Coming Home(47)

Her expression and posture straightened simultaneously. “Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Danny. Danny, this is Robyn and Holly.”

Danny took his hand off Leah’s hip and reached out, shaking each of theirs. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Did you guys just order drinks?”

“No, not yet,” the little one—Holly—said. “We’re waiting for the bartender.”

Danny stepped forward and held up his hand, and a second later, Damon glanced up at him from behind the bar. Danny made a wide circle over the girls’ heads with his finger before pointing back to himself, and Damon gave him the thumbs-up and then pointed up at the second level.

“That’s my friend Damon,” Danny said to the girls. “You guys are all set.”

“All set?” the one named Robyn asked.

“Yeah, you’re on the house tonight.”

Danny caught the smile that lifted the corner of Holly’s mouth as she elbowed Robyn just before he turned back to Leah. “We have a table up there, if you guys want to come up.”

He could still see Holly and Robyn in his peripheral vision, although they clearly didn’t know that: Robyn was nodding enthusiastically while mouthing an exaggerated “say yes” at Leah, while Holly gave her the OK sign, looking him over as she mouthed the word “hot.” He pressed his lips together, trying to keep a straight face as he waited for her reply.

“Um, yeah, sure,” she said before turning her attention to the girls, and as soon as Danny followed suit, both girls immediately straightened their expressions. “You guys want to go upstairs?”

“Sure,” Holly said nonchalantly. “Danny, this is so nice of you. Thank you.”

“No problem,” he said. “Follow me.”

Danny led the way to the back stairs, nodding at the bouncer who sat on the stool at the bottom.

“What’s up, Dan,” he said, gesturing for them to pass. As the girls followed him up the stairs, he added, “Have a good night, ladies.”

Danny rounded the corner and made his way toward their booth, and as Tommy saw him approaching, he called out, “Danny boy! Where the hell did you just run off to?”

“I saw a friend. Tommy, this is Leah, and that’s Holly and Robyn.”

“Welcome, ladies,” Tommy said, sliding over to make room, and Holly slid in first, followed by Robyn and then Leah.

When Danny slid in behind her, she smiled wryly. “I had no idea you were such a big shot,” she said.

“A big shot?” He laughed. “Hardly. I’m just a lowly mechanic who happens to know the head bartender.”

“A humble big shot? Those are the most dangerous kind.”

Danny smirked and Tommy said, “I think Damon’s sending drinks up. Does he know they’re up here?”

“Yeah,” Danny said just as Jake approached the table with his beer.

“What do we have here?” he asked, eyeing the girls as he slid in the booth next to Tommy.

“DeLuca,” Tommy answered, nodding over at him.

“All three of them?” he asked, raising his beer in salute. “Impressive.”

Danny leaned down, bringing his lips to Leah’s ear. “That’s Jake. I apologize in advance for him.”

She laughed, leaning in conspiratorially as she nodded toward Holly. “Wait until this one gets going. They’ll cancel each other out, and then we’ll be even.”

Danny smiled as one of the waitresses approached them with a tray of six shots, placing one in front of each person at the table.