Lex (All Guts, No Glory #7)
Chapter 3 (unformatted)
Lex was about to fall so hard, he could already feel the rug burn on his knees.
He couldn’t stop staring at the woman sitting at the bar. His joystick might be compromised, but his eyesight was twenty-twenty. And she was stunningly beautiful. Shoulder-length brown hair with hints of red, soft brown eyes that kept fluttering his way, high cheekbones and kissable lips. She might be around his age, possibly younger, and she possessed that look—the one that said she’d seen and done it all, and now she was a little bit tired and slightly jaded. How could he not notice it? It was the same expression he saw every time he looked in a mirror.
Lex reached for the bottle, poured some more liquid confidence and took a drink before he boldly turned to face her. She was slowly turning the glass in her hand, looking thoughtful. He willed her to meet his eyes once again…and she did. Curious, but tentative.
He couldn’t look away. Something about her caught and held his attention, and as the conversations and people around him faded, and it was just the two of them, he wanted to know more. Needed to meet her and find out her name. His mouth edged up in a slow smile at the thought of getting to know her.
She turned in her seat, looking around and over her shoulder, as if she didn’t think he was smiling at her, but at someone else.
Yeah, you. I’m smiling at you, gorgeous.
“See something you like, Battle?” Jayson asked, and everyone snorted with amusement.
Shit. Was he being that obvious?
Schooling his features, he turned to face his friends and shrugged a nonchalant shoulder. “I was just…”
Just what exactly? He wasn’t about to admit he wanted to approach the beauty at the bar. If she shot him down in front of everyone, he’d never hear the end of it. His friends all believed he oozed confidence and possessed far too much swagger when it came to the opposite sex, and he’d done nothing to deter them from those opinions. In truth, he hadn’t felt either in a long time, and his ego was more than a little fragile.
“Just eye-fucking that brunette up at the bar,” Brand finished. “What did I tell you about harassing the customers?”
“Fuck off,” Lex retorted easily, feigning disinterest when all he wanted to do was walk over and talk to her. He took a long sip of his drink, debating how he could slip away without being noticed. Highly unlikely with this eagle-eyed crew.
“Aww, leave him alone,” Julia said, sliding her hand over Brand’s much larger one. Their fingers tangled, and Lex felt a pang of jealousy. Whoa, where did that come from? At the same time, he saw an image of his hand doing the exact same thing with the pretty brunette sitting at the bar. “I think you should go say hi, Lex.”
“Yeah, go tell her all about your Top Gun glory days,” Wes teased, and Lex flipped him off.
“You guys are being mean,” Ellie accused. “For all we know, that could be Lex’s soulmate sitting up there.”
“I was just kidding, Ellie-Bean.” Wes kissed her frown away. Once again, Lex saw himself doing the same. Pressing his lips against his mystery woman’s mouth. He gave his head a slight shake. “I would love to see Lex fall for a woman. Do you have any idea how entertaining that would be?”
“The only woman Battle here is interested in is a twenty-five-year-old who’s somewhere pushing a pull door,” Jayson teased.
Lex’s eyes narrowed. Bastards. His friends would absolutely get a huge kick out seeing him make a complete fool of himself.
“She does keep looking over here,” Essie commented and took a sip of her ice water. “I hope she’s not looking at you, mi amor.”
Xander smirked. “Well, if she is, we oughta give her something to see.” He cupped his wife’s face and kissed her for an indecently long amount of time. Deep and thorough.
“Break it up, you two.” Brand swallowed back the rest of his drink.
Xander pulled back, sporting a goofy grin on his handsome face. “Leave us alone, Ward. We’re newlyweds.”
“Speaking of which…” Brand lifted Julia’s left hand, and her engagement ring sparkled in the dim lighting. “I’m beginning to think you don’t want me, baby.” His rugged face turned sad.
“Don’t you dare think such a thing. You know I had my heart set on a spring wedding, but when my dad had to leave on some secret business and then…” Her gaze shifted to Lex, and they all knew what she left unsaid. And then his dad died. “Well, things just happened. And Essie wanted a June wedding, so we couldn’t steal their thunder.”
“Of course not.” Brand rolled his eyes. “Let’s just go to the courthouse.”
But Julia shook her head. “No. We want to celebrate with everyone we love. How do you feel about September?”
“Done.” A smile lit his face. “You hear that, everyone? Julia and I are finally getting married.”
“A fall wedding will be nice,” Ellie said.
“Then it’s settled,” Brand stated, voice firm. “I don’t care if it’s hailing and a tornado is ripping through town. We’re tying the knot in September. Just pick a day, baby, and we’ll send out the invites.”
Julia smiled at her over-zealous fiancé. The poor guy had been pushing for a wedding since the day he proposed. Lex knew his friend was past ready to lay permanent claim on the woman he adored.
“How about September tenth?” she suggested. “That was my mom’s birthday.”
“Perfect.” He kissed her hard, and everyone cheered.
“What did we miss?” Chaz asked, walking up to the table with Lottie at his side.
“We got a wedding date!” Brand announced, smiling from ear to ear.
“Finally,” Chaz huffed. “I was beginning to wonder if Julia was secretly planning to make a break for it.”
“Chaz! Be nice.” Lottie set a fresh round of chips and salsa on the table and everyone reached in, grabbing some.
