Chapter 10

It was, by far, one of the most awkward bar shifts Amara had ever done. Mitchell was hardly speaking to her, which during a swing shift, meant she was pretty much locked inside her own head while he stomped around making a show of his displeasure. Normally, she would have called him out on it, told him to quit acting like such a freaking baby and act his age. But today, she was just as irritated with him as he was with her, and she had no desire to make amends.

All she could think of was Zoe from the night before, hanging off Mitch’s arm like she belonged there. Zoe’s behavior had long since stopped bothering Amara, but for some reason, when it was directed at Mitch, it made her want to slap that girl in the face.

Mitchell was a pain in the ass, sure. Everybody knew that. He was goofy and sarcastic, brilliant but stubborn. He hadn’t heeded anyone’s advice against opening Murphy’s, and had gone on—with her help, of course—to make it a success. For a while there, he was the talk of the town; which he reminded her of every time he got the chance.

Yet, he deserved so much better than the likes of Zoe Hamilton, who was notorious for hitting on—and hooking up with—every single man in town. He could do so much better. Why he couldn’t see that was beyond her.

The door opened and Amara looked up, both pleased and shocked to see Nova walk in. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved grey thermal this time, but it still didn’t seem warm enough for the winter weather they were having. For some reason, the cold just didn’t seem to bother him. Not that she minded. With all those muscles and his brooding eyes, tall, dark, and handsome was oh, so, sexy.

He flashed her a brilliant smile as he caught her eye and Amara forced herself to remain professional. He was just a customer. It would be inappropriate for her to push him back against the bar and rip his clothes off.

But God, how she wanted to.

“How are you doing today, handsome?” she asked, beaming at him. She caught Mitch’s disgusted stare from the corner of her eye, but she ignored him. She was only doing her job, after all. It wasn’t her fault that Nova was easy to flirt with. “Can I get you a drink?”

A somewhat guilty smile spread across his lips, but he just shook his head. “No thanks,” he replied, and she nearly swooned at the rich, deep cadence of his voice. “But coffee would be great.”

Get a grip, Amara, she chastised herself. She put on her best bartender smile as she fought to get her libido under control. Down girl.

Handing him his coffee, she set the bowls of cream and sugar next to it before leaning forward on her elbows. “I have to admit,” she said, letting her thick brown hair fall playfully over her shoulder and around her face. “I didn’t expect to see you in here again so soon. Especially after Mitch kicked you out just last night.”

Was it her imagination, or was he blushing?

“Actually, that’s why I’m here,” he told her, glancing over at Mitch. The owner stared down at the glasses he was drying, but she could see a muscle twitch by his jaw. Yeah, he was still pissed. “I wanted to apologize to both of you. Kal and I…we have a long history, and it’s not a good one. That’s no excuse, I never should have lost my temper. But I’m sorry all the same.” He looked over at Mitch. “I’m sorry.” In response, Mitch gave the most imperceptible of nods. “Well,” he said, smiling at Amara, “at least I tried.”

Amara chuckled. “Oh, don’t sweat it. He’ll come around. He always does.”

“I hope so. Listen, about last night…”

“It’s fine, handsome,” she assured him with the wave of her hand. “As far as fights go, I have definitely seen worse. We all have.”

Nova smiled. “And, while I’m grateful that I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself, that wasn’t what I was going to say.”

“Oh.” Amara felt the heat and color flood her cheeks, but she resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. What was it about this guy that made her act like a giggling school girl? “Then what were you trying to say?”

“Well,” he began, eyeing her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, “last night, we were rudely interrupted by Kal, and I wasn’t able to ask what I wanted to ask you.”

Well, that was unexpected. “And what would that be?”

“Do you have plans tonight?”

“What?”

“Tonight. What time do you get off?”

“In about an hour.” Her brows furrowed with suspicion. “Why?”

Amusement looked nice on him, she noted. It really lit up his eyes.

“Can I take you to dinner tonight?” he asked, his lips twitching.

A few feet down the bar, Mitch dropped the tray he was holding. His curse was loud, echoing around the empty room. Scowling and grumbling to himself, he disappeared to clean up his mess.

Amara looked back at Nova, who was waiting patiently for her answer. “Um, yeah, I would like that,” she admitted, cursing the fact that she was blushing. Grabbing a napkin. She pulled the pen from her apron and jotted down her address and phone number before sliding it to him across the bar.

Nova’s answering grin was so adorable, she thought she might melt. Everything about him was so comfortable and familiar, that it was hard to believe they had only just met. She felt as if she had been looking into those dark eyes for years.

