I raised an eyebrow. “A Miata?”
“Yeah. Don’t knock it till you try it. The thing corners like a dream. I also have a truck, but damn gas prices and stuff. I get,like, thirty miles to the gallon in that little guy. Makes way more financial sense.”
“Okay, well, we’re taking my car. No offense, but I don’t want to try and cram myself into that little sports car.”
“Suit yourself.” Sebastian shrugged. “But your car, you drive. I’ll ride shotgun.”
“Fine by me,” I said, grabbing my keys and heading for the door.
The whole ride to the bar, he tried to get me to give him an opinion on whether the Rays were going to make the World Series. I’d done my best to skirt the issue, but finally, I had to tell him I knew nothing about baseball and had never seen a game. It had been like I’d killed his puppy right in front of him. It was the quietest he’d been since he’d walked through the door. It made the last two miles to the bar eerily quiet.
Once we parked, he nodded to himself and looked at me. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?” I asked, confused.
“I’ve found my life’s work.”
“Which is?”
“Making you a baseball fan.”
I chuckled and opened the door. “Good luck with that. I can barely make it through a football or basketball game without falling asleep.”
Sebastian’s jaw fell open and he clutched a hand to his chest. “Blasphemer!”
“Oh my God. Come on.” I got out and started walking toward the bar, hearing his footsteps behind me.
I walked in and was happy that the same anxiety I’d had the day before didn’t rear its head again. I walked in and waved to the crew behind the bar. Abi came out of the kitchen and saw me, her face slipping into a scowl. She set the tray of clean beer mugs down and stomped toward me.
“Why the hell are you here tonight?” she demanded, thrusting her fists onto her hips.
“I need to work. I’d go crazy if I stayed locked up all day.”
“And after last night? That didn’t give you a clue that you should take things a little slower?”
“Abi, it’s fine. I’m a lot better today. I think it was first-night jitters or whatever. Besides, my friend Sebastian here is gonna be watching out for me like Luis did last night.”
“I could give a shit about this Sebas…” Abi’s voice trailed off as she glanced around me and saw him.
Sebastian waved. “Hey, nice to meet you. Great place you guys have here. I stopped by months ago, and I’ve been wanting to try your chicken sliders again. Those things slap.”
Abi’s cheeks were reddening, and I could see the way she was looking at Sebastian. He seemed totally oblivious as he looked around the bar. Abi glanced at me while his back was turned, her eyes wide and surprised. She mouthed the wordsHe’s so hotto me, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. All I did was nod and head over to the bar to start getting ready.
Abi joined me, and we went through the opening checklist with the rest of my team. Sebastian checked all the entrances and even the windows in the bathrooms. As goofy as he could be, it looked like he took his responsibilities seriously. I kept catching Abi stealing glances at him. Maybe I could play matchmaker. I didn’t think Sebastian was dating anyone, but I’d only known him for less than two weeks.
That thought made me pause. I frowned and did some mental math. Had it really only been that long? It felt like this new part of my life had been going on for months. Time was a strange thing.
The evening went by seamlessly. It wasn’t as busy as it had been the night before, which was nice. Less stress meant less to worry about. Sebastian entertained the staff and several patronswith stories and jokes most of the night. By the end of the night, I was grateful he was there. I could also see that Abi was definitely on the way to being smitten. All in all, it was a great night. It eased a lot of my fears. I loved working, and I would have been devastated if I couldn’t.
Sebastian even jumped in to help us close at the end of the night. It was the first time I’d been at the bar that late since the attack. Abi and several of the kitchen guys were helping out as well, but I still felt strangely alone as I wiped down the tables and put up the chairs.
Sebastian must have noticed. He walked over to me and nodded toward the door. “Expecting someone?”
“What?” I asked, straightening up from the table I was wiping.
“You’ve looked over at the front door like every minute since we closed. Again, expecting someone?”
I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing that. In my head, I was still waiting for Javi’s crew to show up again. Roll through the door, tell me I was an abomination and shouldn’t exist. I thought I’d been hiding my thoughts pretty well. Apparently not. I hung my head in embarrassment, not wanting to meet his eyes.
