46
Tiff
It was obvious that Sam’s life before and the way his last relationship ended was a sore point.I’d seen Audrey deal with the same thing after her divorce.His defensiveness whenever someone (usually me) had an opinion about the bar.His reluctance to commit himself to anything outside of work.His half-answers whenever we talked about the future.
It was a shame.Much like Auds, he had a big heart.It wasn’t right that one bad experience could shut that away.And even if his future didn’t involve me, he deserved to be happy.To find love again.
He just needed to let himself.
God, I just wanted to prove it to him, convince him of everything I saw in him, what we all saw in him.It was a constant fight with myself not to tie him down and just talk until he realized what he was pushing away.
But that was the old me.No matter how much I wanted to fix this, fix him, that wasn’t my place.And it definitely wasn’t how I wanted our relationship to be.Sam was a grown-ass man.He was smart (most of the time).If he really wanted something, he’d figure out how to make it happen.
And if that wasn’t me …
Well, I was a grown-ass woman.I’d be okay.
Eventually.
It’s been two weeks since I’d seen Sam.He wasn’t a big texter, but he’d occasionally respond if I sent anything.
Quinn sent me updates on the bar with some uninspired asides relating to Sam, but I’d told her that we were friends and nothing more.
I missed him, but I had a life to live, and he’d made his bed.
A whimsical (and rather complicated knock) sounded at my front door, and I was laughing as I opened the door to Wes.Olivia was beside him, and I was surprised.Like Wes, she was a co-lead ofThe Guild,the urban fantasy TV show Jackson filmed.And like Wes, I’d only met her briefly a handful of times.Although I’d invited Wes to help me with a new project, seeing both of Jackson’s co-stars at my front door was amusing.“Should I be expecting anyone else?”
“Hey, you said you needed help, and Liv is the best person I know.”I didn’t miss the tinge of seriousness in his voice, and I resolved to ask him about it later.
“Tiff, right?We met—”
“A few times.Last was Audrey’s birthday, back in February.”I opened the door, stepping back to let them both in.“It’s good to see you again.Unlike this idiot, who I can’t seem to get rid of.”
“I have that same issue.Every single day I go to work, there he is.”
“Both of you are blessed with my presence, admit it.”
Before I could say anything, Liv pushed his face away with one hand, turning to me.“Don’t mind him.”
“I never do.”
“I hope you don’t mind me tagging along.Wes was talking about the videos you were planning, and I got curious.Started pestering him with questions he couldn’t answer—”
“Because I’m supposed to know what your lighting situation is, apparently.”
She ignored him.“Anyway, we figured it was just easier if I came along.”There was a split second pinch in Wes’ smile at “we,” and another puzzle piece slotted into place for me.
I returned her smile because I was more than grateful for the extra help.“Three heads are better than one, especially since I’m not even sure where to start.”
Wes pulled out a camera, winking.“Oh, that’s easy.”
Liv had been assessing the room, nodding to herself, before she pointed to a spot in the corner, by the window.“I think we should set up over here.There’s some natural light that should work for now.If you want to really do this, you might want to think of getting a studio light and a softbox, but we can think about that later.”
Wes began setting the camera up, propping it on a box he found and then messing around with the settings.Liv watched as I touched up my makeup, offering the occasional suggestion before asking, “So, what made you think of this?”
I shrugged as best I could while adding some white liner to my waterline.“Funnily enough, it was something Jackson said.Then Jordan,” and I realized they had no idea who I was referring to, “a well-known bar owner, offered me a job heading up his new place in New York.”
“That’s incredible.”
