Unsettled (Chosen #1) Read Online Free Page A

didn’t look back at me to see if I was even okay about that tailspin move. He spotted one of the male bartenders and put up two fingers. Were all Irish guys this dominating? Cian had a girlfriend back in Ireland, yet it felt like he was coming onto me. Was Teagan just taking care of me now, too? Teagan could probably charm the hell out of every girl in this bar just by opening his mouth but I still couldn’t read him. His death grip was an obvious sign that there was probably no girl back home waiting for him.
    After retrieving the pints from the bartender, he rounded on me. Nose to nose, he placed the glass in my hand.
“Here you are, Lizzie O’Malley.” His smile was so genuine that I smiled brightly back and thanked him seductively. I felt like I was the only girl in this crowded bar of college bombshells that he was looking at, and I felt more beautiful than anyone else. He wasn’t as classically gorgeous as Cian and he wasn’t someone I would normally stare after in a mall or on the T, but he looked at me in a way that I’d never experienced in my entire life. His deep penetrating gaze was beautiful and the magnetism between our stares made my stomach flutter. I hadn’t felt that flutter in years.
    In that moment, I realized that he was not only stunning but mesmerizing. His gaze never left my eyes. To boot, he didn’t look drunk, like he wanted to just hook up. He looked like he was really happy to see me, like we were old friends and hadn’t seen each other in years. There were no words or tension. It wasn’t weird. It just felt right. Was I…was I attracted to this guy?
    W hile we waited to play darts, we had easy conversation, and I relaxed for the first time the whole evening. Teagan and I played three games of darts and laughed at the fact that I was kicking his ass. He startled me when he put his hand on the small of my back and said, “I think it’s time to find the lads.” I nodded, thinking I would agree to do anything and everything he suggested to me at that point. As we walked back to the table, Darcy cut us off and slurred, “Lizzie, let’s go. I just called Conner and he’s pissed that I’m so drunk.”
    I looked at her, dumbstruck, and then turned to Teagan. I gave him a sheepish smile, and figured introductions were in order. I really didn’t want to leave so I prolonged the moment.
    “ Darcy, this is Teagan. Teagan, this is Darcy, my brother’s girlfriend,” I said with fake enthusiasm. I wanted Darcy to see that I did meet a guy that she had insisted on. I also wanted Teagan to know that I wasn’t interested in leaving him at all. “Darcy, I’m so sorry but I started drinking by peer pressure.” I pointedly looked at Teagan. He laughed out loud and gave me a look that said I was such a liar. I smiled, not paying attention to Darcy as I momentarily got lost in the fact that Teagan and I already had unspoken conversational skills. I turned back to Darcy. “I can’t drive yet. Give me another hour or so, okay?”
    “N o!” Darcy shot back at me, startling me out of my revelation about Teagan. “Your brother is going to dump me. He is so pissed. We have to go now!” She grabbed my hand and practically ran out the crowded door. I left Teagan standing there, already feeling bereft and wishing I had gotten his number. It was the only number I wanted out of Darcy’s promised three and I would have used it. The evening sucked once again.
    As we headed out to the slightly cooler air on Commonwealth, I turned and faced Darcy. “Honey, I can’t drive yet. I’m going to wait in the line for a coffee,” I said in my most soothing voice, pointing at Dunkin Donuts.” I knew how to coddle drunken friends that want to drive home. My mantra is, “Always keep them from the keys and the car.” Keys, check. Car, check. But I knew Darcy always got what she wanted, and I felt uneasy about this. I did feel bad that I drank but I did not feel bad about drinking with the yummy Irishmen.