You Say It First

She opened her mouth, closed it, shook her head, then turned and walked away. Nick watched her go. Next time, he promised himself. Next time he was going to kiss her in a way that neither of them would forget.

* * *

BY THE FOLLOWING Monday Pallas still hadn’t been able to put the kiss behind her. Annoying but true. While she knew in her heart that Nick had only been teasing her, she found it more difficult to put the brief contact in perspective. Mostly because men didn’t randomly kiss her very often. Or ever.

Something she could remedy if she started dating. She didn’t bother adding “again” because that would imply there had been dating before, and there hadn’t been. Not in a while now. Maybe when she got her future settled, she would think about finding a guy to go out with.

Her brain immediately supplied a very nice visual of a shirtless Nick, which she promptly told herself to ignore. And speaking of ignoring, while she was at it, she really should forget about the kiss. It had been nice and she’d enjoyed the accompanying tingles, and yes, Nick was definitely swoonworthy, but she had to be real. He was not for her. He was a big-time artist guy on his way to Dubai. She was a small-town girl who ran a destination wedding business. They had nothing in common.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she told herself that they had kissing in common and maybe that could be enough. She’d never had a sex-based affair before. She might like it. Which meant what? That if Nick offered, she would say yes?

She considered the question as she entered The Boardroom Pub, then felt her toes curl ever so slightly as she scanned the crowd already there and saw the man in question sitting at a middle table next to one of his brothers.

For a split second, she didn’t know what to do. Keep looking in his general direction? Run? Look away? Before she could decide, he glanced up, saw her and waved her over. She hesitated a single heartbeat before she found herself moving in his direction.

As she approached the round table, both Nick and his brother rose.

“Hi,” Nick said with a grin. “I didn’t know you came here.”

“I try to make it a couple of times a month. Especially on Monday, when we have tournament night. When did you start showing up?”

“This is my first time.” He turned to his brother. “This is my brother Mathias. Mathias, Pallas.” He winked at her. “Nobody likes him, so don’t expect very much.”

Mathias laughed. “Thanks, bro. Very smooth. Nick has always been a giver.” He smiled at her. “I’ve seen you around town, but I don’t think we’ve been introduced. Nice to meet you at last.”

“Thanks. You, too.” She shook hands, then sat at the table. “I’m friends with Natalie,” she told them. “I was hoping she would join me tonight, but she’s working late. Should I blame either of you?”

Nick held up both hands. “That’s on Atsuko, not us. We’re just the artists. Those two deal with the high finance.”

One of the servers came by to take orders. The guys ordered beers while Pallas asked for herbal tea. Game challenge nights could go long. Not only did she need to stay sharp, she had to drive home.

The Boardroom was a pub on the south bank of the river. The decor was board game based. Two walls were open shelves filled with hundreds of different games. Patrons were encouraged to play any they liked, as long as they put them back.

Every Monday was a challenge night. People could play in teams or individually. The games started easy, and then got harder as the night progressed. Sometimes there were themes. Word games or Monopoly night. Once they’d had a Clue tournament. Trivia evenings were always popular, as were the nights devoted to games intended for players under the age of five. Pallas always enjoyed watching adults swear when they lost at Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. Tonight would be a regular tournament, with simpler games early in the evening and the more difficult ones later.

“Too bad,” Pallas said. “Natalie’s good at board games. She always helps with the table’s average score.”

Nick leaned back in his chair. “You take this seriously.”

“Sure. Otherwise, why play?” She glanced around, hoping to see one of her friends. She smiled when she saw Silver walk in, then felt the smile fade as she realized what would happen when Nick met her friend. The same thing that happened when any man met Silver.

It wasn’t the other woman’s fault, she told herself, as her tall, leggy, blonde friend approached. Silver was one of those sexy women men naturally gravitated toward. There was a sensuality about her—one those of the male persuasion seemed to find difficult to ignore.

“I was hoping you’d be here,” Silver said as she walked over. She spotted Nick and Mathias and wrinkled her nose. “Oh, is this a date or something?”

“Not at all,” Pallas said quickly. “Nick’s restoring the panels at Weddings in a Box and Mathias is his brother. Would you like to join us?” She looked at Nick. “Unless you were saving the seat for Ronan?”

“He’s not a board game kind of guy,” Nick said easily as he came to his feet. Mathias did the same and they shook hands with Silver. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” Silver sank into her chair. “Is Jasper here?”

“I haven’t seen him,” Pallas said. “And I’ve been looking.”

The two brothers glanced at each other.

“Who’s Jasper?” Mathias asked.

Silver waved over the server. “He’s an amazing player. He always wins. If it’s a team event, his team wins. He knows everything.”

“He lives outside of town,” Pallas added. “He’s a thriller writer.”

Nick stared at her. “Jasper Dembenski? Are you kidding? His books are great. I can’t put them down. He lives here?”

Silver grinned. “Uh-oh. A groupie. You leave Jasper alone. He’s asked me to be on his team twice and I don’t want you messing that up. If you fawn on him, you’ll scare him off.”

“I’m not fawning.”

“You’re practically swooning.”

Nick’s expression turned wounded. “I’m impressed by his talent. That’s all.” He leaned toward Pallas. “I need you to defend my honor here.”

“I think you’re on your own on that one.”

Mathias chuckled. Nick groaned and the server returned with their drinks.

Like Pallas, Silver had ordered hot tea. As she poured a cup, she glanced at Mathias. “Nick repairs wooden panels, so what do you do?”

“I make kitchenware out of glass.”

Silver brightened. “The ones Atsuko sells? Those plates and glasses?”

Mathias nodded.

“I have several of your pieces. I’m working on collecting a set. The ocean-colored ones. They’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

Pallas listened to the conversation. So far neither man showed any signs of falling for Silver’s considerable charms. Were they immune? She hadn’t realized that was possible. On the bright side, maybe it meant a shot at more of Nick’s kisses, and wouldn’t that be nice?

“I wish I had some talent like that,” Silver said. “To be able to create something out of just an idea.”

“Me, too.” Pallas shook her head. “I can draw stick figures, but that’s about it.”

“You create weddings,” her friend pointed out. “I’m just a bartender.”

“You’re not,” Pallas reminded her. She turned to Nick. “Silver owns a tavern.”

Silver rolled her eyes. “I own a fifth wheel that’s been converted into a bar. I take it to weddings and other events in town. I like it. I get to meet a lot of interesting people.”