Torin (Hope City #9) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,20

arrived and, squeezing his hand, Erin said goodbye.

Her phone rang before she was out the door, and she glanced to see her sister’s name. “Hey, Caitlyn, what’s up?”

“I’m heading to the Celtic Cock with Bekki. We’re meeting Harper and Sandy. Please come and meet us there.”

The desire to do something besides go home was overwhelming, but glancing down at her nursing scrubs, she didn’t feel like she was properly dressed. After all, she might see Torin while there, even if it was busy.

While she’d only been inside the pub a couple of times, she knew that women wore anything from jeans to business casual or tight cocktail dresses. No matter what, they always seemed so put together. With her hair in a ponytail, no makeup, and nursing scrubs, she hated to appear dowdy. The girls wouldn’t care, but the image of Torin moved through her mind again.

“Erin, I can hear you overthinking things. Please come out with us.”

It was hard to say no to Caitlyn. “I’m wearing scrubs. Hardly the clothing of choice for a bar.”

“First of all, you’re gorgeous no matter what you wear. Second of all, half the people there are first responders still in uniform. Anyway, I thought you always carried a change of clothes in your car.”

It had been so long since she needed a change of clothes she’d forgotten. She kept them there in case she needed to go somewhere and there was blood or some other bodily fluid on her scrubs. “Well, I do. I think it’s just jeans and a jersey T-shirt—”

“Oh, my God, that’s perfect! You're close to Sean and Harper’s place. Go there and change. Then you two can drive together.”

She finally capitulated, and once at Harper’s house changed quickly and pulled her hair out of the ponytail, running a brush through the waves. She glanced at her no-makeup face, hating that she had nothing with which to brighten up her appearance. Not wanting to make Harper wait, she flipped off the light and walked out. It won’t matter. If I do see Torin, he’s seen me after running for miles. And in a crowded bar with beautiful women, it’ll hardly matter.

It didn’t take long to get there, but Harper had to drive around the block twice to find a parking space. Hustling down the sidewalk, Erin’s feet stuttered as she looked at a large gathering going inside. God, I hope it’s not crowded. That’s not right… I hope they are crowded for Torin’s sake. But I really hate—

“Erin!”

Before she had a chance to change her mind, she was soon engulfed in her younger sister’s arms, quickly joined by Bekki King. Bekki, as always, looked amazing in her pencil skirt and sheer blouse over a camisole. Caitlyn was a high school teacher, and Erin was glad she was also in jeans, even though she had paired them with a cute top with little cap sleeves. Before she had time to worry about her clothes anymore, the two women linked arms with her and made their way in, heading toward a high-top table off to the side. The four women took their seats, and soon a server brought their wine and Erin’s soda.

She barely had a chance to take a sip when Harper called out, “Sandy!”

Rory was now openly dating Sandy, and she wondered if the beautiful blonde might become her sister-in-law one day. Sandy walked over, her smile wide, and she blinked as though surprised to see Erin sitting at the table. She seemed to recover quickly, and Erin smiled in return, inclining her head to indicate Sandy should take the empty seat next to her.

For a few minutes, Bekki and Sandy talked business. From what Erin could tell, Bekki, as a reporter, had researched the building company that impacted Sandy’s decorating firm. As the women talked, she kept a smile plastered to her face and nodded occasionally, but her attention was anywhere but on the topic of conversation. The pub was packed, servers darting around to the tables, and the line at the bar was almost three deep. Pretending to just look around, she finally caught sight of Torin behind the bar, but he was soon swamped by the patrons crowding around, giving their orders.

It dawned on her that the idea of coming to the Celtic Cock as a chance to see Torin was ridiculous. The pub was busy, and so was he. She turned her attention back to the conversations bouncing around the table. Several minutes later, a server’s