“Just kidding, Sunshine.” Chaz wrapped his arms around his better half, pulling her against his massive body and dropping a kiss in her curls. “Want to call your mom and check on the munchkins?”
She nodded, and he pulled out his phone. It was nice seeing Lottie back to work since giving birth to Micah, their new bundle of joy. Lex knew Brand was ecstatic, too. Even though Sera did a great job, Lottie was an old pro and could run the bar in her sleep. Brand relied on her heavily in his absence to keep things rolling, especially when a mission took them out of town. Plus she knew how to handle any situation with grace, and that included balancing out Chaz’s grumpy side.
“No way would I leave!” Julia cuddled up to her man. “Brandon Ward is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Love you,” he murmured, pulling Julia even closer.
Lex watched as more kisses were exchanged. Christ, he felt like the odd man out.
Suppressing a sigh, his attention drifted back to his beauty at the bar. She wasn’t talking to anyone, just keeping to herself, and calling out to him like some kind of elusive siren.
“What’re you waiting for?” Xander asked in a low voice. Lex met the other man’s intense royal blue eyes. “Go talk to her.”
He wanted to, but at the same time, his normal confidence was nowhere to be found. Crashing and burning at this stage of the game, and in front of his entire crew, would do nothing to repair it, either. As much as he loved his friends, they were like sharks in the water. At the first scent of blood, they’d fucking attack with jokes.
No one else at the table seemed to be paying attention to them, so Lex murmured, “What if she’s waiting for someone?”
“Then he obviously stood her up,” Xander said dryly, tilting his head toward the bar. “Go. Before she leaves.”
Lex’s attention flickered back to his friends.
“Don’t worry about them.”
Lex sucked in a deep breath, nodding as he wiped his perspiring hands down the front of his jeans. “I don’t know why I’m so fucking nervous,” he grumbled, standing up.
“Maybe because she isn’t like anyone else. That tends to happen when it’s the right woman.” Xander gave him an enigmatic smile. The former spook was definitely wiser than he looked.
Working up his nerve, Lex moved through the crowd, drawn to the woman. The closer he got, the more his heart thundered in anticipation. And, he couldn’t deny, with nerves. Christ, his younger self would be laughing his ass off. What the hell was wrong with him? You’re losing your touch, old man, the youthful asshole in him chided.
He had to do it. Had to take his shot. There was just something about her. Fresh, unexpected and oh-so alluring. If he didn’t talk to her, he’d be so pissed at himself.
Ten steps away. She swirled the straw around in her glass.
Seven steps away. She brought the drink up to her lips and finished it, still not noticing his approach yet.
Five steps away. She brushed a lock of auburn hair over her shoulder and looked up. The prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen met his and widened slightly.
Three steps away, and his fucking feet stopped moving. Like they were frozen in a block of cement. His usual charm and confidence were nowhere to be found, and he blinked, mind blanker than an empty canvas.
Fuck. She looked at him expectantly, and the whirring, sputtering sound of a helo’s rotors stalling mid-flight in his head signaled he was about to crash and burn.
Out of nowhere, Sera appeared. “What can I get you two?” she asked, sending Lex a subtle wink.
The beauty at the bar, now within his reach, looked over, startled. And maybe a little embarrassed. “Oh, ah, we’re not together.”
Sera looked from her back to Lex. “Well, you sure should be. You two look great together.”
God bless Corey’s girl. Lex snuck a glance down the bar and saw Corey watching the exchange, appearing smug. Like he’d masterminded the whole thing.
Okay, Battle, man-the-fuck-up and open your mouth before she thinks you’re an idiot.
Lex nodded at the empty stool beside her. “Do you mind if I join you? Or, are you waiting for someone?” he asked.
“Well, if I am, he’d be almost half an hour late.” She gave him a tentative smile. “Have a seat.”
She didn’t need to extend the invitation again. Lex plopped his ass down beside her and sent Sera a grateful look. “I’ll have another whiskey, thanks. And what would you like?” he asked, turning toward… He needed to know her name.
“I probably shouldn’t, but… I’ll take another Cosmo.”
“Sure thing,” Sera replied, her blue eyes dancing with mischief as she spun off to get their drinks.
“I’m Lex Battle.” He extended his hand.
“Summer Holt,” she said, placing her smaller hand in his.
The moment they touched, Lex felt a zing shoot straight up his arm. Holy shit. Sure, he’d heard about it, even seen it in movies and read about it in books, but never in his life had he actually experienced it firsthand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Summer.”
“You, too.”
Stop shaking her hand, Battle. And stop fucking staring like a creep. She’s going to think you’re a perv.
But letting go was harder than he expected. And looking away from those gingerbread eyes? Fucking impossible.
He reluctantly released her soft hand and, for whatever reason, he decided to be completely transparent. Okay, for one, his usual pickup lines had fled his mind. But beyond that, for the first time in his life, he didn’t want to use a line. Even if he appeared a little clumsy and off-the-cuff, he wanted to be genuine. Be himself.
“To be honest, I’d been debating whether or not to come over here and say hi.”
She tilted her head. “What made you hesitate?”
“I don’t know. I’m usually over-confident, but not so much lately.”
She eyed him then smiled, her cheeks lifting and small lines creasing in all the well-worn places. He’d heard the phrase “silver fox” a thousand times, and recognized it for what it was. But sitting beside him was the female version—a silver siren who could stop a man’s heart with a single smile.
And his freaking heart just stopped mid-beat.
