Blame It on the Bikini (7 page)

‘I never looked at you that way before.’

Oh, like that was meant to make her feel better?

‘I’m aware of that,’ she snapped. ‘It was not ‘til you saw the bikini.’

‘No, I was otherwise occupied. I’m sorry about that in a way. But to be honest it was a good thing. You weren’t ready for me then.’

‘I’m not now,’ she lied, snapping the knife down on the chopping board, ignoring the way the lemon juice stung her burn.

‘Oh, you hold your own,’ he said. ‘And you know it.’

Her phone vibrated against her leg. She frowned and pulled it out. But it wasn’t a text; it was a reminder from her calendar.

Oh, no.

‘Are you okay? You’ve changed colour.’ Brad raised his voice. ‘Mya?’ He asked more sharply. ‘Bad news?’

She tried to smile but couldn’t force the fear far enough off her face to manage it. How
could
she have made such a mistake? She had everything on file, had due dates highlighted
and
underlined, but she’d been too busy dreaming up exotic cocktails and daft names to christen them in the past twenty-four hours to check. In other words, she’d been having too much
fun
.

She’d been so distracted she’d said yes to the extra
shift at the café when they’d called last minute, forgetting to check her diary just in case. She’d figured it was better to keep fully occupied and thus ward off dangerous, idle-moment thoughts. Brad-type thoughts and replays of an unexpected, crazy kiss. She’d been distracted by imaginary conversations with a guy. About a
party
?

As a result, the assignment due tomorrow for her summer course had slipped her mind. She’d not done it. She’d not even
half
done it. She hadn’t done nearly the amount of research and reading she should have. She was playing everything close to the wire at the moment, every minute screwed down to either work or study, and last-minute deadlines had become the norm in recent weeks—so long as she had the info she needed. Mya was good enough to wing it. But just winging it wasn’t good enough for her. She wanted to ace it. She wanted her perfect GPA back. She wanted her perfect control back. She didn’t want to be sleepless and thinking saucy thoughts at inappropriate hours of the day. She was
such
a fool to let herself be distracted. Especially by Brad Davenport. She drew a deep breath into her crushed lungs. No more distraction.

‘Nothing I can’t manage,’ she lied and brought the bottles back to the line-up of shot glasses to pour more cherry-cheesecake shots for the trio of babes at a nearby table who were wearing ‘so hot right now’ dresses and drinking in the vision of killer-in-casual Brad.

‘Really?’ He watched her with absolute focus, as if he had no idea that he’d caught the undying attention of every woman in the building. But he knew it already—it was normal for him.

She nodded and looked down to concentrate on pouring the vodka in the glasses, not trusting herself to speak again without snapping at him. Suddenly she was too
stressed to be company for anyone, and his utterly innate gorgeousness irked her more than was reasonable.

He put both palms on the bar and leaned closer. ‘Mya?’

That underlying note of concern in his deep voice didn’t help her combat the melting effect his mere presence had on her bones. His observation of her made her butter-fingered—not good when she had to flip two glass bottles at once in performing-seal fashion. Smashing the spirits would see the dollars coming out of her pay packet. ‘I need to concentrate.’ She offered a vaguely apologetic smile. ‘We’ll have to talk about the party later.’

‘Sure.’ He eased back and flashed her a smile that would easily have coaxed her own out had she looked long enough.

But she resolutely kept her eyes on the glasses as she fixed the cranberry layer in them, because she was not allowing him to distract her any more. She put the shots onto a tray, lifted it and slowly walked out from behind the bar, to carry them to the divas. They were all looking over her shoulder, checking out Brad.

‘You know him?’ one of them asked in an overly loud whisper as Mya put the tray on the table between them. ‘He’s single?’

‘Permanently,’ Mya answered honestly. She glanced around and saw he hadn’t moved. Worse he had a smile on, not his usual full-strength-flirt one, but a small twist to the lips that somehow made him even
more
attractive. It was so unfair the way he could make hearts seize with a mere look. She turned back to the pretty women. ‘But he loves to play.’

And no doubt he’d adore three women at once. Maybe if she were to see him go off with the trio for some debauched
night, then she’d blast away the resurgence of this stupid teen crush and be able to concentrate wholly on the wretched assignment she had ahead of her.

