closer to me, invading my personal space; he didn’t have a twinkle of mischief in those blue eyes. If he was trying to pick me up he wasn’t even very good at it. Well, aside from the devastatingly handsome part. “Okay,” I said with a shrug, glancing down at my phone as it beeped again.
No worries , Sar . Get back as soon as you can!
I sighed. Even though I hated that nickname and always went by Sarah , Morgan was the only one who could get away with calling me that.
“Been stood up?” the guy next to me asked.
“As a matter of fact, I’m the one standing someone up. ”
He raised his eyebrows, probably wondering why I was sitting here talking to him when I obviously had other plans.
“ My best friend ,” I explained, trying not to stare as m y eyes traveled over his features—full lips, strong jaw. Yes, this guy was attractive and certainly knew it.
“What, did you two get in a fight or something?” he asked, taking a swig of his beer.
“No,” I said with a laugh. “ I just shouldn’t even be here right now.”
“So what are you doing sitting by yourself at a bar? Go grab a cab a nd meet her.”
Yeah, he definitely couldn’t be hitting on me if he was already encouraging me to leave. Maybe he really wasn’t looking to meet anyone either. “It’d be a long ride to Chicago , ” I said wistfully.
He laughed, catching on that there was more to the story. “That does complicate things,” he mused, a friendly smile finally reaching his blue eyes. I liked seeing the twinkle in them and wondered what his story was. If he wasn’t here to hit on women, th e n what was he doing at a popular touristy bar? Certainly the locals had their own hangouts that didn’t involve hotels filled with vacationers . Was he just traveling around by himself? He looked like he was in the military with his short haircut and chiseled physique. Maybe he was on leave or something, just passing through.
He was still gazing at me with those baby blues, so I finally replied. “ Yeah, it’s kind of ruining my evening.”
“I can see how that would be a problem,” he agreed. “Snowstorm, right?”
“So you’ve been watching the news.”
“Afraid so.”
Thankfully he was about as chatty as I felt right now—not peppering me with questions or awful one-liners, just making casual conversation . I liked that about him—he seemed in no hurry to get to know me better , like it didn’t matter to him if he we talked or not . I could probably ask him to leave me alone and he’d be more than happy to sit there nursing his beer without so much as another word .
I suddenly wanted to get to know him though. A guy who’s mysterious, tall, dark, and handsome does that to a girl. “ A re you here on v acation? ” I asked. “ I assume if you lived in San Francisco, you wouldn’t be hanging around in this tourist trap. ”
He smiled and glanced over at me again . “I’m on leave,” he replied.
“Oh, like military leave? A re you in the Marines or something?”
“Special Forces.”
I nodded, realizing he wasn’t really willing to give me any more information. Maybe he was just on vacation and needed a break as much as I did. Here I didn’t want to be bothered and n ow I was the one asking all the annoying questions. I took a si p of my wine and looked around. T he group of women to my left was growing louder and louder, but as I tried to focus on them, I could feel Ryan’s eyes on me .
“How about you? ” he asked. “ You seem awfully dressed up for an evening with your best friend.”
“Oh,” I said, looking back over at him . “Bachelorette party.” I gestured to my dress as if it were something only worn for that type of occasion .
“Yours?” he asked, glancing down at my left hand.
“No,” I s aid, laughing again. “My best friend’s. She’s getting married next weekend.”
“Valentine’s Day,” he said
No worries , Sar . Get back as soon as you can!
I sighed. Even though I hated that nickname and always went by Sarah , Morgan was the only one who could get away with calling me that.
“Been stood up?” the guy next to me asked.
“As a matter of fact, I’m the one standing someone up. ”
He raised his eyebrows, probably wondering why I was sitting here talking to him when I obviously had other plans.
“ My best friend ,” I explained, trying not to stare as m y eyes traveled over his features—full lips, strong jaw. Yes, this guy was attractive and certainly knew it.
“What, did you two get in a fight or something?” he asked, taking a swig of his beer.
“No,” I said with a laugh. “ I just shouldn’t even be here right now.”
“So what are you doing sitting by yourself at a bar? Go grab a cab a nd meet her.”
Yeah, he definitely couldn’t be hitting on me if he was already encouraging me to leave. Maybe he really wasn’t looking to meet anyone either. “It’d be a long ride to Chicago , ” I said wistfully.
He laughed, catching on that there was more to the story. “That does complicate things,” he mused, a friendly smile finally reaching his blue eyes. I liked seeing the twinkle in them and wondered what his story was. If he wasn’t here to hit on women, th e n what was he doing at a popular touristy bar? Certainly the locals had their own hangouts that didn’t involve hotels filled with vacationers . Was he just traveling around by himself? He looked like he was in the military with his short haircut and chiseled physique. Maybe he was on leave or something, just passing through.
He was still gazing at me with those baby blues, so I finally replied. “ Yeah, it’s kind of ruining my evening.”
“I can see how that would be a problem,” he agreed. “Snowstorm, right?”
“So you’ve been watching the news.”
“Afraid so.”
Thankfully he was about as chatty as I felt right now—not peppering me with questions or awful one-liners, just making casual conversation . I liked that about him—he seemed in no hurry to get to know me better , like it didn’t matter to him if he we talked or not . I could probably ask him to leave me alone and he’d be more than happy to sit there nursing his beer without so much as another word .
I suddenly wanted to get to know him though. A guy who’s mysterious, tall, dark, and handsome does that to a girl. “ A re you here on v acation? ” I asked. “ I assume if you lived in San Francisco, you wouldn’t be hanging around in this tourist trap. ”
He smiled and glanced over at me again . “I’m on leave,” he replied.
“Oh, like military leave? A re you in the Marines or something?”
“Special Forces.”
I nodded, realizing he wasn’t really willing to give me any more information. Maybe he was just on vacation and needed a break as much as I did. Here I didn’t want to be bothered and n ow I was the one asking all the annoying questions. I took a si p of my wine and looked around. T he group of women to my left was growing louder and louder, but as I tried to focus on them, I could feel Ryan’s eyes on me .
“How about you? ” he asked. “ You seem awfully dressed up for an evening with your best friend.”
“Oh,” I said, looking back over at him . “Bachelorette party.” I gestured to my dress as if it were something only worn for that type of occasion .
“Yours?” he asked, glancing down at my left hand.
“No,” I s aid, laughing again. “My best friend’s. She’s getting married next weekend.”
“Valentine’s Day,” he said
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