“Sorry, didn’t mean to imply anything,” she mumbled.
Lorcan sat back, his arms crossed. Julie glanced at him for the first time since he sat down. He was indeed staring, one perfect eyebrow arched as he regarded her. He wore a V-neck sweater and she could see perfectly formed pectorals lightly dusted with brown hair under the crossed arms. He must have thought her a fool, a drunken idiot. She pushed the wine glass away.
“Tony Soprano, I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted. Maybe — ” he winked. “You’re not far off, darlin’.”
Oh, sweet god. He
was
a gangster! She saw a movie once, all about tough, cut-your-throat-for-an-insult Irish thugs. Was that what he was? Julie squirmed on the stool. For all of the sudden, that made Lorcan all the more attractive, how sick was that?
Ronnie grabbed her purse. “I’m just going to go to the washroom.”
Nick stood as well. “Yeah, me too.”
• • •
Lorcan glanced at the woman across from him. She stared into the depths of her wineglass. As if she couldn’t bear to look at him for some reason. She was certainly knocking back the wine. He wondered if she even spoke until she made the Bada Bing comment. Actually, Lorcan found it funny. He had the feeling she was quite witty and intelligent. Not a beauty mind you, but Lorcan didn’t put much stock in a person’s looks.
He certainly squired quite a few lovely ladies in the last few years and bedded them as well. However, he didn’t discriminate. If a plain girl charmed him — he bedded her, too. He cocked his head and assessed Julie. She wasn’t that plain. In fact, he thought her cute. Lorcan’s gaze raked over her torso. A full bust, always a plus. Lorcan stood, grabbed his beer, and sat next to her. He heard her intake of breath. He gazed at the rest of her body. Very lovely, curves a man could happily get lost in.
“You’ve known Veronica since school then, Nick too, I assume?” he smiled.
He leaned in close so she had no escape. Inhaling, her alluring scent was a mixture of fresh air and freshly baked bread. Very enticing mix.
“You could say that. Not Nick, though. Not really. Nick doesn’t let anyone close, even back then,” Julie replied.
Her eyes were a lovely mixture of hazel and gold. She really had the loveliest skin.
“Aye, I got that about him.”
“So why you?” Julie asked.
“Could be my Irish charm, works on the lads as well as the lasses. Though I don’t seem to be doing so well with you.”
Lorcan cupped her cheek. She gasped at the contact and so did he. An electric bolt of intense heat roared up his arm from the touch of her soft skin.
Bloody hell!
He drew back his hand like he’d been burned. Julie stared at him, confusion clear on her face. Lorcan stood, reached for his beer and returned to his original seat. Bewilderment washed over him.
Veronica and Nick reappeared, both looking a little flushed. Lorcan imagined they had a quick snog, he could sense the vibes.
Veronica leaned in and whispered to Julie, “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing — I want to go home,” she said.
Veronica patted Julie’s hand and whispered something to her Lorcan could not hear. The DJ announced they were open for karaoke for the next hour. Lorcan’s eyebrow rose. His touch was that upsetting she wanted to go home?
Veronica clasped her hands together. “Oh, Nick! I always wanted to hear you sing.”
Nick laughed. “I can’t sing worth a damn.”
“Nobody can that gets up on stage, but I would like to see you try,” she purred seductively.
Nick snorted. “I don’t think so.”
“I double dog dare you,” she teased.
“Oh? And what will I get if I sing?”
Veronica stood and whispered in his ear. Nick’s eyes widened. Lorcan could well imagine what the lass suggested.
“Done, baby. You’re on.”
Veronica giggled and clapped.
“But I’m picking the song,” Nick said.
“Why don’t you
pick Bad to the Bone
?” Julie snickered. “Wasn’t that in the
Terminator 2
movie?”
Veronica hit Julie on the arm. “Julie!”
Lorcan threw back his head and laughed. The lass
was
funny, how enchanting. He got the Terminator reference. It fit Nick, especially when he was decked out in his motorcycle leather.
Nick shook his head, and didn’t respond to the Terminator remark. “No, I’ve something in mind. I’ll go see if they have it.”
Lorcan stood. “I’ll come with you, mate.”
• • •
After the men left, Veronica turned to Julie. “Are you okay? Did this Lorcan say something to upset you?”
“No, he didn’t say anything. Ronnie, can we please go after the karaoke?” she almost pleaded.
