was still watching her. What did he think she was going to do, spit in his drink? “Do me a favor. Don’t go overboard giving Tommy a hard time. I don’t want to deal with one of his moods today.”
Lisa went toward the back, and Cassie took the scotch to the flyboy at the other end of the bar. She almost forgot to set down a cocktail napkin because she didn’t bother for most of their customers. They generally ignored them once they picked up their drink.
“Here you go.” She set the glass on the plain white paper square. “That’ll be three bucks.”
“Can I start a tab?”
“Really?”
“I’ll give you a credit card if you’re worried I’ll run out on you.” That damn smile... How many tight spots had it gotten him out of?
“I’d try the scotch first,” she said, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. She couldn’t have worn a worse T-shirt. Faded, too snug, it had some geeky cartoon character on the front. But it was a freebie and that fit into her clothes budget just fine.
He took a sip, not a cautious one, either. He blinked, swallowed, then slowly nodded, his gaze staying on the amber liquid.
She grinned, got that weird feeling someone was watching her and caught Gordon’s eye from across the room. A quick glare told him to mind his own business, but the customers at the two other occupied tables were keeping tabs, too, so it didn’t matter.
Cassie straightened, but it wasn’t as if she were doing anything wrong. She was friendly with all her customers. “Well?”
Clearing his throat, he slid the glass toward her. “I think I’ll take a beer.”
“I have plenty of that. What kind?”
“Whatever’s on tap.”
“You sure? We have the imported stuff.”
“Tap is fine. What about food?”
She picked up the scotch, frowning at him. Okay, now he was just messing with her. “What about it?”
“Uh...” His eyebrows went up and there was no missing the amusement in his brown eyes. “Do you serve any?”
Was he crazy? If they did, would he eat in a place like this? “We have pretzels for sure, maybe some peanuts. On the house, but that’s it.”
She moved back to her station. As much as she hated to admit it, looking directly into his eyes sparked something inside her that was unsettling. It wasn’t as if she thought the sensation meant anything. He wasn’t just an eleven out of ten, he seemed nice, and she kind of wished he wasn’t. It was so much easier to ignore the ones who were full of themselves.
Cassie found the pretzels right away because she’d put out bowls earlier for the guys in the back. Sadly, she had only three clean mugs left. Sighing, she grabbed one and stuck it under the spout, started a slow stream of beer, then stretched over to the sink and turned on the hot water.
What the hell was taking Lisa so long? Cassie would need her help before the hospital changed shifts and customers piled in. The beer foamed over the mug, and she tipped it to get rid of some of the head. She’d already given him rotgut scotch. She didn’t want to replace it with froth.
She stopped to add dish detergent to the water, then carried his pretzels and beer to him. “If you still want a tab I’ll start one. I’m not charging you for the scotch.”
“Yes, you are.” His dark brows dipped. “You warned me. Fair is fair.”
She set down the draft, and he touched her hand, though she didn’t think he meant to. But she would’ve missed the cocktail napkin if he hadn’t moved it to accommodate her. The skin around her knuckles was dry and unattractive from washing too many glasses without gloves, and she hated that she noticed. What she did like was that he insisted on paying for the scotch. Even her regulars tried to mooch free beer.
“So? A tab?” She slid the pretzels toward him, keeping her gaze on the tables.
“Yep.”
“All righty, then.” Turning to get her pad at the other end, she dragged her palms down the front of her jeans.
“Wait.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you have going on back there besides pool?”
She hesitated, hoping he didn’t decide to go poking around. Spider and his gang wouldn’t cause trouble. They might make an off-color remark, but only in fun. It was Tommy she didn’t trust. “Intrigue. Desperate deeds. Things that would shock you to your soul.”
“Really?”
“Or as we like to call it, darts. And barely enough