Page 80 of Slumming It

She smiled up at me. "You know, I almost believe you."

Against my better instincts, I smiled back. "Almost?"

Her gaze warmed. "Well youdidcome to my rescue once already."

Just then, the bartender returned with four empty shot glasses and began pouring the vodka into them. When he finished, I slipped him a hundred and told him to keep the change. He looked surprised but happy as hell as he thanked me by name.

I hadn't done it for the thanks. I tipped well because I liked excellent service and because I could afford it. Plus, I'd been a working stiff myself back in the day and hadn't forgotten what it was like to hustle for cash and the occasional perk.

Next to me, Emily watched the bartender as he moved away to serve a rowdy gaggle of sorority types on the other end of the bar. With a soft smile, she turned to me and said, "You probably made his night."

Maybe. Maybe not.Either way, I remained a cynical bastard. "Yeah, well, it'll make up for the next guy who stiffs him." I picked up two of the brimming shot glasses and handed one to Emily. Then, I raised mine to my lips and downed the full shot in one long, easy gulp.

When I returned the empty glass to the bar's countertop, Emily was staring like I'd just swallowed a camel.

She looked so cute, I had to chuckle. "What?"

"You drank that really fast."

"It's a shot," I reminded her. "It's not meant to be savored." I leaned closer to tease, "Unless you're putting off that dance."

"You mean the one with you?"

"Unless someone else asked you." I'd said it as a joke, but the thought of Emily in someone else's arms wasn't something I wanted to dwell on. I didn't like it. And I sure as hell didn't want to see it.

What wasthatabout?

I decided it was something to think about tomorrow, when I wasn't looking into her expressive eyes.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "So you were serious? About dancing, I mean?" When I lifted a single eyebrow in reply, she said, "I wasn't sure, that's all." She lowered her voice to confess, "Actually, I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be doing."

I could think of several things, but none of them were a good idea. "You're off the clock. You can do whatever you want."

"What does that mean?" she asked. "Like…the night's over?"

This had been the original plan. Now I wasn't so sure. On impulse, I said, "It's only over if you want it to be."

She was still holding the full shot glass. She took a single sip and smiled. Then, she closed her eyes, tipped back her head, and downed the whole shot nearly as quickly as I had.

When she finished, she kept her eyes closed for a long, silent moment, giving me time to study her face.I liked what I saw. No surprise there. I'd liked it from the start. Sure, I'd been angry at her intrusion into my hotel room, but not so angry that I wouldn't notice a pretty face.

But now I was liking ittoomuch – and not only because it was pretty.

My attention didn't waver as she opened her eyes, gave a little shake of her head, and returned the shot glass to the bar's countertop with a small thud. She let out a long, slow breath before saying, "You know, I really needed that."

I could tell.That's why we were here at the bar instead of on the dance floor. "There's another where that came from," I reminded her, gesturing toward the two remaining shots.

She gave them a quick glance. "That's really nice of you, but—"

"I'm not nice," I said. "And only drink it if you want to."

"Do you mean it?"

Hell, yeah, I meant it.Forcing a girl to drink anything against her wishes wasn't the way I rolled. "It's your choice, not mine."

"What about you?" she said. "Are you gonna drinkyoursecond shot?"

As an answer, I reached out and took one of the two full shot glasses and lifted it to my lips. I downed the drink as quickly as the first and returned the drained glass to the bar.