving me nuts.  She
’
s different when he
’
s here.  She
’
s not herself
—
she
’
s anxious and edgy and she hardly speaks to me. But, tonight, tonight is different.  Shawn went home for the weekend to visit his family
,
and Kate is in rare form, but I
’
m enjoying her change of mood too much to say a word.  Instead, I play along, even though I know I
’
m just torturing myself.
She
’
s not mine, no matter how much I want her.

“
Evan, can you help me?
”
Kate asks. She
’
s standing on her tiptoes, her t-shirt rising up her back, exposing her midsection.  I do my best not to stare as I walk towards her.  She glances back at me over her shoulder before continuing her request,
“
Vince put the spare key to his office on the highest shelf of the bar and I can
’
t reach it
.” 
Her hair smells like strawberries.

“
No problem,
”
I say, easily reaching the key.  Just for fun, I dangle it above Kate
’
s head.  She smirks at me, narrowing her eyes as if to say,
‘
okay, let
’
s play.
’
 

Grinning from ear to ear, I ask,
“
Oh, I
’
m sorry, can you still not reach them?
”
  Whenever I
’
m near this woman, all I want to do is tease her, tease her so badly she can hardly contain herself.  But, the result is that I can hardly contain
myself
.  Tiny beads of sweat are building along my hairline as I twist the keychain back and forth between my fingers.  Kate swats at the key and gives me a fake dirty look.  I know her well enough to know she
’
s not upset at all.

“Ev, c’mon.” 
Yeah, that
’
s another thing.  She started calling me Ev.  It drives me crazy.  I can
’
t take it!  Every time she says it, I want to throw her up against the bar and kiss her hard, really hard.  I want her all to myself, to make her mine, and yet when the fantasy is over I realize I can
’
t have her.  Not yet.

“All right.”
I hand her the keychain and give her a crafty wink.  She gives a satisfied smile. 
“
What do you need it for anyway?
”
  I ask.

“
I don
’
t
.” 
She raises an eyebrow at me before walking away to take orders from a large table of college students.  My jaw hits the floor as sh
e saunters away, looking back with
her signature tease of a grin.  This girl is going to be the end of me.

The next several hours go by in the same manner
—
Kate flirting with me, getting me to watch her walk by, shaking her sexy ass and even flirting with patrons.  Doing my best to play her game, I find myself flirting with a group of girls sitting at the bar.  Their giggling is pretty annoying, but the blonde is checking me out every chance she gets and I know that if I wanted to, I could get her number with no problem.

“
So, Evan
,
is it?
”
the raven-haired, outgoing girl asks.  She leans in and puts her chin in her
hands.
“
Are you single?
”

The blonde slaps her arm and turns a hideous shade of crimson.  She looks like a tomato. 
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
she says,
“
my friend has had a few too many.
”

“
That
’
s not true, Care
,”
her friend persists,
“
I was just asking him an innocent question.  What
’
s the big deal?
”

“
Tess, stop it!
”
the blonde says through clenched teeth.  Sensing her embarrassment a mile away, I decide to ease up on her.