“Is that what you’re doing?” she teases. But it’s flirty enough for me to pick up on it, and I feel way too old for games.
“Yes, ma’am. You caught me.”
“I can’t go out with you,” she says.
I laugh. “I can’t go out with you either. But we can have this drink, right?”
“Yes,” Gabby says. “We can. Isaac.”
I don’t know why she says my name like that, but I enjoy the way it sounds on her tongue. I drink down the rest of my whiskey because I don’t know how I’m going to stop myself from trying something with this woman tonight… even if I know how wrong it is to drag her into my world.
“I can tell you’re not from Boston,” she says. “You have an accent. I’d much rather hear about where you came from than talk about the day I’ve had.”
“Does it scare you not to know anything about me?”
“No. I’m starting to wonder if it’s better that way with men.”
Considering what she just told me, I certainly can’t blame her for thinking that way. It’s tempting to tell her a whole bunch of lies about myself. It’s easy when you don’t know somebody to become whoever they want you to be. But I have this strange urge to be honest with Gabby about everything – even if it’s foolish and will ruin my chances with her entirely.
This woman makes me feel something that I don’t want to feel and that I barely understand. Talking to her is a gamble, possibly a mistake, but I don’t want to turn back now when she’s right here next to me. She’s a close human. A companion at the bar, even if it’s just for tonight.
Odd as I might be for it, I don’t want to let this moment with a beautiful stranger go. I’m not a perfect man by any means, but I did what I thought was right. I stayed faithful to Tylee throughout all the rough patches in our relationship and I told myself that doing the right thing for my kids and my family was all God wanted me to do. I might have done a few things on the wrong side of the law like everyone in the club has at one point or another, but I never kept Tylee in harm’s way and I never hurt the kids.
Where the fuck did that get me? And what’s a little harm in getting closer to a woman like this one – just for the night.
“You might be right,” I tell her. “Have a seat.”
Chapter Five
Gabby
Ihop up on the bar stool next to the giant man allegedly named Isaac with the nickname “Ghost” and his friend leaves the two of us alone, patting him on the back with a grunt before disappearing to one of the pool tables where I guess some type of gambling must be going on.
Isaac looks so much bigger than I even realized when I sit next to him. His shoulders are broad and firm, like solid boulders rather than rocks. Sitting so close to him fills me with the natural nervousness that comes from being too close to an animal that could realistically break me in half.
“I’m in town handling some family business,” he says. “But there’s nothing about me that’s interesting.”
I don’t believe him. There’s something about Ghost that makes me want to get closer to him even when common sense should cause me to run in the opposite direction from a man this large, burly, and seemingly dangerous in his appearance.
“There has to be something.”
“My kids are the best thing about me.”
Woah. Kids. His hand grips his beer bottle a little tighter after he finishes his sentence. It’s not that surprising that someone his age would have kids, but Isaac doesn’t look like a stereotypical television dad with all the leather and tattoos. Also, kids imply he has a wife or a girlfriend, which makes me want to get up off this bar stool immediately.
The last thing I want after what I’ve been through is to help some guy cheat on his wife. Gross.
“Are they in Boston too?” I ask casually, prepared to ditch the situation and grab my sister if I hear a single thing that makes me uncomfortable. He didn’t hide the kids, so if he’s hiding a wife or a girlfriend, that would be… exactly what I would expect from a man.
“No,” he says, the grip tightening. “They’re with their mother.”
“Your wife?”
Isaac looks over at me with wide eyes that have no business being that gorgeous. And why do the most masculine men always have those long, dark fluttering lashes? I feel mesmerized by the tragic expression on Isaac’s face.
“We’re in the process of getting a divorce.”
“So you’re married.”