She was the last person I’d expected to see in here today. Or ever, really. I didn’t know a damn thing about her, and our meeting hadn’t started off well, but there was just…
Bugger it. There was something about her that made me want to get to know her more. Perhaps finding out where she was staying and trying to catch her wasn’t the best idea in the world, but if she was staying in the village, then someone would have to know where she was.
God, even I knew this was ridiculous.
I just wanted to know who she was.
If I found that out, I might learn why I was acting like an absolute fool.
“You’re staring,” Cait said, wiping out the inside of a wine glass.
I dragged my eyes away from the closed bar door and met her gaze. “Of course I am. Did you see her? When was the last time someone that gorgeous showed up here?”
She inclined her head in agreement. “I’ll give you that, she’s gorgeous. But by the sounds of it, she’s not interested in you at all.”
“I heard you tell her you’re gay. Did she seem interested in you?”
“How did you hear that?”
“I’m a nosy fucker.”
“You’re not wrong,” she muttered, setting the glass down on the shelf behind her. “And no, she did not. But just because she’s into men doesn’t mean she’s into you.”
I grinned. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
She shot me a dark look. “Hugo. Just because your mum wants you to get a date for that party doesn’t mean you need to latch onto and piss off the first new girl you see.”
“She wasn’t too impressed, was she?”
“No, and let me tell you, it was bloody delicious to watch.” She smirked and turned to serve someone who’d walked up to the bar.
“What was delicious to watch?” Henry asked, grabbing the empty bar stool next to me. “Did you get turned down? That’s always fucking hilarious.”
My brother was a real jokester.
“Bumped into someone, tried to pay her bill, got shut down,” I said briefly.
“And called out for his shitty, pushy, typical arse male behaviour,” Cait said, returning. She grabbed Henry’s empty glass and poured him another beer. “It was hilarious.”
Henry’s eyebrows raised.
“Typical male behaviour? What would you have done in the same situation?” I asked her.
“Exactly what Sophie said,” she continued. “You see, being a woman, I have the edge when it comes to dating women. I know how they want to be treated. When she turned down the offer, you should have asked if she was sure, then left her alone, and she might have been a little nicer to you.”
Henry shook his head and sighed. “You never learn, do you?”
I just about refrained from rolling my eyes at him. I already knew all this, but if it made them feel better to shit talk me, then I’d let them get on with it.
“Who was it?” he asked Cait.
She shrugged. “Never seen her before today. She came in this afternoon looking for food, but we were between servings, so she reserved a table and explored the village.”
“Why’s she here?”
“Jesus, what is this? Border Force interrogation?” She wiped down the bar. “I don’t know what she’s doing here. She didn’t offer it, and I didn’t ask.”
“What use is a bartender who doesn’t know everything about everyone?” I grumbled. “For future reference, the next time a hot, straight woman comes in here, ask what she’s doing here.”