One of the girls stood and went over to talk to him. Mya went straight back behind the bar and tried not to pay attention to the high-pitched laughter. But she knew it was exactly two and a half minutes until he joined the women at their table. Mya decided to let Jonny serve them from then on.

She ignored the way the women leaned forward and chatted so animatedly. She ignored the laughter and smiles that Brad gave each of them. Most of all she ignored the way he tried to catch her eye when she walked past a couple of times. Peripheral vision let her know he looked up and over to her; she refused to look back. She had far more important things to think on. And then she was simply far too busy. People began pouring in as the sun went down but the night warmed up.

‘Jonny, if I don’t take my break now, I’m going to miss it altogether.’ She leaned across to beg him.

‘Go now.’ He nodded. ‘Pete and I can handle it.’

She grabbed the oversized ancient laptop she always lugged round in her satchel all day and took it out to the small balcony Brad had led her to the other night. She didn’t really know why she’d brought it with her—it wasn’t as if she’d somehow type on her feet as she worked her shifts at the café and then the bar.

Her heart sank as she scrolled to the relevant document. The cases were all cited, but she’d have to try to get copies of them to read them in full. What library was going to be open at midnight? She didn’t have the Internet in her small flat as she couldn’t afford the connection. She didn’t even have a landline. She’d have to go to a twenty-four-hour café with wireless access and
try to do it from there. Downloading fifteen cases? Oh, she was screwed.

She’d hardly started the first paragraph when Drew came out and caught her hunched over at a corner table.

‘You can’t sit there studying. This is a bar, not a library,’ he grumbled. ‘It’s not the right look.’

It was the last thing she needed—her control-freak, this-place-must-maintain-its-cool-image boss coming down on her.

‘It’s my break—surely I can read?’ She looked up at him. Didn’t he get how desperate she was?

‘Not there, you can’t,’ Drew informed her coolly.

To her horror, tears were a mere blink away. She shut her laptop and stood. Swatting up screeds of legalese in the dark alley outside didn’t inspire her but if that was what she had to do, she’d do it. It was going to be an all nighter anyway. Followed by the brunch shift at the café tomorrow. How could she have screwed everything up—
again
?

She walked out past the queue forming at the door and into the night, desperate despite the fact she’d only have a few minutes at most before Drew hunted her out. While the summer sun’s heat still warmed the air, it was now dark. Hooray for the safety torch on her keychain; she’d be able to read the fine-print text on the step at the back entrance of the bar.

‘Big essay?’ Brad had followed her, gazing at the ancient computer in her hand.

She nodded glumly, her stomach knotting again. ‘Due tomorrow and I’ve not done it and I don’t have half the case law I need,’ she confessed.

‘Tomorrow?’

She winced. Did he have to hammer home her incompetence?
‘I need to read up.’ In other words, she needed him to go back inside and keep chatting to those women.

‘How long’s your break?’

‘Twenty minutes.’

‘You can’t possibly concentrate here.’ He frowned at the giant recycling bin into which they threw all the empty bottles. Yeah, the sound of smashing glass was regular and went well with that thudding bass beat coming through the brick walls of the converted warehouse.

‘I can concentrate anywhere.’ If she had the info she needed.

‘And do an assignment in twenty minutes? You might be brilliant, Mya, but you’re not a magician.’ He frowned. ‘How come you don’t have the case law?’

‘I did an extra shift at the café today,’ she said. ‘I forgot about the assignment.’

‘You have too much on.’

‘Yes, so I need to work now,’ she said pointedly. But he didn’t take the hint. Instead he cocked his head and came over all thoughtful.

‘I’ve got access to all the legal databases. Including the subscription ones at my place,’ he said.

The ones that cost money to print each article from? The ones that held the case law she hadn’t been able to download because she’d done the extra shift at the café? The ones she couldn’t get to because the libraries were closed at this time of night?

He pondered another moment. ‘Skip your break and ask Jonny to cover the last of your shift. You know he’ll do it. He owes you for setting up alone tonight. Come home with me. You can print off all you need and work all night.’ He stepped closer, pressing the best point, decisive. ‘I’ll help you.’

