“Great.” I tucked the loose strands of hair from my bun behind my ears and carefully slid the tray from the counter. Ignoring the feeling of Roxy’s eyes on the back of my head, I made it to the tables.
Like before, the conversation amongst the men grew quiet as I delivered the few drinks and placed the bowl of peanuts in the middle of the meeting. Some of the men murmured their thanks before I left again.
On returning to the bar from the far end of the table, Antonio motioned me over to him.
“Lily, sweetheart. Tell the staff we’ll put a pause on the drinks for a little while. We have…more detailed things to discuss,” he said calmly, patting me on the shoulder. “You’re doing great."
“Thank you,” I whispered with a small smile.
He nodded once and when his attention was back on the group of men, I backed away from the table and headed for the bar again. The tray tucked under my arm, the corner of my lips quirking at the little boost to my confidence.
It felt strangely validating to be complimented by a crime boss.
Jesus Christ, Lily…
A hand with red manicured nails gripped my upper arm just before I reached the bar, stopping me in my tracks.
“I thought I told you not to speak to them.” Roxy kept her voice low. Her grip tightened slightly in warning with her eyes fixed on the back of Antonio’s seat. “What did he tell you?”
Behind the bar, Xavier had paused his restocking of bottles and Jen had stopped polishing as they watched us curiously. Dean, who was unaffected by what I would say, had listened too. His expression was unreadable as he watched from over his shoulder, noting Roxy’s hand on my arm. Those silvery blue eyes gave away nothing.
“He wants the drink orders to be put on hold while they talk business...” I said to Roxy, not quite sure what the big deal was.
I took my arm back when her grip went slack and her dark, cunning eyes came to me.
Was she jealous because Antonio chose me to repeat the request instead of her?
“Consider this your break,” she said to the others, turning on her too-high, black heels and sashaying back to her place beside Dean. But he wasn’t looking at her. Those eyes lingered on where Roxy’s hand had been on my arm before he looked at his phone again.
“Thank fuck for that,” Xavier sighed as he abandoned restocking altogether and pulled a packet of sour patch kids from his back pocket. He offered some to Jen and me as I climbed onto a bar stool.
“I’ll be in the staff room,” Roxy said to no one in particular before smirking at Dean, still on his phone. She leaned back against the counter, tracing a finger down his bicep as she cocked her head. “Care to join?”
Dean’s jaw clenched before he looked at her for a long moment.
“No,” he said sarcastically.
Jen snorted.
Roxy’s eyes flared before she and her fiery temper marched into the staff room and slammed the door shut.
Chapter 23
Lily
Discussing business wasn’t something that could fit into the regular length of a 15-minute break. That break was extended to 30 minutes. And then an hour.
I didn’t mind the wait. The snacks were on the house tonight, so as I sat at the far-right end of the bar, sketching on a stack of coasters with a pen, I stuffed my face with packaged peanuts and salted pretzels and washed it all down with a cool glass of lime soda.
I was lost in my own little world. Aware of everyone in the room but not so anxious. And more distant. My eyes followed where I traced and curved the pen along the smoothed wood. The rough sketch slowly took the shape of a little hummingbird and flower. Adding the finishing touches to the bird’s fine beak, I slowly straightened, stretching my neck and shoulders after drawing with my head tilted to one side for so long.
The scent hit me first, that subtle blend of sandalwood and leather, vanilla and tobacco. And then that smooth, Brooklyn accent of his. “How’s your head?”
My eyes widened slightly and swept to Dean, standing on my left. His arms braced on the bar as he waited for my response.
Had I heard him correctly?
The corner of his mouth pulled up as he gestured to his own forehead, raising his eyebrows in question as amusement danced in his eyes.
