Relinquishing Liberty by Maureen Mayer Read Free Book Online

tonight? You seem to be catching on pretty quick.”
    “Yeah, it’s not that busy tonight, so I’m not having any trouble keeping up with my tables.” Brett turned his back to me to fill a pilsner glass. “Um, Brett…do you know that guy sitting in the corner over there?”
    Brett looked over his shoulder, and I nodded in the direction of where my mystery man was sitting. “Him? Uh, yeah that’s Shayne. He was a friend of mine in high school. We graduated the same year. Why do you ask? Was he bothering you?”
    I loved that about Brett: always so concerned about me. “No, no it’s just…I sort of crashed into him on the beach the other day while I was out for a run, and I felt really bad about it. But now he’s acting like I did it on purpose so I could feel him up. Who does he think he is, God’s gift to women?”
    Brett let out a hearty laugh and had to grab onto the bar counter to hold himself steady. “Yeah, that sounds about right. He was a bit of a player when we were in school…always had at least one girl attached to his hip. I haven’t seen him around much lately though, ‘cause he’s always working. But it seems that side of him hasn’t changed.”
    I couldn’t say I was surprised, but Brett just confirmed what I had already deduced from talking to Shayne for a mere five minutes. I brought Shayne his beer and told him his food should be ready soon, pivoting before he could respond. As I stepped away, his large hand wrapped around my wrist, startling me and causing me to jump back, nearly knocking his beer over.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to apologize. I know sometimes I come off a little strong when I first meet people, and I could tell from the way you reacted that I overstepped my boundaries. If you’re not too busy, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking a break and sit with me for a bit?”
    He wanted me to sit with him? “Why?”
    “So we can talk. I want to get to know the girl that nearly trampled over me on the beach.” That bashful smirk he had on his face was too adorable to say no.
    I had to laugh. I knew at this point that he was never going to let me live that down, but there was no point in feeling embarrassed about it now. So, rather, I had to find the humor in the situation. Maddie was just coming back from her break so I let her know that I was going to take mine now.
    I walked back to Shayne’s table, but before I sat down, I felt warm fingertips trail across my lower back that was now exposed from my apron causing my shirt to ride up. I turned to see who the culprit was and noticed Brett was heading towards the door leading to the kitchen. What the hell was that all about? When I looked back at Shayne, he gave me a quizzical look on his face, which I reciprocated. I wasn’t sure what Brett’s reason for that little display of affection was, but hopefully he wasn’t going to go overboard with his overprotective brother act. I especially didn’t want Shayne to get the wrong idea. I truly cared about Brett, even though we’d only known each other for a few days, but I was worried he might interpret this as something more.
    “So are you and him…” Shit, I guess Shayne saw straight through that, too.
    “No!” I practically shouted. “No, we’re just friends. He actually helped me get a job here. He kind of owed me after throwing a football at my face and giving me black eye.”
    “He what!?” His eyes grew dark, and his brows pinched together. Oh he was clearly pissed, and I actually found it a little humorous how worked up he had gotten over it. Brett chose that moment to walk past the table again, and I swore Shayne was shooting daggers into his back with his death glare.
    “It’s okay, it was an accident. I probably could have moved out of the way and avoided it, but my reaction time is apparently a little slow. The bruise is almost gone anyway. See?” I turned my face so he could get a better look.
    He seemed a little more