Identity, page 2
“It’s a classic for a reason. If you like a kick, a little heat, go with the spicy fries.”
He lifted his hands. “You’ve never steered me wrong.”
She laughed, plugged his order in the machine.
Roddy, all six-four and two hundred fifty pounds, walked over to the bar. “Another round, sweets. How’s it going?” he said idly to Handsome Guy while Morgan filled the order.
“Cold beer, beautiful bartender, live sports. It’s a good deal.”
“Yeah, it is. I took the lead in the semis. Give me some luck for the finals, Morgan.”
She leaned over, touched her lips to his. “Go get ’em.”
“Damn right.” He took the beers and walked off.
“Boyfriend?”
She looked over at her customer. “Oh, no. Roddy and his brothers—the dart players—are regulars. I actually work with his girlfriend at my other job.”
“Two jobs? Ambitious. What’s the other?”
“Office manager for a construction company. What do you do?”
“I’d like to say as I please, because at least I try. I’m in IT. I’m in the area for a couple of months doing some consulting.”
“Where are you from?”
“I travel a lot. San Francisco originally, but I’m based in New York now, or for the most part. Is this hometown for you?”
“It is now.”
Another waitress came up, rattled off another order.
“Army brat,” she said as she filled it.
“Then you know the traveling life.”
“I do. And I’m happy to have left that behind.”
When his order came out, he gave the plate a long look. “You don’t skimp on portions here.”
“We don’t. Would you like a table?”
He sent her that charming smile. “I like the view right here. I’m Luke,” he added. “Luke Hudson.”
“Morgan. Nice to meet you.”
He ate, ordered a second beer, stayed through the tournament.
He asked questions but didn’t seem intrusive. Bar conversation, in Morgan’s mind. She asked her own.
He was staying at a local hotel. His company would rent a house for him, but he liked hotels, and enjoyed getting into the local flavor wherever he traveled.
He asked where her father had been stationed, which places she’d lived she liked best. Easy breezy while she mixed drinks, mopped the bar, chattered with other customers.
“I should get going,” he said. “I didn’t intend to stay so long, but it looks like I’ve found my local watering hole.”
“It’s a good one.”
“I’ll see you again.” When he rose, he surprised her by offering a hand to shake. And held hers while he smiled into her eyes. “It’s really been great spending time with you, Morgan.”
“It’s been nice talking to you.”
“We’ll do it again.”
He paid in cash, leaving a very generous tip.
* * *
A couple nights later, Luke wandered in later in her shift. It was trivia night at the Round, and the noise level boomed as various tables and groups shouted out answers.
“Pick another local draft,” he told Morgan. “Something … adventurous.” He glanced behind him at the game players. “No darts tonight?”
“Trivia night. It’s a free-for-all, so shout out whenever you want.”
“What’s the prize?”
“Satisfaction.” She offered him a tasting glass.
“Interesting and adventurous,” he decided. “Got some dark cherries going. Let’s go for it.”
As she pulled the tap, she smiled over. “Anything to go with it?”
“Just the beer for now. Had a long day.”
“Life in the tech world?”
“Like the beer, it’s interesting and adventurous. How are things in your world?”
“Busy, but I like busy.”
She filled orders, working her way up and down the bar, but with trivia in full swing, she had a lull.
“What do you do when you’re not busy?” Luke asked her.
“I’ll let you know if I ever get there.”
“Gotta take some downtime. Mind, body, spirit, and all that. Paint me a day off.”
“Paint’s accurate. My house needs more of that, but it’s not quite ready. And with spring coming on, we’ll work on planting.”
“We?”
“My housemate.”
“So he’s handy?”
“She, and she’s terrific when it comes to curb appeal, planting. She works for a garden center. Inside, Nina’s not so much, but I’m not bad.”
“Construction company job.” He pointed at her. “Handy.”
“It helps.”
“A lot of maintenance when you’re a homeowner. I guess that’s why I’ve never gone there. I’m not handy. And there’s the job.” He pointed at her again. “Army brat, so you wanted to plant roots.”
“Exactly right.”
She mixed a whiskey sour, pulled two beers before he caught her attention again.
“What made you pick this area—if you don’t mind me asking.”
“It had what I wanted. Four seasons, close enough to the city without being in it, not a small town, not a big one. Right in the middle.”
She set out a fresh bowl of pretzels for him.
“It’s a nice area, prime for some of the upgrading you seem to be doing with your place. That’s why I’m here. Homeowners and businesses looking to bump up their tech, a couple of developments where people want to option smart homes. Old houses, new buyers looking to flip or just refresh.”
He shrugged. “What I do is part of the infrastructure. Everyone has home offices now, and I can set them up. You must have one.”
“I do. It’s not especially smart, but it works.”
Trivia ended with cheers and boos, and a run on drinks and snacks. As she worked, she noted he chatted up another stool sitter. Baseball. He appeared to know enough to keep that conversation lively.
“Ready for another?”
“Yeah, thanks. How about you, Larry? On me.”
“Don’t mind if I do. How’s Nina’s car running?”
“Barely.”
