She rolled her eyes, but I caught the smile ghosting over her lips.
“I can walk around in my underwear to make it even,” I offered.
Her blush returned. “I don’t believe in an eye for an eye. Keep your pants on.”
“If you say so.” I didn’t quit grinning.
She couldn’t hold back her smile. “Fine. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
My current thoughts would make her demand the keys back and lock me out forever. As it was, I wasn’t sure what to do about the desire flooding my brain and my body. Madison didn’t just possess an underappreciated sexiness that her fucknut of an ex-husband had squandered, but she also had a personality I was quickly becoming obsessed with.
No, I wouldn’t tell her what I was thinking. Because I wasn’t sure myself.
Madison
All weekend I had pondered Teller’s ideas. They were good ones. He’d painted a picture of a bar that would still fit the name and brand of Flatlanders Prohibited but would also give it an inviting character. If I approved some of Teller’s suggestions, Flatlanders would no longer only appeal to the dive bar crowd. It’d be worthy of being featured in those tourist packets distributed by the chamber of commerce. Flatlanders would be right next to Copper Summit as a sight to see.
Ultimately, his plan to leave the brick exposed and restore the floor wouldn’t take more work and it wouldn’t add more cost. Since he would have to pull out the remnants of the booths to clean and inspect the brick, I’d said I’d think about it. I couldn’t sense an ulterior motive, but I had learned that lesson the hard way. The guy worked fast. He was nearly done dismantling and hauling out the old twenty-four-foot bar and the busted shelving for the bottles.
I had a decision to make.
I didn’t work tonight. I was on my stretch of days off, and fatigue pulled at me. I hadn’t slept today, pulling an all-nighter so I could sleep tonight. Though lately, I could probably sleep anyway. Sometimes, even the curb looked comfortable.
Teller was hauling scraps of wood out the propped-open front door. He’d stripped down to his black T-shirt, and with each board he held, his biceps bulged bigger than ever. A squiggly vein lined each side. I wanted to trace it with my tongue.
I’d been fine admitting that Teller was an attractive man. Tall. Bearded. Fit. It didn’t help that he was also a nice guy. Now he was being nice to me.
Because you’re worth being kind to, Mads.
He was more than kind. He sawme, and that was terrifying. The worst thing I could do was admit I was attracted to him. Maybe I could do it in an observant, objective way.
No. How I felt around him was very, very subjective, thanks to him asking about my sleep, ordering extra buns on top of the most amazing meal I’d had in months, maybe years, and then dropping off a small pack of red apple jelly beans on the desk in the office without needing thanks or fanfare.
That man was supposed to be infuriating. I wanted to hate him, to lump him in with everyone else who’d been an asshole to me in my life, but he was inching himself out of that category, and he probably wasn’t even aware he was doing it. He was just being nice. Like a goddamn Bailey.
I went out the door and swept up the mess behind him, making sure each nail was picked up. I refused to be blamed for someone getting a flat tire driving by my bar. My phone buzzed, but I didn’t look. My job likely wanted me to fill in again, and while the extra paycheck would be helpful, along with the overtime pay, I was running on empty.
Teller and I continued to work and my phone stayed quiet. Unusual, if it was one of the nurses desperate for a CNA. I pulled out my phone.
Ruby: If you’re not already, you should take pictures of the process so you can make teaser posts leading up to your reopening.
Ruby, Teller’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, worked in the marketing department of Copper Summit, and she’d given me some tips when I’d been trying to help Scott pull this dump off the ground. She was nice too, with a youthful innocence and enthusiasm that made me feel ancient.
“Hot date calling?” Teller asked as he swaggered back in from hauling out a load.
I shot him a playful glare. I was getting accustomed to his teasing, taking it less personally each day. He did it with everyone. The postal guy had stopped in the other day to drop off a load of bills and estate papers I still had to settle for Scott, and Teller had joked around with him. I’d never seen a postman giddy, but he’d about skipped out of here after some attention from my bachelor.
“It’s Ruby.” I tucked my phone away. “She said I should take some pictures through this whole process for a grand reopening campaign.”
“When is the grand reopening?”
I lifted a shoulder and looked around the empty place. “I dunno.”
His brows crashed together. “Do you have a strategy for opening? Events to hold to get people in?”
“The same regulars will probably come back.” They’d been enough to keep Scott afloat. Somewhat.
He blinked. “You need a plan, Maddy.”
