“Oh, dear God.” She shakes her head and runs her hand down her face. “Please do not let him flirt his way into your bed.”
“Gross,” I swat at her arm. “That is not happening. He’s cute and all, but I’m not one to easily for corny pickup lines.”
“At least you know what he’s capable of.”
“You’re not mad, right?”
Delilah wraps her arms around me in a giant hug. “Of course not, silly. You have to do what makes you happy. I can support that.” Her finger is in my face as soon as the words leave her mouth. “But do not bail on Asheville again. I will hunt you down.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I salute her. The bell above the door jingles. “I should probably tend to whoever is coming in.”
She waves me away, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it, you go do whatever you need to. I’ve got it.”
We leave the dining area and I glance over my shoulder. A whole group of people come in and I feel bad she has to deal with them. I do need to get behind the bar, though. Tonight, will help me determine if this is something I want to do.
Eric and Carlos are already pouring drinks. The customers are coming in quick now that the sun has gone done and there’s a promise of live music. “Hey, Lisa,” Eric smiles up at me. “Ready to see us in action?”
“Sure.” It’s a good thing I’m a people person. They are talking to everyone as they make their drinks. Well, Eric is. Carlos just makes the drinks with minimal conversation. He still makes pretty good tips based on the jar on his side of the bar.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Delilah mess with her phone before setting it under the bar. “I’m going to see if she Del needs any help. Be right back.”
I rush from behind the bar and am beside Delilah in seconds. “You good? You look flustered.”
‘Actually, can you go unlock the door to the alley? My brother and his band just pulled up and need to bring their instruments in.”
“Um, yeah, sure.” I glance at the gathering crowd in front of the door. I almost offer to take over host duties, but that would take more time than it would to unlock the door. Besides, it’s not like I have to talk to Devin or anything. I have one job. Unlock the door. Easy peasy.
I weave in and out of the crowd until I’m on the side of the stage. There’s a small hallway behind it where the door to the alley is located. Someone is knocking on the door as I approach it. Dang. It’s like they can’t give one of us time to get back here. I mean, it’s not like we all have other things we have to do. Aside from me tonight, I guess. My sole job tonight is to watch Carlos and Eric behind the bar.
With my hand on the handle, I push the door open. Except it doesn’t. At least, not all the way. I hear an “oof” on the other side. One of these geniuses is standing directly in front of the door.
Someone else laughs, “Shit, man, your nose is bleeding.”
I stick my head out to see what happened. I don’t know who the guys standing to the left are, but the person with the bloody nose is none other than Devin. Shit. Of course, it would be him. “Can one of you pull him out of the way?”
The guy with a guitar case grabs his arm and pulls him from in front of the door. Pushing the door all the way open, I try to assess the damage. The lighting isn’t the best and I can see blood on the hand Devin is using to try to stop the bleeding. Ugh, Carlos is going to kill me for injuring one of the musicians despite how he feels about him.
“I know you aren’t my biggest fan, but you didn’t have to hit me with the door.” Devin’s voice is muffled. It’s a wonder I could make any of it out.
“Let me see your case.” I hold my hand out waiting for him to give it to me. I motion to the guys, “Follow me.” Devin is close behind me. He probably can’t see since his head is tilted back. I reach backward and grab his arm. After I set his guitar on the floor behind the stage, I turn toward his band mates. “You can go ahead and set up. There’s a first aid kit in the office. We’re going to see if we can stop the bleeding. Come on Devin.”
My hand slides down his arm until I’m grasping his. Despite how cold it is outside, his hand is warm. I feel the calluses he’s built-up playing guitar against my skin. If I said I didn’t miss this one small act of intimacy, it would be a lie. Holding his hand feels natural, and the gentle squeeze he gives me tells me he’s feeling the same way. Shit. This is not good.
I pick up the pace, and he manages to keep up despite dealing with a nose bleed. Hopefully that’s all it is, and I didn’t unintentionally break his nose.
There is a small gap between customers and we catch Eric’s attention. His eyes widen and he moves toward the opening of the bar. But at the slight shake of my head, he stops in his tracks. I’m sure he’ll have a million questions when I get back there, and I’ll do my best to answer them. He’s like a dog with a bone…he’ll never let it rest until I give him all the details. It’s funny what you learn about people in such a short amount of time.
We turn into the hallway that leads to the office, and I can finally slow our pace. There aren’t any lines for the bathroom and very few lingering eyes. The likelihood of gossip happening over this minimal. Thank God. The last thing I need is someone misconstruing the situation and it getting back to Delilah.
I throw the office door open, pulling Devin inside, and shut it behind us. Releasing his hand, I turn toward him. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Despite his hand covering the lower part of his face, his eyes are lit with amusement. Seriously, I hit him with a door and he’s smiling about it?
“You can slam a door into my face as many times as you want if it means I get to hold your hand.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I throw my hands up, and move around him. Scanning the shelves, I look for the first aid kit. It’s here somewhere. Angie is so clumsy, we keep extras on hand, but I don’t see it anywhere. Clearly, it’s not on this wall, I move to the other wall and feel Devin’s eyes on me. “I mean, who the hell stands directly in front of a door when they know someone is coming to open it?”
It’s not on these shelves either. I stop for a moment running through all the places it could be. My eyes bounce around the room before landing on the desk. That has to be where it’s at, and I rush over there. I’m not sure what time he has to be on stage, but I know every minute in here is a delay. It’s also a chance for me to fall for his charm, and I can’t. Especially not after last night.
