Landlord Wars(31)

I angled for Jack’s table and made my way across the busy pub. The place was old, with smooth, wide-plank wooden floors and tables with a thick, shiny finish over old-growth redwood. Some people looked like they’d come from the Financial District, while others were dressed casually.

Jack looked up. “You made it.” He was wearing jeans and an untucked button-down. I hadn’t seen Jack this cleaned up in months. Sophia’s sister was also there, drinking a beer and laughing at something on her phone.

I tipped my head toward the bar. “What’s going on?”

Jack’s gaze landed on Sophia. “She went to grab another beer. Guess she got distracted. This is our night to be each other’s wingman.”

A prickly heat filled my chest, and I looked her way. “I’ll head over. I could use a beer.”

“Bad day?” Jack asked.

I gripped the back of my neck. “I told my father I wouldn’t be doing Starlight.”

“Ahh,” Jack said and nodded. “He wasn’t happy.”

My parents and Jack had always gotten along because Jack was an exceptional person. He’d been among the few students clever enough to gain entrance on scholarship to the prestigious San Francisco private school I attended. Later, he received more scholarships to attend an Ivy League school. He also understood Kitty and Karl and their limited ability to put themselves in other people’s shoes, and he never judged them for it. “It’s the only life they’ve known, Max,” he’d tell me.

I turned to the bar, but Jack grabbed my shoulder before I could go anywhere. “Dude, don’t interfere in whatever Sophia has going on.” The woman in question was smiling at something the man next to her had said, and I almost heeded Jack’s advice. Almost.

“Me? Interfere? Never.” My words were casual—and didn’t hold an ounce of truth.

Jack’s look said he knew exactly what I was up to. “That kid is skittish with the male population. You saw her the night she went on the blind date.” He glanced at Sophia worriedly. “I should be over there helping her.”

Elise set her phone on the tabletop and placed her chin on her hand. “What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing,” I said at the same time that Jack said, “Sophia.”

Elise twisted around and looked at her sister. “Ooh, she’s hooked one. Nice!”

“Not particularly,” I murmured under my breath, and headed for the bar.

I heard Jack calling my name, but I ignored it, my hand in the pocket of my suit pants. I lifted my chin at the bartender, and she caught my gaze. I held up two fingers and said, “Guinness.”

The bartender nodded, and that was when Sophia looked up, her beautiful eyes widening ever so slightly. Her gaze flashed to the man beside her, then back at me.

I pulled up behind her and sent the man a direct message. It went something like this: Back the fuck off.

“Could have just said she’s taken,” the guy murmured and turned his back on Sophia.

She spun around in surprise. “What just happened? I was talking to him.”

The bartender slid two pints my way.

“Is there a problem?” I said innocently, and passed her a pint.

“Thank you,” she said, gripping the beer. “How did you get your order so quickly? I’ve been waiting for forever.”

“You sure you didn’t miss the bartender while talking to your friend?”

Her gaze narrowed. “Were you eavesdropping?”

“I would never do that.” Of course I would.

Her delicate jaw shifted. “I’m trying to date more—or really, at all—and you’re not helping. Jack is a much better wingman.”

I caught the guy she’d been talking to weaving his way across the bar. “Shall I bring him back?”

Eyes narrowing again, she sipped the dark malt. “Did you scare him away on purpose, Max?”

I’d never considered myself a territorial man. My ex-girlfriends would have been thrilled if I had exhibited this kind of caveman behavior with them. But I’d never felt possessive when it came to anyone else, only for the woman who was subletting a room from my best friend and spent an unusual amount of money on chocolate. Her animosity toward my dickish behavior coupled with her cute rear in baggy pants and fiery green eyes called to me. And I didn’t feel the least bit like fighting it anymore.

I slid a large tip to the bartender and casually inched closer to Sophia. “Now, why would I scare him away?”

She seemed to chew on that a moment. “Who can say? You also eat my chocolate even though I’ve threated to maim you for it, but at least that I understand. I have good taste in chocolate.”

“This is true.”

A flash of dark hair crossed my vision before Sophia was shoved into my chest and beer splashed between us. The sticky malt was the least of my concerns, because all my senses homed in on Sophia’s soft frame and light scent.

“Whoa!” Elise said, and reached for napkins from the bar.

Sophia swiveled her head and glared over her shoulder at her sister. “What the hell, Elise?” She was still holding on to my arm, and I didn’t feel it necessary to point it out.

Elise thrust napkins at the two of us. “Sorry about that. This place is crowded. I overshot the bar when I beelined past the pub-crawlers. Let’s go back to the table.” She looked over to where Jack was sitting. “Your friend is avoiding me, and it’s getting boring.”