He offered nothing, so with an awkward wave, I turned and left. I rushed forward, needing the air of the outdoors more than anything. With the sting of rejection following behind, I focused solely on the front door, when suddenly,bam!
I collided with someone, both of us jumping back with a laugh.
“Shit! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!” A light-hearted, sunny female voice hit my ears like a gorgeous ballad. Hands, small yet strong hands, gripped my arm. “Almost wiped out there!” She burst into a fit of giggles. “I have a bad habit of looking down. Need to make sure my feet are still there, ya know?” The woman grinned, and that’s the precise moment our eyes connected and my heart skipped a beat.
Whoever she was, she was drop dead gorgeous. The prettiest woman I’d ever seen, with long, wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes shining through the dim atmosphere of the bar.
Her touch set my skin on fire, and I swallowed hard as my eyes traveled the length of her body. It did nothing for my dry,parched throat. I chuckled to break the silence I’d created and stood there looking like an idiot. She obviously worked here from her apron to her shirt readingThe Broken Antler, and the information left me reeling. My mind threw itself into overdrive.
She works here?
Uh oh…
“No problem. See you around.” I winked at her and she blinked a few times, a redness creeping across her cheeks. She titled her head to the side before backing up and turning away from, nearly colliding with my dad.
“Sorry, Grizz!” She held her hands up with a playful smile. “Just grabbing some more grenadine. It’s busy tonight.” She smiled and scampered off, leaving my father staring at me.
Why did I suddenly feel like a child about to be scolded?
“All of my servers are off limits, you hear?”
“Got it.”
Grizz stepped closer, the look on his face harsh. “I mean it, Gunner. Especially Raemina. She’s my best one.”
If looks could take someone down, I’d be kissing the ground.
I said nothing and left, my energy drained.
This would not be as easy as I thought.
CHAPTER TWO
Raemina
I grabbedtwo bottles of grenadine syrup and tucked them under my arms before walking out of the supply room. I moved slowly, but my boss was no longer there.
Phew. Coast is clear.
I hurried back to the front, handed the grenadine to the bartender, and got back to delivering drink orders and taking new ones. It was the usual busy Saturday night at The Broken Antler, nothing I wasn’t used to in the few years since I started waitressing here.
Yet the scene from five minutes ago replayed in my head again. Grizz had a son?
A very handsome son. Like cover of a magazine handsome.
I never knew he had children. Then again, I didn’t really know much of my boss of three years, as he kept his personal life private. I always assumed he had a wife and a family.
After Grizz thought I walked away, I stood out of view and listened to him tell his son the waitresses are off limits. But especially me. What the hell did he mean by that?
Did he think his son was some heart throb who would swoop in and pull us all under a love spell?
I felt like marching in Grizz’s office and setting the record straight. I didn’t have time for a relationship. Not with working my butt off here and studying to be a nurse.
“Hey, Raemina?” Grizz’s voice appeared behind me where I waited at the bar for the latest drink order and I jumped, along with my stomach which landed in my feet. Grizz never randomly came up to me unless there was an issue.
“What’s up?”
“I see you met my son, Gunner. He’s going to be helping out around here. I wanted to give you the heads up.”
