‘Do you give up?’ I interjected, cutting him off before he could overthink what had just happened, or ratheralmosthappened.
He smiled. ‘Never.’
12
JACK
‘Surprise.’
The first thing I saw when I entered the restaurant just after eleven the next morning was Hannah beaming at me from behind the bar. She wasn’t wrong. Itwasa surprise, seeing her standing there. Normally she avoided it and the kitchen, preferring to stay upstairs or at a table as if she were just another patron instead of the person who owned the place.
‘Hey,’ I greeted her, slinging my keys and phone onto a little shelf underneath the bar. ‘Sleep OK?’
‘Better than you, by the look of it. You have bags under your eyes bigger than the ones I flew in with.’
‘Warm night,’ I replied, by way of explanation. ‘The wood in the cabin really holds the heat in.’
‘I don’t seem to have that problem upstairs,’ she said smugly, then quickly added when she saw my expression. ‘I’m just saying.’
‘Yeah, well don’t.’
‘You’re touchy this morning. Something wrong?’
A memory of Taylor’s face in front of mine flashed through my mind. The way her lips had parted under my gaze, as if she’d wanted me to kiss her. I’d been so close to doing it too, but in the end something had held me back.
‘No. Just tired. Like I said, rough night.’
‘OK.’ She looked as if she didn’t believe me, but knew better than to push it. ‘Where do you want me?’
‘Sorry?’
‘To work. I’ve got my comfortable shoes on and I’m ready to learn the ropes.’ She did a little pirouette and ended with a flourish of her hands. ‘Keen to dive in and do my bit.’
I stared at her. ‘Seriously?’
She nodded. ‘You were right last night. This is my business. I have to figure this stuff out if I’m going to make it work. Ifwe’regoing to make this work.’
‘You’re sure about this?’
She nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘It’s not that I don’t want to believe you,’ I said cautiously. ‘But it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said you’ll stay and when things get hard you run back to the city.’
Annoyance flickered briefly across her face. ‘I can’t promise to stay here forever, but for now, I’m all in.’
‘No one can promise forever; we both know that.’
She looked briefly stricken at the reminder.
‘Sorry,’ I said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘It’s OK. After everything you’ve done for me, I suppose I can forgive you for the occasional thoughtless comment.’ She clapped her hands together. ‘But let’s not dwell. I woke up this morning determined to be a good girl and listen to what you’ve said and take charge of my own future. I can’t lose that determination in the first hour, can I? So, where do you want me?’
‘I guess you could shadow me for a while, get a feel for how things work around here. The good news is that you have the best staff anyone could hope for. Hell, they could probably run this place by themselves if they had to.’
She put her hands on her hips. ‘Then what am I paying you for?’
‘Good question. I’m not complaining though. This place has been just what I needed.’ I smiled ruefully. ‘I didn’t even know how much I needed it until I got here.’
