Page 10 of Player For Hire

I wasn’t sure how he knew exactly what to bring, but he was surprisingly adept at reading the fact that I wasn’t much of a drinker.

He set the drink in front of me and another vodka seltzer for Iona. “We’ll be serving hot drinks after eight if you need something to warm you up on this rainy night. Things will die down around 8:30.”

Iona transferred her straw from her current glass to the new one. “Who’s the new guy?”

“Robbie.” Colder’s voice was flat. “He was two hours late.”

“Ah, that’s why you were both running around.” Iona stabbed her straw through the ice and stuck her tongue between her teeth with a smile at the cherry at the bottom of her glass. She pulled it out and popped it in her mouth. “I don’t like him.”

Colder leaned on the bar and popped the tab on a can of Coke. “Why?”

“Has shit heel all over him.” She sliced her white teeth through the cherry with glee. “Two pump chump, I bet too.”

Colder choked on his sip of soda. “Jeez, Iona.”

She shrugged. “You asked.”

Colder slid his gaze over to me. “And you?”

I sipped my drink to wet my dry throat. Him up close was a little too much to deal with for me. I preferred watching him in the distance. “I saw him airdrop his contact info to at least four women in ten minutes.”

Colder’s amusement slid away with a flare of nostrils before he straightened. “Is that so?”

My fingers tightened on my glass. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Colder’s face gentled, and he touched my arm briefly. “Not at all. Just not what we do here.”

My eyebrow arched. “Like you’ve never gone home with a pretty girl at the end of the night?”

Iona’s eyes widened as she wrapped her bright red lips around her straw and took a slow sip.

“Not saying that.” Colder took a long draw from his sweating can. My gaze drifted to his long throat working and that little flutter in my belly grew and unfurled.

“What are you saying?” My voice sounded prim even to my own ears.

He set his can under the bar on his side. “There’s a difference between flirting and finding a connection with someone, even if it’s only for a night.” He tapped the cuff on my wrist, then lightly toyed with my thin bracelet, his nail twirling one of the pearls near the side of my hand.

Goosebumps rose along my arm and surprisingly arrowed to my nipples.

Barely a touch.

“Making a woman feel special, not just a ticket to punch. And not on the goddamn clock.” He straightened, his light blue eyes flashing with something I didn’t quite understand. “That’s the difference.”

I frowned, but a customer came up to the bar and he wandered away.

“Careful there.” Iona’s voice was soft. “He’s a professional flirter.”

“Right. I’m sure it didn’t mean anything.” I pulled my hand under the bar and rubbed where he’d touched me. Surely the tingles would go away in a moment.

“I don’t mean that.” She turned to me. “I think he’d be good for you. Fun even.”

I took a quick sip from my drink. “He’s a person.”

Iona rolled her eyes. “I know it. And one of the good ones. I’ve known him for a little while, but he doesn’t stick.”

“Revolving door?”

She shrugged. “Maybe a bit.”