Her Dirty Bartenders (Men at Work #5) - Mika Lane Page 0,28

his diaper bag. Go. We can’t have him behind the bar.”

She threw the bag over her shoulder and pulled Jax close to her chest to try and block the bar’s noise. She ran down to the end of the bar, lifted the hinged countertop, and took off up the stairs.

Jesus Christ. What had Elise been thinking?

And what had I been thinking the night I met her right here at the bar?

She’d come in with a group of friends, and even though they seemed to be having a good time, she’d stared at me pretty much the whole night. And when they left an hour later, she stayed behind. I was captivated, I couldn’t lie.

Once again, I was thinking with my little head.

That’s how I ended up with little Jax.

Not that I would change a thing. My boy was amazing beyond words. I did worry for him though, because the acrimony between his mother and I was pretty ugly. He was unaware of it now, of course, but the time would come where it would be all too evident that his parents couldn’t stand each other. Not an ideal way to grow up.

I’d fully supported Elise’s choice to have the baby, but I also made it clear from the get-go that it didn’t mean we were going to be a couple. That made her unhappy. Very unhappy. And every decision she’d made since then was designed to punish me to the maximum extent possible.

I buzzed Stell up in the office. “Hey. Everything okay?”

She laughed and Jax cooed in the background like a little bird. “We’re having a ball. Don’t worry about a thing.”

“Okay. Do I need to come change his diaper or anything?”

“Nope,” she said. “I already did.”

Christ. I was going to owe this woman a lot more than three thousand dollars.

When the night was finally over and the crowd had thinned, I ran up to the office as fast as I could and blew the door open.

“Oh my god, Stell, I am so sorry—”

But I immediately shut up. Stell was sitting, propped up in a corner, asleep, with Jax on her chest, also asleep.

Holy shit. Where was my fucking camera?

I took a couple quick snaps and then walked over to the two of them, gently taking Jax out of her arms. The movement shook Stell awake, and she looked around the room confused. Then she looked at me, even more confused.

“Wha… what’s going on?” she mumbled.

I extended a hand to help her to her feet.

“Stell, I think you are the world’s best babysitter.”

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I fell asleep. I was holding Jax because I knew he was tired. I must have dozed off too.”

Didn’t think I’d ever see the woman whose car I wrecked napping with my baby.

I wrapped Jax in the baby blanket Elise had been thoughtful enough to bring. He stirred, smacked his lips, and then went back to sleep.

God, how did I get so lucky?

“You must have a lot of experience with babies, Stell.”

She shrugged. “Just from babysitting as a teenager.”

I was amazed.

“I’ll tell ya what,” I said.

“Hmmm?”

“Your secret. Hiding the fact that you now have enough money to head to LA.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. What about it?”

I took a step toward her, Jax burrowed into my chest.

“If you let me kiss you, I’ll promise to keep your secret.”

She scrunched up her face, trying not to smile. “That’s extortion.”

Damn right it was.

I shifted Jax to one arm and pulled Stell to me with my free one, weaving my fingers through her hair and holding her head.

Our gazes locked for one second, and my mouth crashed into hers, the animosity between us forgotten, the tension unraveling.

“You are so beautiful,” I breathed into her mouth.

My words came out jumbled but she knew exactly what I’d said. Her arms flew up around my neck, careful to miss Jax, and I kissed her like I’d wanted to since the day I hit her car.

20

Stell

I was not only now a big liar, but also a big ho bag.

I had the money and car to get my ass to LA but was pretending I didn’t, and I’d just shared a passionate kiss with another one of the guys I worked with.

The only one left was Cab and, well, I’d kissed him a long time ago. No need to go through that again.

I could see it now. He’d be running his lips down the side of my neck, romantically holding my hand, and his eyes