Damn it, she needed to stop this. She had never gotten so gushy over a guy before. Not even when she was a kid. She wasn’t about to start now.

“Is seven o’clock okay?” Nova asked, rising from his stool to leave.

Swallowing hard, Amara nodded. She could do this. “Seven sounds perfect.”

“Great.” Leaning forward, Nova brushed his lips across her cheek. The sensation was electric. Amara shivered. “I’ll see you tonight.”

By five o’clock that evening, Amara’s room looked as if a tornado had hit it. Clothes were scattered across the floor and piled on her bed. Three different dresses were draped across the back of an armchair. Her jeans were crumpled in a pile by her door. And don’t even get her started on her shoes.

She had nothing to wear.

Good grief, when was the last time she’d even been on a date? Eight months ago? Ten? And when was the last time she had been with a man? A year? It was far too long on both accounts.

Now, here she was, about to go out on a date with the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

And she couldn’t pick out a damn dress.

“Hey, hey, hey!” a voice called down the hall. Amara recognized her little sister, Sadie’s, voice and sighed with relief. While the two sisters were wildly different, over the years, Amara had come to appreciate Sadie’s talents, and her eye for fashion.

“Back here.” She held up a blue top up to her shoulder and studied her reflection in the mirror. It was cute, but she wanted to be hot. She groaned. She couldn’t wear that. No way.

“Oh, great. I wanted to tell you about that movie Mom and I—holy hell, what happened in here?” Sadie asked. Her eyes were wide as she surveyed the damage. “Did you decide to clean out your closet and forget to tell me?”

Amara shook her head. She wanted to cry. “No. I’m going on a date, and I can’t find anything to wear.” She held her arms open to her sister. “Help me.”

Laughing, Sadie gingerly picked her way across the room, looking at Amara as if she’d gone crazy. Maybe she had. “Who’s the guy?” she wanted to know. Sadie began picking up pieces of clothing at random and holding them up for inspection. “I’ve never seen you act like this before. And we both know you’ve never asked me for help. He must be hot.”

“Smoking,” Amara agreed. She pointed to the jeans and tee shirt she wore. “And the best I can do is this.”

Sadie pursed her lips, looking Amara over from head to toe. “Turn,” she instructed. Amara did. “Hair up or down?”

Amara raised a brow. “I don’t know, Sadie! Isn’t that what I have you for?” Pulling her hair up behind her head, she stared at herself in the mirror. “Doesn’t hair up make me look, I don’t know, stuffy and formal?”

“More like elegant and classy.” She glanced sideways at her. “You don’t want to be elegant and classy?”

“No! I want to be hot and spicy.”

“Ooh!” Sadie clapped her hands together in excitement. “He must be gorgeous. Who is this guy?”

“His name is Nova. I met him at the bar last night.”

Sadie grinned. “Mmm. He even sounds sexy. Are you going to sleep with him?” She held up a red dress. She crinkled her nose in distaste, then tossed it aside.

Amara froze, staring at a forest green skirt. “Maybe?”

Sadie’s squeal of excitement made them both laugh. “Wear this,” she ordered, holding up a black, slinky, slip of material. “And wear your hair down. It’ll make you look like a classy seductress.”

Forty-five minutes later, the two sisters stood in front of the mirror. Amara wore a soft black dress that hit just above the knees, flaring out from her hips. The straps at her shoulders were thin, with the short-capped sleeves slipping off her shoulders. The thin material clung to her every curve. Her hair, which was dark and shiny, fell in waves around her face. Sadie had put a diamond clip on one side of her hair, and done her makeup with an exquisite hand.

“Wow,” Amara breathed. She couldn’t believe she was looking at herself. “Sadie…you’ve outdone yourself.”

“I know,” Sadie replied, beaming. “I’m a genius.”

“You really are.”

The doorbell rang, and both girls jumped. Amara gasped, staring at her sister with wide eyes. Her face went pale. “He’s here.” She waited a moment to stop her heart from racing. She had never in her life been this nervous to go out with a guy before. Actually, it was kind of embarrassing.

Sadie watched her with her head cocked to the side, her pretty face scrunched up in a puzzled expression. “So…are you going to answer it?”

“What? Oh. Yeah. Right.” Smoothing down her dress, Amara took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Go get him, girl!” her sister called after her as Amara walked down the hall to her front door. “I’ll clean up this mess so you have something, um, clean to come back to.”

Oh. She hadn’t thought of that. “Thanks,” she said, starting to feel nervous again.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Sadie hollered, laughing. Amara grinned. Sadie was only twenty-two, but she knew from experience, there wasn’t a whole lot she wouldn’t do. She smirked.

This was going to be a fun night.