Larry shook his head, rubbed at his short beard. “She’s gotta bring it in.”
“I’ll tell her. Larry’s the best mechanic from here to Baltimore,” she told Luke. “He’s kept Nina’s car running well beyond its expiration date.”
“I do what I can. You still liking that Prius?”
“It’s perfect.”
She set their drinks in front of them, filled another round for a table of six. Larry’s conversation turned to cars and engines, and Luke appeared to know enough again to hold up his end.
“Gotta get on.” Larry pushed to his feet. “The wife’ll be home or getting there. It’s her book club night, which is a front for drinking wine and gabbing. Nice talking with you, Luke. Thanks for the drink.”
“Anytime.”
“Another round?” Morgan asked him.
“Two’s the limit. I should get on, I’ve got my own busy day tomorrow.” He paid his tab, tipped more than well. “I’d say don’t work too hard, but pretty sure you will. Nice seeing you again.”
“Good luck in tech world.”
He sent her a grin and strolled out.
* * *
He showed up again on a packed Friday night. She worked with the part-time weekend bartender to handle the crowd. Luke leaned on her end of the bar, as butts filled every stool.
“Surprise me. It’s been a damn good week.”
“Congratulations. Weekend off?”
“Ah, some paperwork and planning tomorrow, but yeah. Any suggestions on how I should spend the rest of it?”
“You could drive into Baltimore. Inner Harbor, aquarium, and it’s opening day for the O’s at Camden Yards.”
“Want to keep me company, show me around?”
She couldn’t say the offer came out of the blue. She knew when a man was interested. She played it light—part of the job.
“Can’t do it. Homeowner’s stuff on Saturday, and I’ll be right here Saturday night. Sunday’s already booked. But I appreciate the offer.”
He sampled the beer she offered. “I’m getting an education on the local brews. It’s nice, draw me one.” He waited until she served him. “Look, if it’s pushy or you’re already involved, just say. No harm, no foul. But would you like to go out to dinner some night? A night when you’re actually not working?
“No pressure,” he added when she hesitated. “Just a meal and conversation. Do you like pizza?”
For whatever reason, the casual tone relaxed her. “I’m suspect of anyone who doesn’t.”
“The pizza at Luigi’s is good.”
“You hit the top of the line around here.”
“So maybe pizza, some wine. I could just meet you there.”
She hadn’t had an actual date in … she didn’t want to think about it. Why the hell not?
“I’m free Monday night.”
“Seven o’clock at Luigi’s?”
“Sure. Sounds good.”
“Okay with you if we exchange phone numbers? I’m hoping you don’t change your mind, but in case you do…”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, took his so they could add their contacts.
“If you’re planning on staying awhile and want a seat, the couple three and four stools down should be leaving after they finish their drinks and nachos.”
“Thanks. I’ll hover.”
She shot him a smile, went back to work.
He grabbed a stool, had his two beers, and left just after midnight.
“Monday night,” he said. “Enjoy the weekend.”
“You, too.”
“That is one fine specimen.” Gracie the waitress looked after him. “And he’s got his eyes on you, cutie.”
“Maybe. He seems nice, steady—and he’s only in the area for a few months.”
“Strike while the iron’s sizzling.”
“Maybe,” she said again.
Chapter Two
She spent her Saturday morning on the house. Laundry, cleaning, dreaming of opening walls, fresh paint, new counters. She did the weekly marketing, including Nina’s list, left the receipt on the kitchen board for their monthly accounting.
When Nina got home from work that afternoon with a flat of pansies, bags of soil and peat, they hauled their pots out of storage. One day, Morgan thought, she wanted window boxes. But she also wanted new shutters, and a cute little front porch.
By her calculations, she could afford all that the following spring. And for now, pots of pansies filled the bill.
“Tell me more about this Luke.”
With her hoodie zipped against the not-quite-April breeze, Morgan tamped down soil around happy-faced pansies.
“Not much to tell really. He’s an IT guy, and must be good at it or his company wouldn’t send him out for weeks and months at a time to take on a territory. Or whatever they’d call it. Plus, he dresses well. Not snotty well, just well.”
“You said he was gorgeous.”
“I did, because true. Good manners, friendly. Two-beer limit. It’s a pizza date with a traveling man, Nina. We’re not picking out china.”
Nina pushed up her sun hat. “When was your last pizza date, or date of any kind?”
“Don’t go there.”
“You don’t go there because you always smile and say no. Why did you say yes? Because gorgeous?”
Morgan shrugged, a little sheepishly. “It doesn’t hurt. I can be shallow. But he’s interesting, and he doesn’t just talk. He listens. It’s nice. I think he’s nice.”
“And temporary.”
“Yes, and temporary, and that’s a plus right now. It’ll also be nice in say, five, six, maybe seven years to go for permanent.”
Her eyes, bottle green like the Colonel’s, went a little dreamy.
“Fall in love, take some time, think about starting a family. I’ve got to get me done first. God, these flowers are so sweet! How smart was I to get a gardener as a housemate?”
“The smartest. When my time comes—and Sam is definitely leading the pack—I want a big, crazy garden, so I have to have a big yard. Little house, no problem, but a big, giant yard.”
