Checkmate (Neighbor from Hell 3)

He had a game plan after all and she was the key to making it work.

"I really hate you," she muttered, but he decided to ignore that since it was just her crankiness and her severe disliking of him talking.

Chapter 16

"H-h-how many?" Amber, the hostess and a woman who'd graduated two years ahead of them in high school, asked as she noticeably struggled to tear her eyes away from the sight of Connor holding her hand. That was understandable because right now Rory was struggling with a nervous breakdown.

Connor O'Neil was holding her hand, in public, on purpose, and she liked it, a little too much, but sadly that wasn't the worst part. The most frightening? Yes, but not the worst part. No, the worst part was that every single person in the bar had stopped talking, eating, dancing, and drinking to stare at them. It was actually a little bit unnerving to be able to hear the jukebox playing Kelly Clarkson's Mr. Know It All, which she normally liked, but right now it was creeping her out as everyone stared at them as if they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.

They were never going to be able to pull this off. Not that she really cared. She really didn't. Although, it would be nice to be able to go a day without someone pointing at her or being asked to leave a store or restaurant because Connor was already there and the damn establishment was one of fifty-seven that had the damn rule about not allowing both of them inside at the same time. It was really an inconvenient little rule and one that she wouldn't mind having lifted. Having the banned and no trespass orders lifted wouldn't exactly hurt either, but none of that was worth this little nightmare.

Unfortunately for her, Strawberry Manor was worth it. Otherwise she wouldn't be here at the moment. She'd probably be back at the site putting in a couple more hours before calling it a night. Not that she could do much with her arm broken, but it was still enough to bring them one step closer to their goal.

If they didn't meet the deadline not only would their reputations be marred, but they'd lose the bonus money and she wasn't about to let that happen. She'd worked her butt off for years building her reputation for running a dependable company and she wasn't about to let the project of her dreams change that. They would finish this project on time along with those suites and Shadow Construction's reputation would be set for life.

"How many?" Amber asked, shooting a nervous look over to Phil, the manager, who was acting as the backup bartender for the night.

Rory nearly sighed with relief. Phil ran a tight ship and had several strict rules when it came to them and thankfully this was one of the fifty-seven establishments that didn't allow them in at the same time. He was going to throw her out on her ass and she couldn't wait. So when Phil only shrugged a moment later she nearly stomped her foot in frustration. What the hell kind of manager was he that he couldn't even follow his own rules? Rules were made for a reason!

"Two," Connor said as he released her hand and before she could sigh with relief or make a run for it, he had his arm around her shoulders and was pulling her closer.

She felt her cheeks burn as every eye in the restaurant watched that move. Oh, she was never going to live this down. This moment of stupidity was never going to be forgotten. Years from now people were still going to talk about this. She couldn't do this. She couldn't go through with this farce. She couldn't-

A collective gasp sounded throughout the restaurant, but she couldn't really care about that, not with Connor kissing her. One thing she could say about the life ruining bastard, he sure knew how to kiss, and well, very well, she thought as he moved his lips against hers one more time before pulling away. He didn't go far before he leaned back in and pressed one last rather sweet kiss against her lips and then one to her cheek before he whispered in her ear, "Relax, Rory."

"This is so going on my Facebook page," someone said, drawing her attention away from Connor and his surprisingly soft lips. She looked past the shocked hostess in time to see several people put away their phones.

Great, her humiliation was about to go viral, she thought with a little whimper that had Connor chuckling as he once again took her hand in his and pressed a rather sweet kiss to the back of it. Damn, the man was good, she thought as she allowed him to lead her through the crowded restaurant towards a back booth where the waitress waited, looking a little more relaxed as she ran an appreciative eye over Connor.

Not that Rory could really blame the woman. The man did look especially yummy tonight, she decided as she was forced to walk behind him so that they could squeeze past a couple of tables full of gawkers. She used the opportunity to run an appreciative eye over the man.

She'd seen a lot of good looking men in her life, but none were as hot as Connor. Of course, her brothers and cousins would argue that since they were all arrogant bastards, especially her cousins, she thought with a fond smile, but she didn't care. Connor O'Neil was the first boy she'd noticed and he'd only gotten better with age, she decided as she ran her eyes up his long legs, over his firm behind perfectly encased in light brown pants, and up his well defined back, wide shoulders and perfectly combed honey blonde hair.

After she was done with her perusal, her eyes dropped back down to his backside while she fought back a groan of embarrassment. He was dressed up while she was wearing a tee shirt and jeans and for the first time in her life she wished she'd taken the time to find a pretty dress, shoes and done her makeup instead of just taking a shower, blow drying her hair and throwing on the first thing she found when she opened her bureau. She knew that she was beautiful and normally she didn't really care, but tonight she kind of wished that she'd played it up a bit.

Not that this was a real date. It wasn't, but that didn't mean that she wanted this to look like he was going out with her out of pity. If anything, people should be wondering why she was out with him, not the other way around.

"You look beautiful tonight," Connor said with a secret little smile as if he could read her mind and he probably could by this point, she thought as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before gesturing for her to slide into the small cozy booth.

She fought the battle to look over her shoulder and lost several times. Sure enough, everyone in the bar was now watching them with rapt attention. Several people were actually leaning forward, resting their chins on their fists as they watched her and Connor like they were the best thing on television. She was used to people watching them as they waited to see if they were going to kill each other, but this was ridiculous.

"Your waitress is, Susan," Amber said distractedly as she threw Connor a wistful look.