“Fine,” he said, standing from the booth to slide his blazer off and rolling up his shirtsleeves. “I need another beer anyway.”
The other three didn’t even wait until he’d left the table before they started making bets on who she was and what progress Zach would make with her.
He stepped past Malo with a pat on his shoulder. “Take a load off, buddy. I’ll bring you back a beer.”
Malo glanced back and grinned. “Can I work for you all the time?”
“Sorry, I can’t afford you.”
“Maybe soon…”
Zach laughed. He wasn’t the only one who wanted Ian off the set.
His stroll to the bar took three times as long as it should have with women stopping him to chat or ask for an autograph. By the time he reached the bar, he’d never been more sure Miss Prim was a fish out of water. Her suit was fitted over a slim frame, her hair twisted into a tight coil at the base of her neck, and those glasses—thick, dark frames—
“What can I get for you, sir?” A bartender about Zach’s age appeared almost before his elbows hit the wood.
He tipped his bottle. “Another.”
When he glanced toward Miss Prim, she was eying the table Zach had left. Hell, maybe she’d been looking at Tucker this whole time.
The bartender placed his freshly pulled beer on the bar.
“Thanks,” he said, then gestured to Miss Prim. “Can you refill her wine for me?”
“Every time I try, she rejects me.” The bartender smirked at her. “A guy can take only so much before he crumbles.”
“Funny, Jack,” she said with the flicker of a smile. Her voice was soft and warm. “Very funny.” She cast a look at Zach before facing the bar again. “Thanks, but I’m over my limit, and I’m leaving anyway.”
She refused him like a woman used to being hit on. His intrigue rose.
He angled toward her, leaning against the gleaming wood. “I know I can rub some people the wrong way, but this is a first.”
Her brows pulled a little. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean you’ve been here doing nothing for three hours, then decide to leave after I come up to say hi?”
“I thought you came up to get a beer.”
Her quick response made him grin. “And to say hello.”
She looked confused. “Why?”
He chuckled a little. “Because we’ve been looking at each other for hours, and because you’re hard to ignore. Like a shark fin in calm waters.”
One brow shot up above the rim of her glasses. “Did you just call me a shark?”
He tilted his head, trying to get a read on her. “It was a metaphor.”
She exhaled with a shake of her head. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
He was about to agree and steer the conversation that direction in hopes of getting to know her better, when she turned her head and deliberately met his gaze. Even held it with a curious edge. The moment’s hang time rivaled his Hail Mary aerial twisting flip and gave him the chance for a good look. Her eyes were light, crystal blue lined with long dark lashes. Her nose was slight, her lips pink and full.
“Do you know if or when he’s coming?”
Her question pulled Zach back to the conversation. “What? Who?”
“Your twin.” The impatient edge in her voice alerted him to the fact that he’d missed what she’d already said. “Your double. Your costar. Whatever you call him. He was supposed to be here tonight. Is he coming?”