“You could let me go home and take a nap instead of making me hang around to help clean up—I know that’s what you’re about to ask me to do.”
Raleigh pushed off the counter and stepped up to me, giving me that smirk that had a history of getting me into trouble. “And I’m going to thank you with one of those frou-frou coffees fromStarbucks you love so much.” He grasped my face in his large hands and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Don’t forget the acrylic dishes are handwash only!”
He grabbed his keys and left me with my mouth hanging open in protest. I took the chipped cocktail shaker and threw it in the trash, still flashing. I returned the bottles to their shelves, and the dishes to the kitchen. My move with the Asti never failed to get a crowd excited, but it made ahugemess. The entire bar was sticky with champagne—and so was my vest. I wiped up the surface and retrieved my spare outfit from the office, ducking into the bathroom to change.
As I made my way back to the lobby, I heard the front door open and close. “That better be the biggest coffee I’ve ever seen, Raleigh!” I called.
A partial wall covered the front door, so I didn’t see him right away. I rounded the bar, putting away the container of sugar and doing one last check for anything I might’ve missed.
“Excuse me?”
My head jerked up at the unfamiliar voice. A soft, high-pitched tone was not what I was expecting.
She was a kid.
Well, a teenager, but still too young to be in a bar. Raleigh must have left the door unlocked. The door opened behind her and he appeared around the wall, taking in the girl in front of me and the guy standing beside her.
“I’m sorry, we’re not open yet,” I said slowly. Why did she look so familiar? “And call me crazy, but I don’t think you’re old enough to be here.” Behind me, Angel appeared from the back, but refrained from grabbing his coffee when he caught sight of the strangers.
The girl laughed, another familiar warmth washing over me, but I couldn’t place her. “I know, I’m only seventeen, but I’m not here for a drink. I’m looking for Ryder.”
My mouth went dry and my hands grew clammy—almost as if my body was three steps ahead of my brain. “That’s me.”
“I’m… wow, this is harder than I thought it would be.” She paused, voice cracking. She looked to the young man next to her, who gave her a reassuring nod and nudged her forward. “M-my name’s Hannah. I’m p-pretty sure I’m your daughter.”
Chapter 4
A daughter.Mydaughter?
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
“What am I supposed to do?” I muttered, pacing the length of the bathroom where Raleigh had dragged me. He handed me a paper towel for my still dripping face from where he’d splashed me with cold water, then halted my frantic pacing with a hand to my chest.
“You could start by talking to her,” he said. “Do you know who her mother could be?”
I turned to the sink and braced myself on either side. I focused on thedrip,drip,dripof the faucet. “Erin.” It had finally dawned on me why she looked so familiar. She was the spitting image of…
“So it’s possible she’s telling the truth?”
“No!” I answered out of reflex. Then I blew out a breath. “Maybe.”
I heard laughter outside the door. The guy who came in with her—Kian, her boyfriend—ducked out to give us our space, and Angel sat her down at the bar, showing off his bartender magicas he made drinks in front of her. I tightened my grip on the sink, so much so that my knuckles turned white. I felt like I’d pass out, or vomit, or both.
Raleigh squeezed my shoulder. “Come out whenever you’re ready.”
Ha! How was I ever supposed to be ready for something like this?
My head was swimming. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I began to pace again, wringing my hands together to stem the shaking while I did the math. She was seventeen, which meant she would have been born when I was eighteen. I’d still been in New England back then. Sure, Erin had taken off to New York like we’d planned, but her parents stayed. I would’ve known if she’d been pregnant, damn it.
I threw the door open and re-entered the bar. Raleigh stood behind the counter, frozen in position as he waited to see what I was going to do. My gaze went from him to the two people sitting on the barstools. Angel, and… shit, it could’ve beenErinfrom seventeen years ago. Hannah had the same sandy blonde hair tied on top of her head in a messy knot. She had the same laugh, throwing her head back at something Angel was saying to her. When her chin came back down, her eyes rested on me. Dark, stormy, ocean blue eyes.
Myeyes.
Her smile faded, but the corner of her mouth stayed slightly quirked. I’m sure it was my uncertain demeanor that caused her to shrink back in her seat. “Are you okay, Ryder?”
“Ryder?”
I looked to the girl lying at my side. My arm curled underneathher body, resting on her hip. It was a nice night; so we’d snuck out, spreading a blanket on the ground by the water. The wind blew, rustling her hair and sending a cloud of lavender right into my face.
