No Weddings (No Weddings #1)(21)

She exhaled a slow breath as her expression grew serious. She searched my face, as if deciding whether or not she liked me thinking of her in that way. “No. I like it.”

And yet, traces of the cold Ice Queen were written in the hard lines of her face. Almost like a part of her trusted me with the nickname, but another part of her warned me off.

Her gaze suddenly zeroed in on the other side of the room, and she breezed past me to mingle with the crowd gathering around the cake. The Ice Queen had vanished. In her stead, warmth radiated from a woman I’d never seen before, as if she’d been born a socialite.

Intrigued by the new development, I intermittently glanced her way from the edges of the room in between conversations with guests. By the time I made it to the bar, I was completely stumped.

Ben laughed when I sat down. “You look confused.”

“I am.”

“Care to share?” He grinned, his attention shifting to the commotion in the vicinity of the cake where the ooo’s and ahhh’s continued.

“No. Hit me.” That was code for scotch. We had top shelf here for the host and his guests, and our cost included our own partaking during the festivities. It was part of our full-service event package.

I swirled the amber liquid in my glass, then sipped it, letting the rich peat flavor roll over my tongue while I tried to get into the excitement of being at the Super Bowl, a first for me and every kid’s dream. But no matter how I tried to let my awe of the surroundings sink in, something more distracting buzzed nearby, gaining my attention despite any evasion tactics I employed. And today, the newest facet of an already interesting woman had thrown me.

My one-on-one exposure to Hannah had been minimal during the last two weeks. She’d been focused on building her business, and I’d been busy with papers at school and working four nights a week. Plus, Ben and I had spent time interviewing and hiring another bartender. We now had four others on rotating shifts, enough to cover for my increasing absence as my priorities slid away from tending the bar, just like we’d planned when we’d first opened.

More guests filled the room, family and friends of several star players. Confidentiality prohibited me from disclosing our clientele to outsiders, but suffice it to say, I was one happy boy. I finished my scotch, then rotated through the crowd, ensuring everyone who wanted a drink had one as I laughed at jokes and listened to stories.

A familiar man with dark blond hair turned, eyes wide and blinking like a lone kid who’d wandered into a wall-to-wall candy store.

Grinning, I clapped him on the shoulder. “Jason. Glad you could make it.”

“Hey, Cade. Are you kidding? When Kristen told me the news, I rescheduled a business trip to be here. Not every day a man gets to attend the Super Bowl.”

“Can I get you a drink?” I glanced over at Ben behind the bar, who gave Jason a chin up in greeting from across the room.

Jason shook his head. “Kristen’s getting me a beer, and I need to find her. We made a deal. I got to come as long as I spent the game sitting with her, giving her the play-by-play action.”

I snorted. “Good luck with that, man. I hope you enjoy the game.”

He smirked. “Oh, I intend to educate the hell out of her. Maybe even some halftime lessons in one of the private bathrooms. With continued play-by-play commentary.”

Scowling, I shook my head. “No talking about sex with my sister. Have it, just don’t tell me about it.”

Jason barked out laughter before heading off to look for said sister. I pinched the bridge of my nose, attempting to scour my brain clean. And made a mental note to use the bathroom well before halftime.

Right after kickoff, I worked my way to an empty barstool off to the side of the large suite and caught Hannah standing by herself, watching me.

I winked.

She smiled.

Damn, I loved being at the receiving end of those smiles. She held them tight to her chest, so I knew when she flashed one, it was real and I’d earned it.

She crossed the room and sat on the only other free stool, beside me. Now that the game had begun, everyone had settled into their chosen seats inside the large suite, watching the action on the field through the glass or on one of the dozen large monitors positioned around the room.

“You did good too,” she whispered.

“Thanks.” I’d been on fire setting up for this event, in my element from the large-scale organization down to the minor details. “Don’t hold out on me, though. You can tell me I look awesome too.”

She laughed hard. “Ego much?”

I shrugged, holding back a smile. “Only stating the facts.”

Without pulling my attention from the field, I saw her twist, pulling back a bit, assessing me from head to toe. I hadn’t worn anything special. Black, lizard-skin cowboy boots, dark jeans, black button-down shirt. My usual.

“Yeah, you clean up okay.” Humor edged her voice.

I glanced over, catching the glint in her eyes. “So, I noticed something as I watched you work the room.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” She turned her upper body more toward me.

She’d mingled with guests for a polite few minutes, but she’d given the same standoffish conversations to my sisters. “You don’t seem to be that close with my sisters, not even with Kiki. Aren’t you two friends?” I remembered Kiki had said something about it, but wasn’t sure.