Page 34 of Lying Hearts

I wince. Great way to run a business, Annie. “I’m sorry. I have a problem with sarcasm. I’m seeing a doctor about it.”

Shaking my head at my own crushed nerves, I nip tiny mint leaves off their stems into a shaker. I called Brendan an idiot the last time I saw him. And the night before that, we’d gotten into the worst fight. This will not be a happy reunion. Scooping in ice and adding rum, plus a couple packets of Sugar In The Raw, I look over again, quickly.

What if he still hates me? He’d said he wanted to stay far away from me. Then why did he run down the stairs that day I left?

Maybe I’m about to find out.

I give the shaker a good toss, staring at nothing. What is he going to say when he recognizes me? I drain the concoction into a couple glasses with a flourish, squirt in a splash of soda water from the gun, and slide limes on the rims. I can’t believe this is happening tonight. Will he leave, as soon as he recognizes me?

Handing the computer guys their drinks, I’m on autopilot. Same goes for getting the credit card - it’s all a haze. The short-haired, quieter one smiles after the first sip. “This is really good.”

“You like it?” I’m doing anything I can to postpone the inevitable. Because part of me wants to slide down the bar on my stomach stopping just in front of Brendan Clark with a grin on my face, hands cupped under my chin, my eyelashes fluttering as I ask, See anything good?

I’m guessing that wouldn’t go over too well.

“Uh…Yeah. It’s a really good Mojito.”

“Do you need anything else? I could get you something else. Two more maybe?”

The guys stare. I stare. It is AWKWARD.

“We should probably finish these first. But then yeah, maybe.”

“Dammit,” I mutter as I leave. Their eyebrows go up.

With each step I take to Brendan, everything fades away more and more except him and the cacophonic pounding of my heart. There’s also a single, solitary voice in my head screaming, RUN.