She folded her arms, using her laptop as body armour,
mainly to hide the way her thundering heart was threatening to beat its way right out of her chest. ‘This isn’t a family law assignment.’ She tried to play it cool and not collapse in a heap of gratitude at his feet. Or a heap of lustful wishes.

‘I covered commercial in my degree too, you know. You’re not the only one with dibs on brilliance. I got straight As.’

Of course he did; he was that perfect. And she wasn’t. She no longer had the brilliant label at law school. She shook her head. ‘I can’t cheat.’

‘You’re not going to,’ he growled. Stepping close, he put his hands on her shoulders. ‘I’m not going to write the assignment for you,’ he said firmly, as if she were a kid who had to have the simplest thing explained to her twenty different ways. ‘Consider me your law librarian.’

Mya just stared. Feeling the warmth from his firm hands, and seeing his fit frame up close, she felt as if he were like an ad for all-male capability and virility. He was also the least likely librarian she could ever imagine.

He laughed and stepped closer. ‘I used to work in the law library as a student. I’m very good at searches.’

‘You
never
worked as a librarian.’ That she just didn’t believe.

‘Okay, library assistant,’ he clarified, all humble integrity mixed with that killer charm. ‘Great job to have as a student.’ His wicked grin bounced back. ‘I got to meet all the cute girls, and their names and addresses were all on there on the system already.’

‘So you abused your position?’ Mya drawled, trying to cover the way she wanted to abuse his closeness now and lean against him.

‘You’re accusing me of wrongdoing?’ He shook her and she nearly stumbled that last step right into his arms.
‘How come you’re so down on me? All I’m trying to do is offer you a little help.’

She kept her balance. She didn’t like having to accept help.

‘Just some space and some computer access.’ He held out the offer as if it were as innocent as a plate of homemade cookies.

While access to those databases would be awesome, what she really couldn’t resist this second was his charm. ‘Okay, I really appreciate it,’ she breathed out in a rush. ‘But I don’t want to put you out.’

‘You’re not putting me out.’ He let go of her shoulders and turned to walk back down the alley. ‘And I promise I won’t bother you.’

He didn’t have to
do
anything to bother her. He only had to exist. And the nearer he was, the worse it was. But she was just going to have to control that silly part of her body because she had an essay to write.

‘Relax and go finish your shift,’ he said, leading her past the queue and back into the crowded bar. ‘You’ll get the info you need and you’ve got all night to nail it.’

Yeah, but it wasn’t the assignment she was thinking of nailing.

CHAPTER FIVE

A
S
M
YA
went back to mixing concoctions behind the bar, she surreptitiously watched Brad head back to the three beautiful women. Okay, so he was just helping her out with her schoolwork. There was nothing more to his offer. That was fine, perfect in fact. Then a couple of his mates turned up and he introduced the babes to them. Then—Mya couldn’t help but notice—Brad stepped back from the conversation. And every time she glanced over—purely to see if their glasses needed refilling, of course—he was watching her. Time and time again their gazes met. And the thing was, he wasn’t even giving her the full maple-syrup look, but it had the same effect anyway.

Yeah, she still wasn’t over the fact that he was the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes on. It seemed there was a part of her that would always want him, no matter what else she had going on or how much of a player he was.

And had he made the computer-access offer to win her over and into his bed? Possibly. Did that matter? Not really. Because she wouldn’t be sleeping in his bed. She’d be getting her assignment written.

It was just before 1:00 a.m. before she could get away—early, as Brad had suggested. Brad’s two mates and the three babes had already left the bar, so he was
waiting alone, having swapped from drinking beer to soda water hours ago. He straightened from the wall he was leaning against as she neared, her heavy satchel over her shoulder.

‘Your place is really only a few minutes away?’ she asked, determined to stay matter-of-fact and not crawl up against him and beg him to take her to bed and have his wicked way with her so she’d mindlessly fall into sleep the way she ached to.

He nodded.

Sure enough, just down the road and around the corner from the row of eclectic shops and bars in the more ‘alternative’ area of town was a street of small, old villas. Every single one of them had been stylishly renovated and looked gorgeous and no doubt cost a mint.