On Dublin Street (On Dublin Street 1)

“I made some crack yesterday about not having had a date in months and Nicholas said maybe I would have had a date if Adam would stop threatening prospective guys. I was completely confused so Nicholas explained. Nick was planning on asking me out months ago, and he went to Adam for advice on where to take me out.” Her jaw locked as she thought about it. “Instead of answering, he warned Nicholas off with bodily harm. Told him to stay away from me. No explanation. Just ‘stay away’.”

I laughed in disbelief. “And of course Adam’s built and Nicholas looks like the promotion guy for Twiglets so Nick backed down.”

“Exactly.”

“What the hell is Adam playing at?”

“That’s what I want to know. He’s messed with me, so I’m going to enjoy messing with him.”

I had to admit, I liked this side of Ellie. People thought they could walk all over her, but they were wrong. I grinned up at her. “So the cold shoulder, huh?”

She grinned cheekily back at me, looking very much like a devilish angel. “Full force tonight. I may even flirt with some random to see if that ruffles his feathers. Then I can ask him what the hell he’s playing at. He was the one who didn’t want to be anything more than friends.”

“Well, usually I don’t condone game-playing, but in this case he deserves it. I can’t believe he’s been warning off guys behind your back. I look forward to the next report, Miss Carmichael.”

Ellie laughed and hurried off to get ready for the evening, leaving me to finish dinner so I could jump in the shower before work.

***

Craig was on shift with me tonight along with Alistair, another bartender I’d worked with a few times before. The guys were in a fun mood and the bar was busy—with the two of them trying their hardest to make me laugh, minutes were passing quickly and I was having a great time. Our good mood fed into the atmosphere of the club, and people had begun crowding around the bar to sip their drinks and enjoy each other’s banter as well as mine and the guys’.

“I catch this cocktail,” Craig shouted down the bar to me, “And you finally give in and shag me tonight, Joss.”

The customers tittered and laughed while I grinned back at him, pouring two Jack Daniels and Coke for the girls in front of me. “No way, Tom Cruise.”

Craig had great reflexes. I would definitely lose that one.

“You’re breaking my heart, darlin.”

I waved him off, handing my customers their drinks and taking the money off of them.

“What about me, Joss?” Alistair shot me a come-hither smile, but I knew he was only kidding. Alistair was happily engaged to an Irish girl who studied at Napier University. Still he may be loyal, but he was as big a flirt as Craig.

“Hmm, I’ll think about it,” I teased back, loud enough for Craig to hear.

Craig groaned in pretend agony and pouted at the attractive girl he was serving. “She’s killing me.”

The girl giggled, her eyes bright on him. I rolled my eyes as Craig grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest. “Feel that. That’s my heart breaking.”

“Oh man!” I rolled my eyes, cringing. “Could you be any cheesier?”

“Of course I could.”

Alistair snorted. “Believe it or not, that’s one of his better lines.”

Craig whipped him across the head with a dish rag.

Sniggering, I passed Craig to get some rum, and stood up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek. That gained him a few cheers and one boo from Alistair.

Acting like idiots, the next hour flew by, and the tips jar filled up fast. The place got even busier, so my focus was completely on work and on my colleagues. The fact that I felt his eyes on me then, said a lot…

…Feeling my skin prickle, I jerked my head up and gazed out over the crowd towards the entrance and my eyes skimmed over Adam and Ellie as they followed Braden into the bar; Braden, who was walking beside a tall brunette who had her hand clamped on his arm.

Our eyes caught and he didn’t even acknowledge me. Instead he dipped his head and whispered something in the brunette’s ear that made her giggle.

Something unpleasant flipped my stomach over and I glanced quickly at Ellie. She was frowning at Braden and then scowling at Adam, brushing off his hand and striding off after Braden who had managed to convince some people sitting around a table to squeeze further along the leather couch so he, his mystery girl, Ellie and Adam could sit down.

Everyone slid onto the couch except Ellie who was now glaring daggers at them all. Adam said something to her. Ellie shook her head, looking extremely pissed off now, and Adam’s face darkened. Like a whip, his hand came out and wrapped around her arm, yanking her down beside him. She struggled to get away from him, but his arm slid around her waist, his hand on her hip—a seemingly casual gesture but his hold was clearly strong and whatever he whispered in her ear made her stop struggling.

It didn’t remove the stony look on her face.

Worried, my eyes drifted to Braden, but he hadn’t seen any of this. He was too busy chatting with the brunette.

Quickly, I turned away, completely unprepared for the rush of blood in my ears and the tightness in my chest.

I honestly didn’t know where I stood with this guy. One minute he was giving me ‘sex eyes’ and the next he wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence. Well, I wasn’t going to let him get to me. I served my customer and looked over at Alistair. “I’ve seen some friends. Can you guys handle the bar while I get them drinks?”

“Sure thing.”