Rather than sit in my hotel room and wallow, I decided to take a walk. There was a bar a few blocks away. Maybe I’d go in and grab a beer. The Spotted Cow had looked like an old-man’s bar from the outside, but inside, the place was filled with women. In fact, as I moseyed up to an empty stool at the corner of the bar, I realized I was pretty much the only man here.
The bartender was probably in her early sixties. She had flaming red hair and the brightest green eyes I’d ever seen. She placed a napkin in front of me.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
I hadn’t said a word yet, so her assessment wasn’t based on my accent. I shook my head. “I’m not. But how did you know that?”
She chuckled and held out her hand. “Lucky guess. My name is Belinda. What can I get you, cowboy?”
I shook. “I’ll take a beer—Stella, if you have it. And I’m Declan.”
“Alright, Declan. Give me a minute.”
When she returned with my beer, she slid it over and leaned her elbows on the bar. “Were you looking for some company for the night?”
My brows drew together. Was she propositioning me? Is that what this place was? Why it was filled with women? “Umm…no, not really. I’m working in the area. I needed to get out of my hotel room. Just figured I’d have a drink, I guess.”
Belinda nodded. “Okay then. Just didn’t want you to be disappointed if you were looking to meet someone.” She lifted her chin toward the door. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re welcome here. But the bar across the street might be more of what you were expecting.”
I looked around, confused. Two women stood nearby, and one rubbed the other’s arm. I scanned around the room a bit more, and there were an awful lot of women standing really close together. Squinting, I noticed two making out in the corner. Oh shit.
Belinda watched me take it all in. I chuckled, shaking my head as I took a slug of my cold beer. “And here I thought you were pimping.”
“Excuse me?”
“You asked me if I was looking for some company.”
Belinda bent her head back in laughter. “Honey, you don’t have enough money in the world to take one of these women home tonight.”
I smiled. “That’s fine with me. I got enough woman problems.”
She shook her head. “Don’t we all, honey. Don’t we all.”
A lady sitting a few seats over held up her hand, so Belinda excused herself. She returned fifteen minutes later and swapped out my empty Stella for a full one. Leaning on the counter, she said, “Okay. So lay it on me.”
“What?”
“Your woman problems.”
I smiled. “Thank you, but it’s okay.”
“Listen, sweetheart, I’ve spent my life dealing with women—lived with a half dozen I loved, and owned this bar for three decades. And I also got twenty years on you.” She winked. “So trust me when I say you don’t have a problem I haven’t come across. You obviously aren’t looking to get lucky, or you would have left after you realized that isn’t happening here. So I’m thinking you’re having a few drinks and looking for some mental clarity. But alcohol doesn’t give you that.” She stood tall and patted her chest. “A bartender does.”
“That’s very kind of you. But I’m good…really. My problem doesn’t have a solution, so I don’t want to waste your time.”
“Every problem has a solution. Sometimes we just need to pull our heads out of our asses to see the answer.”
I laughed. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you, Belinda?”
“Nope. So let’s hear it. What’s on your mind?”
I supposed there was no harm in talking with Belinda. She didn’t know Molly or Julia. So I took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to start.
“A few months ago, I had a thing for a woman I worked with. Her name is Julia. We were on assignment, living in Chicago for six months. I was sharing an apartment with Molly, who had a thing for this guy at her work, Will. I came up with the bright idea for me and Molly to make Julia and Will jealous by pretending to be dating.”
“Oh boy, this sounds like a hot mess already.”
I smiled. “Long story short, I got the girl I wanted. Molly got the guy she wanted. But then I realized I didn’t want the girl I had. I wanted Molly.”
“So you’re one of those, huh? The type who only wants the things he can’t have?”
I frowned. “Honestly, I would love to say you’re wrong. But I think that was part of what attracted me to Julia originally. She was beautiful and unavailable, and maybe that was a challenge I wanted. Does that make me a total asshole?”