Home for the Holidays. Sarah Mayberry

shoved his hands into his pockets. Then he cleared his throat. “Before I go, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk with Ruby. I know she probably got in the way. It was kind of you to let her help.”

      Hannah gave him a scathing look. “It wasn’t kind. She’s a good kid. Smart, funny. A minor miracle, considering who her father is. But I won’t hold that against her.”

      She stepped forward and opened the front door. “Tell Ruby thank you for the pizza,” she said.

      His audience was over. He stepped over the threshold and turned to face her. “I will. And I just want to say again—”

      The door closed in his face. He blinked, then slowly turned away. Despite everything, a reluctant smile curved his mouth.

      Hannah Napier was a handful. He’d got that much right about her.

      And despite that, he wanted her.

      The realization killed his smile. He hadn’t felt a thing for another woman since Beth died, yet for some crazy reason every time he looked at his new neighbor he found himself thinking things he had no business thinking.

       It’s only sex. You haven’t touched a woman in two years. You’re only human.

      All true, but somehow not enough to ease the tight feeling in his gut. He didn’t want to be attracted to another woman. He wasn’t over Beth yet, not by a long shot.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, Hannah pushed through the double doors to The Watering Hole, the local pub and her favorite after-work hangout. It was the kind of pub that used to dominate the suburbs of Melbourne before slot machines were introduced—scuffed and dented around the edges, friendly vibe, no pretense about it. She loved the cream and burgundy tiles behind the bar and the dusty memorabilia hanging on the walls.

      Her mate Bugsy raised a hairy arm in greeting when he saw her. “Napier. Took your time.”

      She smiled. She didn’t know what she would have done without her biker buddies over the past few months. Bugsy and Grunter and the rest had quietly circled the wagons when the wedding fell through. No one had said a word, but she knew they’d felt for her and she’d appreciated their silent support.

      She slid onto a stool beside Bugsy and accepted the beer he pushed toward her. “Cheers,” she said, raising her glass.

      “Straight back at you.”

      She took a long pull from her beer. There was nothing better after a long day at work. She rested her elbow on the counter and smiled at Bugsy. “Gonna let me whip your ass on the pool table?” she asked.

      “You can try, little girl.”

      She laughed. Then she caught sight of a man out of the corner of her eye and did a double take.

      Joe Lawson.

      Man. Was it too much to ask for her to have a moment’s reprieve from the guy? She felt as though he’d invaded her life since he’d moved in.

      He was talking to Mandy, The Watering Hole’s longest-serving waitress. Hannah hoped she was giving him directions to someplace far away. Hannah had come here to relax and she was pretty damn sure she wasn’t going to be able to do that with him sitting across the bar.

      He glanced up and caught her staring. His expression didn’t change but his shoulders shifted. For a moment they stared at each other, then his focus returned to Mandy.

      “What’s wrong?” Bugsy asked.

      “Nothing,” she said. She took another mouthful of beer. “Let’s go play pool.”

      She slid off the stool and grabbed her jacket with one hand, her beer with the other. Bugsy led the way to the seen-better-days pool table in the back corner, but she couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder as she followed him, just to check on where her nemesis was. She almost walked into the cigarette machine when she saw Mandy ushering Joe behind the bar. What the hell …?

      Mandy was gesturing toward the spirits lined up on the shelves behind the bar. Joe nodded, asked a question. Mandy turned and pointed to the beer taps along the front edge of the counter.

      “You coming or what?” Bugsy called from behind her.

      Hannah tore her gaze away and walked the final few steps to join him.

      Why was Joe Lawson being invited behind the bar? If she didn’t know any better, she’d think Mandy was giving him an orientation tour.

      Shit. What if he’d taken a job at The Watering Hole? It was possible, after all. He was new to the area, and Ruby had said he’d retired from the rigs. He must need to work. Still, this was the one place she could relax and not worry about anything, the one place where she felt utterly comfortable. She didn’t want to have to run the gauntlet of her surly neighbor every time she wanted a beer and a game of pool.

      Hannah was distracted as Bugsy set up the table then flipped a coin to see who would break. She kept glancing across to the bar to check what Joe was doing. Sure enough, he’d started pulling beers for customers.

      “Bloody hell.”

      Bugsy broke and started sinking balls. Hannah tried to concentrate, but she was too thrown to really follow the game. When Mandy sailed past with a tray full of empty glasses, Hannah called after her.

      “Mandy. You got a minute?” she asked.

      The older woman paused and smiled at Hannah. “Sure. You guys want another round?”

      “We’re all right for now, thanks. I was just curious about the new guy.”

      Mandy rolled her eyes and fanned herself with her free hand. “I know, isn’t he gorgeous? Talk about dumb luck, huh? When Arnie told me the news I was sure it was going to suck big-time, but now that I’ve met Joe I’ve got to say, I’m definitely coming around.”

      Hannah frowned, confused, but Mandy just kept talking.

      “And the great thing is, the way he’s talking, Joe’s not going to change anything. He’s definitely not going to put in slot machines or try to turn the place into one of those slick yuppy hangouts, thank God. So even though it’ll be sad saying goodbye to Arnie after all these years, I think I can live with it.”

      Hannah blinked as she deciphered Mandy’s ramblings. “He’s bought the place?” Hannah hoped against hope that she’d gotten it wrong.

      “Yeah. Didn’t you see the notice?” Mandy pointed to a handwritten note stuck near the till. “Sale was finalized yesterday, but apparently they’ve been negotiating for over a month.”

      Hannah swallowed the four-letter word on the tip of her tongue. “Well. How about that.”

      Mandy wiggled her eyebrows suggestively one last time before moving off. Hannah tried to come to terms with what she’d just learned.

      Joe Lawson, arrogant, judgmental neighbor extraordinaire, had purchased the one place left on earth where she felt like a normal human being. What were the odds?

      She was seized with the sudden urge to march across the bar and demand he undo the sale, that he choose some other pub to invest in. This was her home away from home. She’d already lost the apartment she and Lucas had lived in, the future they’d planned. She’d narrowed her life to working hard and paying off her debts so she could escape. The Watering Hole had been her solace.

      And now Joe Bloody Lawson had taken that away from her, too.

      She should walk out the door and never come back. She didn’t like him, he didn’t like her. He made her uncomfortable. There were plenty of other places she could play pool and drink beer with her mates. But leaving felt like admitting defeat. Even if he owned the place now, she’d been here first. She’d been coming here for years, for Pete’s sake. There was no way she was going to let him run her out of town, so to speak.