She reached for the cash, moved to her purse behind the bar, and stuffed it in there without looking. He could appreciate she didn’t count it out as many would.
He wasn’t sure why he made a note of that.
Maybe because, to him, he’d been secretly watching her all day.
The wide smile on her unpainted lush lips.
The joy behind her light brown eyes.
The giddiness of the newly married couple with her bouncing in place, her long wavy brown hair swishing around her shoulders.
He’d seen a tear or two she’d wiped away also.
He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of it before. That she was a romantic at heart.
Considering what she’d told him about her ex, maybe that was why he hadn’t.
“Did the other weddings go late?” she asked.
“Nah. We have a set time. I don’t want my parents worrying that people are on the property past ten. Weddings end at nine if they have to clean up themselves. If we handle it, it’s ending at ten and we can deal with it the next day.”
“Will you let people come back the next day to get things if they choose not to clean up?” she asked.
“Not right yet,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
“And you’re so hands on, I bet you need a day for yourself too.”
He snorted. “I’m not used to getting that.”
Not since he’d been home and not before.
Even when he wasn’t on duty as a Navy SEAL, he was still on. He could be called at any point to take off on a mission and had to be ready.
Shit that was drilled into their heads.
Not everyone followed the rules though, and those that didn’t, they found their asses in a bind.
He shook his head and picked up the bin of dirty glasses.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Shake like a dog.”
“I hadn’t realized I had.” Nor did he think she paid that close attention to him.
“Well, you did. You know, like something popped into your head and you wanted it out at all costs. I call it a phantom weight.”
“Phantom weight?”
“Yep,” she said cheerfully. “All that stuff in your mind that shouldn’t be there and you think it’s not, but it shows up at the worst imaginable times and weighs more than a tractor trailer. And just like a tractor trailer, you can slam on the brakes to stop it from happening, but it won’t end right away. Has to slip and slide its way out of your mind at its own pace.”
“Sounds about right,” he said and walked past her.
He didn’t miss her frown that he wasn’t sharing more. Why would he?
It was the one thing he hadn’t done since he’d been home, no matter how much his parents and siblings wanted him to.
