Free Starting Fires by Makenzie Smith Page A

my Coke was finished Lucas strolled into the bar area. As he walked over, he smiled and I admired his sexy swagger.
    “What are we drinking?” he asked as he sat next to me.
    “Coke.”
    “Get me one too Kate, and another for Marzy.”
    She made the drinks and placed them in front of us. As she took my empty glass away, she eyed me with something akin to curiosity, but there might have been a hint of malice, too. It was hard to tell with a face like hers.
    “I found the mistake,” Lucas said, showing me a liquor invoice. “That’s a five. Not a three.” I felt foolish for not catching it. “I can’t thank you enough. I’m a little bit of a procrastinator,” he said. “It would have been another month before I got around to doing them.”
    “You’re welcome,” I said and took a sip from my drink.
    Kate was standing at the far end of the bar, continuing to watch us but acting as if she wasn’t. “I need to go stock the cooler,” she called to Lucas. “Mind listening for the phone while I’m in there?”
    “Go ahead,” he told her. Kate sauntered away and I wondered how much more time I would get to have with him today. I was starting to like the feelings he pulled out of me. Endorphins swirled in my body anytime we were close. Maybe I just needed to go at it with him, get this thing out of my system so I could move on with my life. I don’t think I was ready for a relationship, but a nice roll in the hay with a man like Lucas might give me the boost I needed.
    “Like soccer?” he asked, leaning up on his elbows. It was then I realized that Kate had been gone for a bit and we hadn’t been speaking.
    “Well, honestly, I don’t know much about it. I guess it seems cool,” I shrugged.
    “You were watching the game pretty intensely. I figured you had to be a diehard fan or something.”
    “I was just thinking,” I admitted.
    “But not about the game?”
    “No,” I couldn’t help but smirk.
    “Well, what about then?” He leaned closer to me as if I was about to tell him a secret.
    I cut my eyes to him and saw his flirtatious smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I grinned.
    He laughed low in his throat and scooted further towards me, making our knees touch. One of his hands started reaching out for my leg. “What I want to know is, why are…”
    The sound of the phone ringing cut him off. Without finishing his thought, he jumped from the stool and raced to the cordless phone sitting by the cash register. “Burns,” he answered. I half continued watching the game I didn’t care about and half listened to what he was saying. “Yeah… Okay… No, I get it,” he sighed. “You’ll be back on Monday then?… I can fill in tonight… No problem.”
    As he hung up the phone, he gave a frustrated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “Mind calling Charles to come pick you up?” he asked. “I have to fill in tonight. Again.”
    Disappointed, I dug around in my purse. “Sure,” I said and started texting Bear. Kate returned and walked pass Lucas as she came into the bar area, unnecessarily placing her hand along his shoulders.
    He smiled at her. “Tammy called in sick tonight, I gotta stay,” he told her.
    “Again?” she bristled. “Well, I’d rather be working with you anyhow,” she winked.
    Lucas grabbed one of the bar towels and popped her on the butt—making her give out a girly yelp that I’d never think to come out of her mouth. “You better,” he smiled then started looking at the liquor bottles lined along the back wall. All of their playful flirtations made me wonder if something was happening between the two of them, but my phone dinged with a text from Bear before I could decide. “He said he’ll be here in about 15 minutes,” I told no one in particular.
    Lucas walked over to me and propped his hands along the bar. “Sorry you have to wait.”
    Not wanting him to feel bad, I shook my head. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “Well, thanks again. Feel like you