She lay back on the cool grass. “Shade trees and ornamentals, paths meandering through cutting gardens and butterfly gardens. Crazy birdhouses and water features. I want the works.”
Morgan stretched out beside her. “We should get a crazy birdhouse. I’m not sure what a cutting garden is, but now I want one.”
“I can make that happen.” She reached over, gave Morgan’s hand a squeeze. “I do love it here. Not the big, giant yard of my dreams, but it’s full of potential. Especially since you let me have my way.”
“We play to our strengths.”
“You should ask Gorgeous Guy over for dinner.”
“We don’t cook.”
“We can put something together. I can ask Mama for something simple but impressive. She’ll know. We’ll clean this up, then go in and figure out what you’ll wear on your date.”
“It’s just pizza, Nina.”
“Today pizza, tomorrow who knows? We play to our strengths,” Nina reminded her as she sat up. “Dating is my area. I think casually sexy for pizza date with Gorgeous Traveling Man.”
“I may not have anything that hits that mark.”
“Trust me, I can make that happen, too.”
* * *
She’d wondered if Gorgeous Traveling Man would breeze into the Round on Saturday night—then asked herself what it meant about her that she was disappointed he didn’t.
She told herself it was just as well, as they’d been slammed again. And she’d picked up a short afternoon shift when the Sunday bartender had an emergency appendectomy.
She’d gone straight from work to Nina’s family dinner, enjoyed some amazing paella, a lot of laughs.
After work on Monday, she biked home. Since she’d spent part of her brief downtime over the weekend checking and rechecking her finances, projecting how much she could afford, she’d talked to her office-manager job boss about the costs of taking down the wall, redoing the kitchen—new appliances, new counters, new cabinets. The works.
With that number in mind she biked home, adjusting her plans to fit those finances. Paint the cabinets instead of replacing—for now, because she refused to give up the kitchen island of her dreams.
When she parked her bike, Nina came to the front door.
“You’re cutting it close.”
“I’ve got an hour and a half. Nearly.”
“Get in here, amiga mia. We’ve got work to do. I’m doing your makeup.”
“I know how to do my makeup.”
“You know office-manager makeup, and just-flirty-enough-bartender makeup. But do you know sexy-casual-pizza-date makeup?”
“That’s very specific, but probably.”
“No probablys.” Nina ticked a finger in the air. “My bathroom. I set it all up. I got a stool for you, since you’re six inches taller than me.”
“Six and a quarter inches.”
“Rub it in, Legs.”
Being Nina, she took nearly half the time Morgan had left to perfect her work.
“I think my face gained five pounds.”
“Worth every ounce. Just look at that face. You’ve got those beautiful green eyes, but now they’re amazing! I do good work.”
She couldn’t argue, not when her eyes looked huge and the green deeper, and her skin dewy and fresh despite (because of?) the endless layering and blending.
“The red gloss on the lips really works,” Nina decided, studying the results of her labor. “The matte would’ve taken it over to sexy-sexy. This is good. You have perfect lips, just full enough, just wide enough. Go get dressed.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Staying in.” Nina followed her into the bedroom, just to be sure Morgan wore what she’d already chosen.
“Really?”
“Plenty of Mama’s leftovers from last night. I’m taking a rest and beauty night. Bubble bath, hair mask, face mask. A long bubble bath with a glass of wine and candles. An evening of self-care. Then I want to hear all about your date.”
“It’s just pizza.” And now all this prep made her nervous.
“You’ve got to start somewhere. God, you’ve got a great ass,” she added as Morgan wiggled into snug jeans. “A yard of legs topped by a tiny little ass.”
Morgan looked over her shoulder, shook that ass. “You hitting on me?”
“If Traveling Guy doesn’t, something’s wrong with him.”
“I’m not looking for hits.” Morgan slid into the bright blue sweater. “Maybe, depending, a subtle nudge could be acceptable.”
Under Nina’s watchful eye, she changed her earrings for some dangles, pulled on her best boots, then slipped on the stone-gray leather jacket, a Christmas gift from her mother.
“Do I pass?”
“Casual sexy personified.” Nina took a small atomizer out of her pocket. “Walk through the spray,” she ordered, and spritzed.
With an eye roll, Morgan walked through.
“Perfect. Now we’re going to have a drink.”
“I’m going to have a glass of wine with dinner.”
“You’re going to have a quarter of a glass now, just to smooth everything out. And if you go nuts and have two glasses with dinner, take your date on a walk around Market Street, down to the park and the pond and back. In fact, you need my blue floral scarf. It’ll add just the right touch.”
At seven on the dot, despite Nina insisting she shouldn’t be right on time, she walked into Luigi’s.
It hummed in the way she thought a good restaurant should, and smelled of sauce and spice and melted cheese.
It relieved her to see Luke already in a booth, and the smile he sent when he saw her didn’t hurt her ego one bit.
He slid out of the booth as she approached, took her hand, kissed her cheek lightly. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“Only just got here. Terrific jacket,” he commented as he helped her take it off.
