Page 60 of Temporarily in Love

“You got it!”

I took his menu away and rushed to put their order in. It was picking up, and the rest of the night was a frenzy as I hopped from table to table, taking care of our customers. Many had questions about tomorrow’s event, but they seemed interested. Waiting tables could be a thankless job, but tonight I was thriving. Everyone in town kept asking me how I was doing, making me miss living in a small town like this. Sure, people were nosy, but maybe I had been wrong to stay away for so long.

There was a bit of a lull after the dinner rush, but after ten, it picked up again as people came out for drinks. Or they were bar hopping. There was a bar on the other side of town. It was kind of divey, but sometimes you’d find college kids doing a bar crawl. They’d go to Drakesville Tavern, The MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company, and then to us.

Working my tail off at the bar made me remember how much I loved this job as a teenager. I don’t think that was strictly legal, but no one in town cared since my dad owned the place. I should have wanted to go back to my life as a big-time lawyer for a fortune five hundred company, but I didn’t want to do any of that. That should scare me, but it didn’t.

“Hey, stranger,” a familiar deep voice said as they parked themselves on one of the barstools.

I turned and gave Declan a big smile, which slid right off my face when I realized what time it was. I put my hands in my hair in frustration. Unlike the brewery, we were open until two a.m., so Declan had already closed the brewery for the night since it was a little past midnight.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” I told him.

He smiled but held up his hand when my dad offered him a beer. “I’m good, thanks, though.”

Dad tilted his head towards the door. “Go on, you’ve done enough for today.”

“I need to cash out.”

Dad nodded. “Excuse us, Declan.”

Dad and I went into the back office, where I cashed out for the night.

“I think tomorrow’s gonna go well,” I told him. “Lots of people asked me about it.”

He nodded. “I hope so.”

“Dad, I want the bar to stay in the family. All my recommendations have been to do that.”

“I know, honey. I love that you wanted to help out. You’ve helped us more than you know, but it wasn’t just the finances that made me want to sell.”

“No?” I asked. That was all my mom had said, that the bottom line was suffering, and they needed to sell the building.

“I want to retire. I want to spend time with my grandkids, and I couldn’t leave Brian in charge with the finances being such a mess.”

I nodded. “We’ll figure it out so you can retire.”

I wasn’t ready to ask him if he’d sell me the bar. I needed to take baby steps. Talking to my mom and my sister had been those first steps, but I didn’t have the courage to tell my dad I wanted to be the silent partner. That I had the capital to get the bar back on its feet for good. He had gotten mad when I paid for the marketing consultants and Declan and Felix for their services.

He cashed me out, and I clocked out. I didn’t want to clock in, but Dad had been strict on making sure he knew I was on the books. “Go on, get out of here,” he said.

“Thanks. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“You’re working really hard. You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to. Bye, Dad, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I walked back onto the floor and saw Declan and Brian chatting. I sidled up to Declan, and he smiled when he saw me approach. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I really need a shower. I smell like Guinness.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Someone spilled their beer on me earlier. Let’s go. Bye Bri, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh my god, that feels amazing,” I moaned as Declan sat behind me and rubbed my bare shoulders.

We were cuddling in his bed after we had showered and had sex. After he undid the restraints, I complained about my aching body, and he immediately offered to give me a massage. This man, I swear.