The Alpha's Diversion

Uninterested

Cat.

An hour had passed and only a few people sat in the bar. None of them knew each other, and it made for awkward conversation. Cat tried to remind herself that it was still early, and that a slow start allowed her to get comfortable with the process. When Leo arrived, he raised his eyebrows at her questioningly before heading into the office to put his bag away.

“Have you been this slammed since opening? Geez, Cat, you should have called. I would’ve come sooner,” he joked as he joined her behind the bar.

Cat couldn’t bring herself to laugh. She was too nervous. She wondered if she had been wrong about the town needing another bar. She felt Leo wrap his arm around her shoulder and give her a squeeze.

“Hey, I’m just kidding. Give it some time. They’ll come.” He reluctantly let his arm drop after he got a smile from her.

The people trickled in, and eventually Cat looked up to find that the bar was full and several of the tables as well. She adjusted the loudness of the music when the buzz of conversation started to drown it out. Leo made his rounds, taking drink orders and refilling pretzel bowls. They were finding their rhythm and both of them were relieved to be busy. They shared excited smiles every time their eyes met.

Cat delivered a drink to the end of the bar before making her way back to a couple of newcomers.

“Welcome to The Village Vault! What can I get you?”

She wiped her hands on a bar towel, finally lifting her eyes to find the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Her breath hitched in her chest. As an independent, happily single woman, she prided herself on not being susceptible to male charms. And yet, here he was making her feel things without even saying a word.

She realized that she’d stopped drying her hands and now just tightly gripped the towel, lost in his rich, brown eyes. They were so dark, almost black, and had an exotic quality to them. His black hair was a little longer on the top and cut close on the sides. She admired his Grecian nose, high cheekbones, and pouty lips. His chiseled jaw was tight as he stared at her with a fierce expression. He looked almost angry, and that was enough to shake her from her stupor.

Setting the towel down gave her an opportunity to break eye contact with the olive-skinned Adonis. At last, she took in the man to his right, who was staring at his friend almost as intently as she was. Embarrassment at her initial response creeped in and she was eager to move past it.

“We’ve got a full bar so pick your poison, gentleman,” she said as she let her eyes roam down the bar in the appearance of checking on other patrons.

The friend was first to respond. “I’ll have a Corona.” He nudged his bar mate in the ribs. “Addis?”

She found herself drowning in his intense gaze again. He didn’t look angry anymore, but she couldn’t decipher his expression. It wasn’t a pleased look, that was certain.

“Woodford Reserve, neat.”

“Coming up,” she said as she turned to the bar, grateful for the opportunity to hide her face.

She rolled her eyes at herself as she poured his whisky. The thought that she was acting more like Jo than herself made her chuckle as she set the drink before him.

“You want to open a tab?” she asked him. She caught herself rubbing her ear lobe, an annoying habit she had when she was nervous or thinking, and quickly dropped her hand.

He nodded and she was quick to answer so she could get away before she really made a fool of herself. “Alright, let me know if you need anything else.”

She started to walk away when his friend cleared his throat.

“s**t. Sorry about that. I’ll grab your beer.” Her face flushed a bright red, but he only laughed.

“No problem. I really like what you’ve done to the place. A friend who sells some of her jewelry here told me I should come tonight, and she was right. This place has a lot of character!”

She beamed at the praise. She loved her business and always appreciated it when someone saw the same magic in it as she did.

“Thanks! This place is my passion...I’ve only got one artist who sells bijouterie here. Delphine is a real gem herself.” She paused, unsure if her next question was rude. “How do you know her? No offense, but she’s quite a bit older than you.”

She was thankful when he laughed again. “Yeah, she kind of lives in my neighborhood. And you’ve met her- to know her is to love her.”

His beautiful friend finally made a sound, grunting at his companion’s comment with a scowl. Cat was surprised. His friend’s description of the elderly lady was spot on. She was charming, whimsical, and always had a positive effect on Cat’s mood when she dropped off her jewelry. In fact, Cat hadn’t planned on selling jewelry but was sold not just on the beautiful turquoise pieces but the artist herself. She turned to face him again, this time more able to steel herself against his good looks.

“You don’t like Delphine?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes.

He paused before responding, as if he was deciding whether he wanted to engage in conversation with her. “I respect Delphine,” he finally answered vaguely.

She held his gaze as she raised her eyebrows at him, showing her disapproval of his non-answer.

If they were having a staring contest, she was adamant she would win. She didn’t like that he had gotten under her thick skin, and especially didn’t like that he only entered their conversation to show his disapproval of his friend’s kind words about Delphine.

His friend glanced between the two of them until the dark-haired Adonis looked away with a smirk. “I know Delphine too well to describe her easily.” He paused for a moment, before adding, “And she meddles too much.”

This comment caused a raucous laugh from his friend. “He’s not wrong,” he said to Cat, breaking the intensity between her and his friend and getting a giggle from her.

“I can see that,” she conceded. “I’m Cat Brooks, by the way.”

This got another laugh from him. He quickly answered her glare, putting his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean anything rude. It just surprised me. Your parents must really like felines.” He reached his hand out to her, “I’m Flint. It’s nice to meet you.”

She gave his hand a firm shake. “Well, boy named after firestarter, Cat is short for Catalina. You’ve never heard that nickname before?”

He released her hand with a sly grin. “Can’t say that I have, but I like it. It’s fitting. My brooding friend here is Addis Lumeer.”

She hesitated but reached out her hand to him. “Nice to meet you, Addis.”

He hesitated even longer. Just as she was about to withdraw the offer, he suddenly grabbed her hand. “The pleasure is mine.” His touch created tingles down her spine and her cheeks flushed. But his friendly words didn’t match the look on his face. She was sure that he had no pleasure in meeting her, and although she couldn’t explain it, she understood it. She intuited that something in the past ten minutes had disrupted all future plans, dispelling the safety she had previously felt of ever being tangled up in the messy world of relationships.

She yearned to be away from him. But somehow, her feet weren’t moving. She was grateful when she heard a familiar voice call her name.