seemed to cart around a chip on his shoulder. And then, when he’d come around the corner of the alley, she’d been more concerned with fighting for her life than checking him out.
Now…now, she was forced to admit that he was attractive in a rumpled, roguish sort of way. His shaggy blond hair and almost-beard made him look like he’d be more at home wearing flannel and chopping wood than globe-trotting, but who was she to judge? She almost laughed. Who was she kidding? She was judging the hell out of him. He wore faded jeans and boots that looked like they’d seen some use. Against her better judgment, she lifted her gaze to the black T-shirt hugging his shoulders and biceps, highlighting the tattoos crawling down his arms. Only one side was finished, though, but he moved before she could pinpoint exactly what the tattoos depicted.
“Why don’t you whip out your smartphone and take a picture? It’ll last longer.”
She didn’t bother to correct him. Alexis had very specifically left her cell back in Pennsylvania when she left. She didn’t want her sister, Avery, or any of their friends to have a way to track her down. This trip was something she had to do for herself, and that meant stepping away from her pregnant sister and the overprotective Flannery brothers. They’d only become more protective since Avery and Drew got engaged. She wasn’t anywhere near as close to them as her sister, but they were still like stand-in older brothers when it suited them. She had a feeling it would suit them just fine in this situation. It had been annoying when she was a teenager. Now, with Ryan an experienced pararescuer and Drew the town sheriff… Yeah, it had passed beyond annoying and into the downright ridiculous. The fallout when she got home was going to be a nightmare, but maybe then she’d finally feel centered enough to deal with it.
In the meantime, she had this guy to deal with. “What’s your name?”
He hesitated, and she wondered if maybe he’d tell her to screw off. Getting a drink with him wasn’t mandatory by any means, but she refused to do it while considering him “that guy” in her head. Finally, he sighed as if resigning himself to something—probably her company for however long it took to down a drink. “Luke. My name is Luke.”
It seemed too clean-cut a name for him. He looked like someone who would be called Jake, or Murphy, or Adonis. She bit her lip. No, not Adonis. He was attractive, but he wasn’t that attractive.
Sure. Just keep telling yourself that.
“I’m Alexis.” Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she turned left toward the corner where she could already hear strains of a jaunty fiddle coming out of the pub.
Chapter Two
Alexis could feel him at her back all the way down the street and through the pub door, and she wasn’t a fan of how crowded the bar suddenly seemed as soon as Luke followed her in. He wasn’t one of those massive meatheads, but he took up more than his fair share of space. He wasn’t touching her, but his presence made it hard to draw a full breath.
Probably because he was such a pushy ass.
As if her thinking it was his cue, he shouldered past her and led the way to two stools tucked into the back corner of the bar. She spared a look around as she followed, taking in the Christmas lights strung across the ceiling and the band huddled around a tiny table, playing music and singing in such thick accents, she could barely understand the words. But, God, it was beautiful music. It simultaneously tore at her heart and made her toe want to tap in time. She spared them a smile as she took the seat beside Luke.
He glowered at everyone, and even the grizzled old bartender seemed hesitant to approach. Alexis sighed, already regretting agreeing to this drink. She was going to end up stuck here for hours because he was scaring off the locals. “Hey, you, tone down the He-Man menace.”
“He-Man was the good guy.”
She eyed him. It just figured that he’d know that. He’s probably a Superman fan, too, if the hero complex that made him chase me into an alley is anything to go by. “That doesn’t make him less scary to your average joe—and if you don’t knock off the bitch face, we’re never going to get drinks.”
He blinked, drawing her