Jenny hung up and fought back a rush of emotions. Anger was the loudest, but it was closely followed by embarrassment and shame. Why had she ever thought humouring Beth and her kids would ever have been the right thing to do? She should have stood up to them and just said no.
Jenny made her way towards the exit, but inside she made a detour and went to the bar instead. She climbed up onto a bar stool and frowned at how ridiculously uncomfortable it was. She didn’t feel like going home yet and she was still too angry to see any of the others right now. ‘Never again,’ she said, firmly.
‘I was wondering when you’d finally work out those guys you’ve been seeing were all wrong for you.’
Jenny’s head jerked up. She stared at Nick. ‘Excuse me?’
He sent her a lopsided grin as he continued to stack glasses behind the bar. ‘You’ve been on how many dates now?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Nope, you’re right, although I kind of feel as though I’ve been part of it.’
‘They haven’t all beenthatbad,’ she said, moving uncomfortably in her seat.
He sent her an arched eyebrow.
‘Well, okay, they were disasters,’ she admitted. ‘But the others were nice men,’ she said. Why was she even explaining herself to this man?
‘Maybe so, but they weren’t right for you. You’re too young to be settling for some of those old blokes.’
‘Too young? How old do you think I am?’ she asked.
‘Mid-thirties?’ he said, tilting his head slightly.
Jenny let out a surprised chuckle. ‘Seriously?’
‘Absolutely. Why?’
‘Either you’re blind or just a terrible liar.’
‘I’m neither.’
‘Well, I’m not in my thirties, either.’
‘Huh,’ he said, leaning back slightly as he studied her. ‘Was I close?’
‘Not even,’ she told him blandly. ‘Try fifty.’
‘Really?’
Jenny rolled her eyes. She wassonot going to fall for fake flattery. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. I’m deleting my profile so there won’t be any more dates.’
‘Well, that’s a shame,’ he said, placing both hands on the bar as he gave her his full attention.
‘I’m sorry I’ll be taking away your entertainment.’
‘I didn’t consider any of thatentertainment, trust me,’ he said with a wry twist of his lips. ‘Maybe a trainwreck,’ he added.
‘And yet you were happily standing by, watching. Why? Are you that hard up for excitement around here that you need to resort to spying on your customers?’
‘I wasn’t spying. It’s part of my job to keep an eye on things.’
‘The other part is pouring drinks, so, if you don’t mind, would you do that for me, please? A real one,’ she tacked on quickly. This constant back and forth between attraction and annoyance with this man was really confusing.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ He touched an invisible cap on his head and took a glass out with a smirk.
Jenny found herself following his movements. Her gaze lingered on the rather nice fit of his jeans and the stretch of his shirt … the fabric looked soft and comfy. He’d had a haircut recently, she decided. His dark hair had been on the shaggy side and had kept falling into his eyes, then she was surprised she’d noticed.
