My heart leapt into my throat at the voice thatwasn’tDani’s. I pressed the heels of my hands into my dry, burning eyes. “James, I just came in for napkins.” I winced at my uncharacteristic stammering. I pretended to scan the shelves for the napkins—the ones we didn’t need and were very clearly marked.
“I know. I came to see if you needed help.” Though his words were harmless, he had a lilt to his voice that suggested he knew exactly what I was doing in the supply closet. I scrubbed a hand over my face, but the puffy red skin would give me away the second I turned around.
“No. I’m okay. Thank you.” I felt vulnerable, and Ihatedfeeling vulnerable. None of this felt like me.
I closed my eyes again and counted each thump of my heart to distract myself from the loaded silence. I could tell James wanted to say something, to pry, but he respectfully didn’t and stayed quiet.
“I’ll just be a minute,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.
“Take your time. We can hold down the fort out here.”
I answered with a nod, the door quietly clicking shut as he left. It took an embarrassing amount of time to stop hearing my heartbeat in my ears. Slowly, the burning in my eyes receded, along with the ache in my chest. I grabbed the sleeve of napkins and made my way back to the bar.
With my breakdown out of the way, I worked a little easier. I still faltered here and there, but I managed to move around Dani without spilling anymore drinks. She and James had handled the bulk of the rush, so I was able to ease into a leisurely pace. I took my anger out on the cocktail shakers, jamming their lids into place like they were the ones with the guts to serve me those papers.
I wasn’t only indignant for myself, but for Hannah as well. She hadn’t deserved any of the trouble between her parents. A year ago, she’d been a normal teenager with a normal life and normal parents. Then her life exploded. Erin was trying to cover her own mistakes—in the wrong way. I didn’t think anything could squash my anger toward her in that moment.
Until I looked up from the drink I was mixing to see James watching me from the corner of the room. He smiled at me, andmy heart beat faster. I could’ve sworn his eyes traveled down my body, so I let mine do the same to him. I admired the way his pecs rippled as he folded his arms across his chest, his shirt tightening. My eyes came back to his, and when they met, I gave him a wink. My mouth slowly curled into a grin—which he returned.
Yeah, yeah, call me brazen, but I wasn’t going to give up a chance to check him out again.
I looked down, just for a second, but when I glanced up again, he was gone. Oddly, I found myself… disappointed. I scanned the room, but there was no sign of him. I found myself wondering how he moved so damn fast—and without being noticed.
I shook it off, turning my attention to the next person who approached the bar.
Back in Vegas, bartending was my life. First to show up and the last to leave. I worked whenever I was asked, and I didn’t complain. But the last week had been hard—harder than I’d expected. So I was relieved when two a.m. hit, signaling the end of my shift. I locked the door and turned off the neon sign above the window. A chill shivered down my spine, which I blamed on the wind seeping through the cracks around the front door. I turned, cursing and jumping back when I found James standing directly behind me—again.
“Sorry,” he snickered, eyes brimming with mischief.
Damn, he had a killer smile.
“Where’d Dani go?” I asked, gathering the dishes scattered around the tables.
“I sent her home,” he said, helping me with my task. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Uh-oh. I brushed my hair out of my face. “If it’s about earlier, I promise it won’t happen again. I’m not usually like that.”
“That wasn’t a problem, Ryder. I just wanted to check in. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “Everything’s fine.”
“Girl trouble?”
You have no idea.“I guess you could say that.” I gave him my best grin, which I’m not sure was convincing. He smiled back though, and we quietly finished cleaning up. We took the dishes to the back, washing the glasses until they were spotless. As we worked, he stood close enough that our elbows bumped from time to time. We stopped apologizing somewhere around the third bump. God, I felt like a teenager with my first crush.
Standing that close to James, feeling the heat coming off his body was driving me wild.
“So,” he finally said, breaking the silence, “what’s her name?”
“Who?”
“The girl giving you trouble.”
“Which one?”
James stilled, cocking a brow at me. “Bit of a player, huh?”
Nice way to put it. I chuckled. “Are you asking me if I’m single?”
