Reservations

He looked over at Quinn and another server named Chase and shook his head at them before he looked down, embarrassed by what had drawn Chase’s attention. Shit, Chase was staring at his rock-hard dick. He dropped his hand and adjusted himself in a vain attempt to hide the full-blown evidence of his interest in nothing but a tight pair of skimpy underwear.

“Damn! Who’s the lucky guy?”

Quinn immediately looked toward his station; Levi unwisely turned back too. His gaze connected with the handsome customer, and the earth shifted under his feet. He quickly turned away, gripping the edge of the bar, squeezing his fingers tight, trying to get a hold of himself.

“Dude! Thane’s sitting in your section. He tips like a boss! You’re gonna bank tonight.”

He heard the words, but they didn’t register. Levi looked over at his friend, confused. “Who’s Thane?”

“What’d you need, Levi?” the bartender asked. He dropped his head to his hand, and shoved his order pad in the bartender’s direction. For almost two weeks, he’d dodged every advance, declined lucrative offers from men he found extremely attractive but hadn’t been truly interested in. He honestly hadn’t been into anyone. Until right now. He’d made a complete spectacle of himself because some hot guy wanted to know his name. How pathetic was that?

“Is that for Thane?”

“Who’s Thane?” he asked, raising his head to look at Ricco.

“The owner of Reservations,” the bartender answered and pointed to his section. As if in slow motion, Levi turned to see the man who had caused his body to betray him, was the very same man he’d heard mentioned so many times in the locker room, the one Julian had said such good things about, the same one that almost every waiter in this place wanted a chance to fuck. The sexy guy he’d made a fool of himself in front of was Thane…his boss’s boss. The guy had somehow managed to find a seat in his section and was now staring directly at him. He almost swooned at the intensity of that gaze. Levi fully understood why his peers’ eyes had gone out of focus when they’d talked about the sexy owner. Hell, his whole body went offline because the man smiled at him. He’d only half listened to their tall tales, but from where he stood, Levi knew their description hadn’t done him justice.

“He’s the one who owns the property?” Levi asked. He could hear the desperation in his voice. Desperate for someone, anyone, to take that table and give him a break before he came totally undone.

“Yep,” Chase answered smugly.

“Well, of course he does.” Levi sighed deeply and watched as Thane lifted a hundred-dollar bill in his direction. Shit, he’d forgotten the money for a tab. Levi turned back around, rolled his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath as the butterflies trapped in his stomach fought to break free. And... Oh. My. God. The realization hit him. He’d just sprung a boner in front of the owner of the club. Great. He scrubbed a hand over his face, dislodging the damn mask in the process, before reaching for his money to pay the bartender.

“He doesn’t pay. Are all these his?”

Levi looked down at the three full glasses on his tray he hadn’t even known was there.

“Yeah. He’s buying the round.”

“He’s still staring at you,” Quinn said to the small circle forming around him, bumping him in the shoulder like that was some sort of magical feat he’d achieved, effectively making everything a million times worse.

“He is,” the bartender confirmed, lifting his head to look over his shoulder toward his section. Levi refused to look, all he saw was the teasing grin the guy gave. “He doesn’t do things like this. He usually keeps his distance. He’s got real clear ideas on who he does and when.”

Levi lifted his eyes to the bartender and said the first thing that came to his mind. “He’s gorgeous. I can’t breathe.”

As he dropped his head to his forearm, he just wanted to hide. The growing circle around him had an uproariously good laugh at his expense. Unfortunately, his humiliation had become their entertainment. It was all in good fun, but he hated being the center of attention. After a second more, Levi lifted his head and started to reach for his pad, knocking over a bowl of mints in the process. He dropped to his knees to pick up the scattered pieces. What else could possibly go wrong tonight? The owner was even more captivating than the guys had described. No one could compete with the locker-room talk he’d heard; yet, somehow the real Thane had. Surpassed it even. Seriously, no one could be that handsome.

“You okay?” A hand clamped on his shoulder and squeezed. Levi stayed in his squatted position, but turned his head, to look at Quinn who had bent to his level.