“I’m not supposed to talk about it. Mom doesn’t want people to know—something about how it’s shameful that he did… that it makes our family look bad,” he continued. “I don’t blame him, you know? I can’t even be mad because I understand. Sometimes, I just think that maybe I…”
His voice trailed off. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to follow the breadcrumbs he was dropping.And fuck, it made my chest tighten something fierce.Saying nothing, he grabbed the bottle from my hand and poured himself another shot, tossing it back quickly.
“He was miserable and just pretending like he wasn’t… like everything was okay because he had to… it had to be okay… my mother wanted it to be.”
“Well, fuck your mother,” I snapped.Vile fucking woman.She was right up there with Aidan on my shit list.
“Yeah.” He chuckled slightly, the ghost of a smile turning his lips. The gesture didn’t meet his eyes.
Before I could comment on it, a woman came up to the bar. I slipped into an easy, fake smile as I gave her my attention. The light charm and flirtation I usually threw in there felt awkwardwith Harley’s gaze tracking my every move.Why did it matter?We weren’t anything anyway, and it wasn’t like this woman meant a damn thing either. She was an easy mark with her Wilde Bay tourist shirt and fanny pack—yeah, an honest-to-God fanny pack.
I chatted her up with ease, casually pulling out the necessary information from her.Where was she from, where was she staying—tossed in a few recommendations for good coffee or food by her—how long was she in town, and had she visited any one of the lighthouses?I laid on the charm, and she ate it up eagerly.
“You’re good at that,” Harley commented when I rejoined him.
“It’s whatever.” I shrugged. “People just want to be seen, and tourists just want to feel like they belong here when they visit.”
“You told herSparrow & Sagehas some of the best coffee in town, except Kathy burns her coffee every time,” he said. I chuckled. Kathy Milligan had been our high school librarian during our freshman year. She quit to open up her own little café,Sparrow & Sage.Her pastries were fucking divine, but her coffee was crap. At least, it had been.
“Kathy met Eduardo four years ago,” I told him. Leaning on the bar, I kept my voice down. No one else needed to be privy to my gossip. “Eduardo was on vacation with his fiancée, his mother,hermother, and his sister. Apparently, Eduardo fell head over heels for Kathy the minute he met her—some bullshit soul mate crap. Anyway, he broke up with his fiancée, and her mother went batshit. She stabbed him and set fire toSparrow & Sage.”
“Holy shit,” he let out. “Why does all good stuff happen when I leave?”
“It was fucking wild, but I haven’t told you the best part,” I replied. “Kathy met this woman toe-to-toe in the batshit department and stabbed her.”
“No…”
“Yeah.” I nodded, grinning. “Anyway, both of them went to jail, Eduardo healed up just fine, he and Kathy got married while she’s in jail, he rebuiltSparrow & Sagefor when she’s released, and thanks to conjugal visits, they have twins. Oh, and he makes the best coffee.”
“That was…” Harley’s voice trailed off, and I laughed. I could see the way his mind struggled to process everything I’d told him. I couldn’t blame him. That shit had been a wild year in Wilde Bay. “Are his mother-in-law and his wife in thesameprison? I feel like that’d be a bad idea.”
I opened my mouth to reply, only to quickly shut it.
“I don’t have an answer for that,” I said. “I guess I’ll have to ask Eduardo next time I go get a coffee.”
“Maybe I can come with you next time,” he whispered. I fumbled the glass in my hand and barely managed to catch it.He wanted to what?
“Will you be around long enough for that?” I asked before I could stop myself. The pained expression on his face was telling. It also made me cave real damn fast. “Yeah, I’ll take you. You’ll like Eduardo. Good guy but a little out there.”
I didn’t wait for his response as I busied myself with another customer to keep from spiraling in what the hell was I getting myself into.
CHAPTER 19
harley
Maverick was effortless—a breath of fresh air that I desperately needed. Admittedly, the ease with which we talked shocked me. Considering how we’d left things and how I hadn’t been able to contact him in the past five years, I was positive he wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
Maybe he didn’t.Maybe I’d blindsided him with my accidental appearance at his work. He had to be nice to people. The gnawing anxiety of whether his kindness was real or not clawedat my chest. Alcohol became the best way to keep the beast at bay, but I could only handle so much before I was drunk. Maverick must’ve seen it because my shot glass was traded for a tall water that I barely touched. Talking turned to stewing and brooding while he just remained close.
At the end of his shift, he clocked out and joined me on my side of the bar.
“All right, come on,” Maverick said when he helped me off the stool. I swayed as I stood in front of him. His hands landed on my shoulders, warm and comforting in a way they shouldn’t have been. “You good?”
My lips pressed together tightly, brows furrowing, as I considered his question.Was I good?Not by a long shot. The only decent person in my family was dead, I hated the idea of being more actively involved in the family company, and the ceiling was crooked.
“The ceiling’s not crooked, Harley. You’re just very drunk,” Maverick told me.Had I said all that out loud?He chuckled, and the sound spilled down my spine in a warm sensation that settled in my core. “Yeah, yeah, you did. Turns out, you can’t hold your liquor.”
“Did you know they call me Lee?” I asked.