“Oh Julie, you’re attracted to him.”
“Who wouldn’t be? Look at him!” Her arm waved toward the stage area where he and Nick flipped through a binder.
Veronica gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see if we can leave after Nick is finished.”
Veronica patted her arm and glanced toward the stage. Julie was right, Lorcan Byrne was incredibly handsome. He had perfect features and the type of tall, slim, musculature that universally appealed. No doubt had a trail of women after him. Her gaze scanned around the pub. In fact, both Nick and Lorcan were receiving a lot of stares and open lustful looks from quite a few women. A slight stab of jealousy picked at Veronica. Maybe Nick performing on stage wasn’t a good idea. Actually, she was shocked Nick agreed, of course, for what she promised most men would jump through fiery hoops while balancing plates on their fingers.
Nick kept to himself, but he obviously wasn’t shy. Thinking of his impromptu strip tease brought a smile to her face. Nope, not shy at all.
Veronica glanced at Julie. The poor woman really was upset by this double date thing. Lorcan Byrne personified the Irish hunk in spades. How did he and Nick become friends? Nick didn’t have friends, never did as far as she knew. This was a fascinating development. There was a whole side of Nick she’d no idea existed.
Lorcan walked back to the table and sat on the nearby stool. “He’s going to bloody well do it. This should be interesting.” Lorcan took a swig of beer. “He wants to go first, get it over with. Shite, he has more guts than I do.”
“What song did he pick? Probably classic rock,” Veronica reasoned.
Lorcan winked. “It’s a surprise. Wish I’d brought my camera. Wait, did either of you lasses bring your mobile — I mean — cell phone? I can take snaps with that. Left mine at the club.”
Veronica retrieved hers from her purse and after showing Lorcan how to use it; he turned on his stool to face the front of the pub.
Sure enough, Nick approached the stage. Climbing the stairs, he walked to the monitor and reached for the microphone. A table of six women in front giggled and jumped up and down in their seats. Veronica rolled her eyes.
Oh, Please
.
The opening staccato beat of
Bad Case of Loving You
filled the pub, Nick growled ‘Whoa’ with a vibrant baritone. The women sitting at the front table went wild as did every other female in the place. Veronica groaned. Maybe she should’ve had him do this for her in private, now she had to share this with every salivating woman in the room. Lorcan laughed and snapped pictures of the display.
Nick got right into it. His slim hips thrust in time to the beat and his package was on full display. Veronica could swear a spotlight shined directly on his crotch. He sang the chorus and the pub erupted. His face and chest now glistened with beads of sweat from the almost sexual exertion and heat only partly caused by the hot lights. Veronica glanced around, women young and old, of every shape and size were on their feet, squealing like fan-girls.
One woman in the back screamed, “Take your shirt off!”
What amazed Veronica is Nick could sing. Well, she figured he could sing with that glorious, sexy voice of his, but she didn’t realize just how well he would do on stage. The man had a presence. He had every cadence and growl of Robert Palmer’s down cold. He wasn’t even looking at the monitor. He knew the lyrics by heart.
Nick slid into the chorus again then lifted his head and looked straight at her. Her heart lurched and rolled. The sensual look he gave her sent all the women into a kind of frenzy. The women at the front table were now on their feet and in front of the stage like rock groupies. She wouldn’t be surprised to see a pair of thongs hit Nick square in the face.
Nick sang about liking it on top. He pointed right at her. Every pair of eyes in the place turned and looked at her, even Julie and Lorcan. She flushed straight from her toes, how dare he? She did like it on top and Nick knew it. God, she was mortified. More women gathered in front of him. He continued with the rest of the song, he lifted part of his sweater halfway up his chest and the women squealed. Veronica couldn’t believe this. Nick’s blatant sexuality, his damned virile maleness was on full display and he reveled in it. This turned out to be the longest three minutes in her life.
The enjoyment of his performance slowly seeped away. After the heated groping in the hallway when they headed to the restrooms and his deep, passionate kisses, she ached to see Nick perform. Foolish of her to think she’d be the only one to notice his rugged appeal. Finally, mercifully, the song ended.
The pub erupted into a cacophony of applause, wolf whistles, and screams. Nick’s performance was awesome. He bowed, drinking in the love and approval. He jumped off the stage and the nearby group of women surrounded him and grabbed his arms. They gazed up at him admiringly.
