The night was as depressing as I’d feared. When I finally got a chance to take a break, I stumbled into the small staff kitchen, desperate to eat something.
I had taken one bite of my sandwich when the door opened and Clive, one of the bouncers, came in. He was the last person I wanted to run into during my short break.
“Beautiful, there you are. I haven’t seen you in a week. Are you avoiding me?” he asked, stopping too close to me. When I felt his breath on my face, it took everything in me not to scrunch up my nose and step back.
I’d learned early on that it didn’t end well if I pissed him off. So far I’d managed to evade him, but he was relentless. We’d gone out once when I first started. I thought he was a good guy. But what was meant to be a chance for me to spread my wings and dip my toes into the dating pool again had ended in disaster.
And now I had to work with him, since I needed my job.
“Of course not. I’ve just been busy. You know how it is,” I said, putting my sandwich down. I’d lost my appetite, my thoughts on getting out of the deserted kitchen.
“Are you free this weekend? There’s a great Italian place that just opened in Butler.”
I forced a smile on my face and stepped to the side, closer to the door. “I have the kids.”
He was a big guy but bulky. I could probably outrun him. If he didn’t catch me before I could get far enough away.
“Can’t your friend babysit?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not this weekend. I’m sorry.”
Not waiting for him to reply, I rushed to the door and threw it open. I stepped outside and collided with a warm body. The relief at someone else being there was short-lived when I lifted my head to apologize and locked eyes with Sebastian.
I opened my mouth but decided it was better to just make a quick escape instead of saying anything and rushed back to the safety of the bar.
When it was finally time to go home, I nearly ran out of the building. Sebastian followed at a slower pace, but since his legs were a lot longer than mine, he made it outside at the same time I did.
I couldn’t even enjoy the ride home; my skin was crawling, and the need to take a shower made me restless.
When we walked back inside, Stella was watching a reality show, her favorite pastime.
“A delivery came for you while you were out. I put it in the kitchen,” she said, then took a closer look at me before waving me off. “Go do your thing. We’ll talk when you feel human again.”
“Thanks, Stella,” I called out, already heading to the bathroom, dropping my purse along the way.
CHAPTER FOUR
I stared at the flowers and tried to get rid of the lump in my throat. I knew who they were from. He always sent me red roses. Exactly eleven of them. He was obsessed with numbers and their meaning, and I knew eleven signified change and destiny since I’d looked it up. At least it didn’t signify murder and mayhem.
I pulled the cardigan I’d put on after my shower tighter around me.
“Who sent you the flowers?” Stella came into the kitchen where I was staring at said flowers on my counter. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone. Is it—”
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the look on my face. “Oh shit, what’s going on?”
I looked up and knew it was time to fess up. Stella could smell a lie a mile away. And I just didn’t have it in me to make something up. Not tonight.
“They’re from Clive.”
“What the fuck?” Stella hissed and stalked past me. She took the flowers, stomped to the front door, opened it, and threw them outside, vase and all. They landed with a loud crash, the vase shattering into a thousand pieces on my walkway. I had to make sure to clean the front yard before the kids went out there.
“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked, joining us in the kitchen. His hair was wet, and he was only wearing jeans, water droplets glistening on his chest. We must have interrupted his shower, because he was still holding a towel in his hand.
All I could see were abs. And abs. And did I mention abs? He was a sculpted work of art.
Stella snapped her fingers in front of my face, and my eyes refocused on my friend.
“Okay, now that we have you back, it’s time you tell me what’s going on,” she demanded, closing the door.
