My stomach dropped once more, and I squeezed the edge of the bar with both hands.What?
His son…working here?
No.
No, I didn’t want, didn’t need the fucking distraction.
Shit, shit, shit! Please tell me this isn’t happening.
“Okay,” I plastered a smile across my face. “It’ll be nice to have some extra help.”
Grizz nodded and moved along. I imagined he needed to inform everyone else.
But I couldn’t stop staring at the bar in front of me, my hands still gripping the sides.
It wouldn’t be an issue. I’d work and leave, like I always did. I could do that. Easy peasy.
Grizz’s cat, Trouble, sauntered over to me and sat down. He was the resident cat at the bar, Grizz’s best friend, and a friend to all our customers. Somehow, he always knew when you needed to be cheered up. I pet his head until the drinks arrived and I scooted off to serve them. But my mind was far far away, imagining how tomorrow would go with Gunner hanging around.
I couldn’t wait to find out.
My roommate Trishlanded on the couch beside me, placing a bowl of hot popcorn between us. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, the opening credits ofThe Bachelorettefilling the screen.
“I think she’s keeping a rose tonight. Or at least I hope she does. Teddy needs to go.” Trish said around a mouthful of buttery kernels.
I laughed before tossing a kernel at her head. “John needs to go. Ew.”
“John isfineeee,girl. You’re crazy.”
We laughed and clinked our wine glasses. We loved watching and discussing reality TV most nights, our way of decompressing from crappy exhausting days.
But tonight, my brain refused to decompress. It was like I was on high alert.
My body buzzed and hummed.
And every thought ended with an image of a certain delicious looking man.
What the hell was happening to me?
“Okay, so I need to tell you about something.” I took the remote and pressed pause before looking at my close friend. Living together had been the best decision we’d made.
“Okay…” Trish eyed me with skepticism. “Please don’t tell me you need to move out or something.”
I laughed. “You can’t get rid of me that easy.”
“Good. I don’t want to.”
“My boss has a son, apparently. And he came into the bar tonight.”
“Okay, and?”
“He’s hot as fuck.”
Trish raised her eyebrows. “Ohhh, this just got interesting.”
I chuckled. “It wouldn’t be a problem if he was only a customer or stopping by for a visit. He’s working there.”
“Yes! It’s about time you get some action.”