One willowy, tall blonde thrust a piece of paper into his hand. Nick made his way back to their table, but the women wouldn’t let him, they chattered like magpies and gazed at him like he was the second coming. Veronica felt the rage building. You’d think he was a rock star after a concert instead of karaoke.
Nick tried to detach himself from the ladies. Finally, he sauntered back to the table unaided. Veronica was sure her color changed from deep-red to pea-green. Envy, she felt it and drowned in it. Those women touched Nick, admired Nick, and she wanted to gouge out their eyes with rusty spoons.
He sat back down on the stool, taking a long, leisurely pull on his bottle of beer. His chest heaved; rivers of sweat flowed down his face and matted his hair. Lorcan smiled and patted him on the back. Nick’s amber eyes glittered with vibrant life.
“What’s that?” she snapped a little more tersely than she had meant to.
Nick looked at the piece of paper. “Oh, nothing.”
He crammed it into the front pocket of his tight jeans. Veronica saw it. That bimbo’s phone number and he kept it. Suddenly, she felt as lousy as Julie looked. For all his passionate kisses, he’d never be able to stay faithful or committed, and it tore at her heart. As appealing as Nick could be on so many levels there much about him that was heartbreaking. How could she be with a man who didn’t want any kind of permanence, even a thinly veiled one? She realized with stark clarity she wanted a man who could stay faithful. Because he cared. Respected her, and hell, maybe even loved her. Veronica glanced at Nick. He and Lorcan were laughing at the pictures. Lorcan handed the phone back to her and she stuffed it in her purse without looking at the shots.
The sickening feeling stabbed deep, Nick was not the man she truly wanted. When did she become so hopelessly old-fashioned? A man with honor, why was it so damned hard to find one?
Veronica stood suddenly. “We have to go.”
Nick’s eyebrows knotted in confusion. “What? Why? You haven’t even finished your wine.”
Veronica grabbed the wineglass and downed it all in one swallow. She slammed it back on the table almost shattering it.
“There. Done.”
Nick stood and pulled her away.
“Excuse us.” When they were far enough from the table, Nick said, “What’s going on? I thought you were coming back to my place tonight?”
The temptation to goad him and to tell him to call the blonde bimbo was hard to resist. The words dissolved on her tongue. He might do it to spite her and the thought of Nick’s muscular body writhing on top of any other woman shattered her heart. She was falling for him. She knew it. She was going to be hurt.
Big time.
Thinking back, it started on that first date when he pulled the candles and wine out of the picnic basket. Then the rose, that perfect, red rose.
Someone on stage warbled a Journey ballad, slaughtering it in fact. Blinking back the tears she refused to shed, she said as calmly as she could, “Julie’s upset. I should be with her.”
Nick glanced back at Julie sitting with her head down. Lorcan simply stared at Julie with a confused look on his face.
“Why? Did something happen? Did I miss something?”
“I don’t know, so I’d better find out.”
“Okay, well, why not come for supper tomorrow night instead?”
Damn him! She struggled to find an excuse, but his warm, beer-laced breath fanned her cheeks as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I have a couple of T-bone steaks and an indoor grill. A bottle of red wine. I also have a surprise for you. Say you’ll come.”
His voice was deep, seductive, and impossible to refuse. Her panties were soaking wet just from his nearness and that husky, come hither voice. He could sit and recite the phone book and she could sit and listen, enraptured by the cadence of it.
“I thought you were working tomorrow,” she replied rather coolly.
“Only until four o’clock, then Kevin takes over. Come on, say you’ll come.”
Her head spun. The rapid influx of the wine she supposed.
“Okay, I’ll be there.” She walked away from him. “Julie, let’s go.”
Lorcan stood and walked over to Julie, took her hand, and laid a brief kiss on it.
“It was delightful to meet you, Julie, darlin’.”
She pulled her hand out of his grasp, turned, and fled out the front door without saying a word. Lorcan genuinely looked puzzled.
“She’s not feeling well. I’d better get her home. Sorry to cut the evening short. Nice to meet you, Lorcan.”
She followed Julie straight out the front door. Standing on the sidewalk she glanced around, where did Julie go? Then she heard it, quiet sniffling. Julie stood around the side of the building shadowed in darkness. Veronica’s heart broke. She never would’ve suggested this get-together if she knew her friend was going to be hurt like this. Veronica stepped into the darkness.