The Hot New Bartender in Town (Welcome to Kiss County #3)

Chapter 1

1

TISH

“ W ho’s the hot new bartender?” Lottie asks, her green eyes squinting as she peeks between mine and Mika’s shoulders.

I flinch, nearly knocking my drink over as I spin in my seat to get a look at him myself. “There’s a new bartender?” I ask, scanning the counter across Sparks Pub. “Where?”

“There.” Lottie points. “The guy in the white shirt.”

I tilt left and right, trying to see around the people packed into the pub tonight. It’s the last weekend of summer here in Kiss County, and it seems like every local and tourist had the same idea for a night out as we did. Not a bad thing, usually. Karaoke night ain’t nearly as fun without the crowd. But tonight, all I see is couples, couples, couples, which highlights just how very single, single, single I am.

Lately, it seems like everyone around me has fallen in love. Mika met Carter, a guy who was just passing through town until he passed through her. And then Lottie met Scott, a guy determined to sweep her off her feet and make all her dreams come true.

Falling in love is just what people do here in Kiss County.

Except me. Apparently.

“There!” Lottie says, pointing once again.

Finally, through the mix of locals and tourists alike, I catch sight of the white-shirted new guy behind the bar.

Oh, hello...

My spine tingles, my interest officially piqued. Even from all the way back here, I can tell he’s handsome with thick dirty-blond hair and bright eyes. Sharp cheekbones and a chiseled chin. The white shirt helps, too, brilliantly showcasing the hard muscles of his upper arms. He’s my age, from the looks of him. Just old enough to work behind the bar legally.

“Tish?” I hear Mika say from... somewhere . “Oh, Tish?” A blur of a hand in front of my eyes and she laughs. “Yeah, she’s gone.”

She and Lottie titter and tease, but as she said, I’m gone already. The new bartender moves from one side of the counter to the next, taking tabs and filling orders as if he’s always been here. But he definitely has not always been here. I spend most of my weekends and nights off at Sparks Pub. I’ve lived in Small Town my entire life. And I very much have never seen this man before.

A song ends and the bar erupts in a round of applause for Brenda, the girl currently on stage. She’s not new in town, born and raised here just like me, but she’s new to my little corner of the world. She recently replaced Mika as a waitress at Bruno’s Diner, where Lottie and I still work. We instantly hit it off — especially once I found out she enjoys belting Britney and Taylor as much as I do.

I snap out of my trance to add to her applause before she hops down off the stage. Dressed in a black mini-skirt and plum-colored top, Brenda weaves around the other tables to make her way to ours, her face beaming the entire way.

“Wow,” she says as she approaches. “What a crowd, huh?”

“Beginner’s luck!” I tease with a raised glass.

“Don’t listen to her, Brenda,” Mika says, her blonde hair shifting as she shakes her head. “You were amazing.”

“Yeah,” Lottie says, firing a teasing glance at me. “Tish is just jealous there’s a hot new pop princess in town.”

I grimace, only slightly offended. “I prefer the term diva,” I say. “Princesses rarely earn their titles.”

“But you earned yours?” Brenda asks, playing along as she adjusts her thick ponytail of strawberry blonde hair.

As I stand, I take the last sip from my glass. “Let me show you how it’s done, girlies.”

“Small Town,” a voice says through the speakers as I approach the stage, recognizably Jake, the owner of Sparks Pub. “Our next singer tonight needs no introduction. Come on, you all know her! Put your hands together for Tish Trav-iiiis!”

A wave of shouts and applause crashes behind me and I smile, never tiring of that sound. I carefully step up onto the stage, mindful of the tall knee-high black boots I haven’t quite broken in yet. But they perfectly match my favorite vintage leather jacket, so I’m willing to risk potentially eating it in front of whatever eligible bachelors are still here after a fun and flirty summer like this one.

“They’re all yours, Tish!” Jake says, his voice as ominous and detached from the space as the Wizard himself.

“Thank you! Thank you!” I say, waving to the crowd as I reach the microphone stand.

A laptop sits beside it, providing a list of tracks available for choosing, but I had my song picked out before I even walked through the door.

I quickly adjust the microphone’s height, lowering it to be more level with my petite form while I wait for the clapping to subside. “Nice to see you, too,” I coo with confidence, flashing a wink beneath the bright spotlight above me. “I’m dedicating this song tonight to my friends at table three.”

Mika, Lottie, and Brenda, dressed in girls’ night out perfection in fancy shoes and adorable sundresses, raise their glasses with a cheer.

“Love you, too, ladies.”

In the few seconds of silence before the song starts, I turn around, putting my back to the crowd and striking a pose, prompting a few whistles throughout the bar.

The song blares from the speakers; a popular country-pop anthem from my mother’s generation, but one that most everyone knows the words to. Not my usual go-to, admittedly, but sometimes, a girl’s just gotta twang.

With eyes closed, I bring the microphone to my lips, and I sing. The song starts slow and low; the lyrics flowing out of me from memory alone. I don’t even look at the screen perched off to the side. Instead, I focus on them.

My audience.

As the song picks up and the chorus rises, I turn to face them. With my feet planted and my soul open, I sing to them, my face etched with a near-permanent smile. My heart pounds with adrenaline; the thrill of performing coursing through me. All the love I belt out comes right back to me as shouts and applause. A few groups start clapping with the beat, the infectious action spreading fast as the second verse rips through the bar.

I scan every table in view. I wink and smile, enjoying every moment of my stardom. Sure, it’s just Small Town. It’s just Sparks Pub. But this is my town. This is my pub. It’s the last weekend of summer and, honey...

I ain’t going home alone tonight.

As the chorus builds again, my eyes catch on a man standing behind the bar.

The hot new bartender.

He’s looking right at me.

While everyone else around him claps to the rhythm, he stands with his arms folded over his chest. A real stick in the mud, I’d assume, if it weren’t for the obvious smirk etched into his mouth.

I flash him a wink and his brow twitches.

Time for the big finish.

I strike another pose and, using every bit of air in my lungs, I extend the final note for longer than necessary. But the Sparks Pub crowd loves that shit, and they reward me with a standing ovation that brings a smile to my face.

“Thank you!” I say, bowing. “Thank you so very much.”

Resisting the toxic urge to literally drop the mic, I place it safely back on its stand before blowing the crowd a kiss and — carefully — stepping down.

Returning to our table, I give the girls one more bow.

“Damn!” Brenda says. “You’re so good, Tish.”

“Little over the top tonight, I’d say,” Lottie teases. “But good.”

“Oh, shut up,” I say as I sit down. Before I can reach for the glass of water in front of me, another glass touches the table by my hand.

Amaretto sour. My favorite.

I look up and into the eyes of Small Town’s hot new bartender.

Oh, my...

Blue eyes. Very blue.

The table goes quiet.

“Oh,” I say, my breath held. “I didn’t order this.”

He looks me over, those sinful eyes quickly hopping from my face to my chest and back again. “It’s on the house,” he says, his voice deep enough to do cannonballs into.

I swallow hard. “Thank you,” I say. “I appreciate that.”

He says nothing. He merely gives the other girls a quiet nod and walks off, briskly making his way back toward the bar.

I check out his ass as he goes.

Tight blue jeans. Good choice.

Brenda loudly clears her throat to get my attention.

With a smirk of my own, I pick up the amaretto sour and take a sip. “See?” I say, feeling cocky. “That’s how it’s done, girlies.”

They laugh as I twist around, eager to make eye contact with him again. Back behind the bar, he walks from one end to the other, his attention on everyone but me.

Until the last moment before I look away, and he glances over and smiles.

Hot damn.

I’m in love already.