yet the twisting in Sam’s stomach when the other woman touched Mac couldn’t be ignored. Feeling like an outsider, not to mention a jealous female—and not liking either—Sam shrugged and turned her attention away. Seconds later, Mac returned to the center of the bar.
He immediately began hustling between customers, serving liquor to smiling females. Sam could drink in his quick, sure movements all night. He was a study in masculine grace, if there was such a thing, easily grabbing glasses and tipping bottles as if he’d been doing this all his life. For all she knew, he had been.
Not for the first time, she realized she knew nothing about this man, except he set her body on fire with a sizzling look and, on some level, she trusted him. She’d be a fool to sleep with him otherwise.
She knew Mac could provide passion. His touch set off heated sparks and his voice shook her soul. If she wanted fun, excitement and hot nights in bed, she’d fallen into the right bar. Think about it…and let me know. Yearning mixed with trepidation. All she had to do was push her fears aside long enough to make the first move. The thought of Tom and a lifetime of single beds or separate rooms if she could manage it, clinched her decision.
“Hey, honey. Can I buy you a drink?”
She recognized one of the old men who’d cornered her when she first came in. “Sure.”
“Hey, Mac,” the old guy yelled across the crowded bar. “Two shots of tequila…and don’t forget the lemon.”
Mac turned their way long enough to raise an eyebrow at the request before finishing off other orders and making his way toward them. A nervous knot settled in the pit of her stomach. Her throat went dry, and Sam knew what she wanted. That was the easy part.
Letting him know would be harder.
He paused directly in front of her, bracing his hands on the old wood. Even the dark hair on his arms intrigued her, making her wonder what the texture would feel like if she ran her hands along his bare chest. “Tequila?”
She shrugged nonchalantly, though she felt anything but. “That’s what the man said.”
“That’s Zee to you, honey. And none of that watered-down crap Bear usually gives us,” he told Mac.
Mac glanced at her. “You sure about that?”
“Why not?”
“Ever drink tequila before?”
She shook her head.
“That’s why.” But he began working on their order, turning over two shot glasses and filling them with amber-colored liquid.
“Who’s Bear?” Sam asked.
“The guy who owns this joint,” Zee said.
“Your employer?”
“He owns the place and I’m working it. You tell me.” Mac set the glasses down in front of them, along with a saltshaker and a bowl of lemons. He slid the rest of the bottle over to Zee. “Go easy,” he said, and turned to the people next to her.
The bar crowd had more than quadrupled since she’d arrived, and Mac worked the room alone without a moment’s break. “He looks overworked.”
Zee nodded. “And underpaid.”
“I heard that.” Mac shot the old man a quelling look.
She tipped her head to the side. “Hard work’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“He gave his cocktail waitress the night off,” Zee explained.
“I thought I just saw her here,” Sam said.
“You did. But Mac here thought she’d be better off baby-sitting her sick mama than catering to us old men. Even paid her the night’s wages…though she won’t make any tips.”
And that explained the transaction she’d witnessed earlier along with the woman’s hug of gratitude. Sam felt like a jerk.
She blinked and looked at Mac, who’d gone back to serving other customers.
“That was nice of him,” she murmured. She’d not only stumbled onto a sexy man, but he played Sir Galahad, to boot. Warmth spread through her as she acknowledged that this man had character as well as good looks.
“Boy’s got a heart of gold. Always has. ’Course, it doesn’t make up for his sour disposition.”
Mac paused in front of them. “You bring out the best in me, old man,” he chuckled wryly. The light in his eyes and the laugh lines bracketing his mouth sent tremors of awareness shooting toward strategic body parts, making her sizzle and burn. She’d never felt anything like it before. Samantha rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms.
Zee ignored him and glanced at the still-full glasses. “You gonna sit there all night or you gonna give me a run for my money? Watch and learn, honey.”
Sam had seen this maneuver in college, but she’d never witnessed an eighty-year-old man make the attempt. Zee performed admirably. “You sure he’s up to this?” she asked Mac as Zee wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
“Apparently more than you.”
She took that as a challenge. Copying the old man, she licked her hand, poured the salt onto her skin, licked, downed the contents of the shot glass and reached for the lemon.
“Not bad for a first-timer,” Zee congratulated, refilling the glasses.
Sam’s gaze met Mac’s the moment the sour fruit reached her lips…because she’d just gulped a mouthful of straight water mixed with a healthy dose of food coloring. And he knew it. He winked, telling her to play along.
In that instant, Sam got another glimpse into her knight in shining armor’s character. He humored old men and looked out for damsels in distress. Considering her current predicament, Sam realized she fit that label, too.
Mac, whatever-his-last-name-was, was a sexy, hard-working, sexy, decent, sexy guy. The perfect man for her purposes. Sam liked what she saw and liked what she’d learned. She couldn’t have found a better man than Mac.
But first he had a bar to run, and from the look of things, he needed help.
OUT OF BEER. The ladies in The Hungry Bear never ceased to amaze him. The Resort stocked premium vodka, while Bear loaded up on dark beer. Same state, different breed of women, Mac thought as he headed for the back room to refill his supply.
He’d moved one box to get to the keg when a fragrant scent alerted him that he had company. He raised his head, but without looking over his shoulder, he knew. Samantha.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, without turning around. She was a distraction he couldn’t enjoy right now. Later, when he locked up for the night, maybe. If she was willing. But not now.
“A couple just walked in and they wanted a beer. The tap was empty and I didn’t see any bottles behind the bar, so I…”
“You
