Page 10
“Thanks for the ride. You’re a life saver.”
He shrugs, pointing to the badge on his chest. “No sweat. Kind of in the job description.”
“What? Saving damsels in distress?”
He grins up at me, nodding his head. “Something like that.”
His smile is mesmerizing and I forget to breathe for a moment, as I get lost in it.
“Do you need a ride home after work?” he asks, drawing me back to reality and I shake my head.
“That’s really sweet of you but I’m sure I can find my way home.”
It is a really nice offer and I wouldn’t object to seeing him again but I can’t imagine that he’d be too excited about waking up at three in the morning to shuttle me home, especially if he has to work tomorrow.
“You sure?”
I nod, flashing him a reassuring smile. “Yeah.”
“All right, but you call me if you can’t find a ride, okay?” His tone leaves no room for arguments and I can’t even pretend I don’t like it.
“Okay.” I push off the car and back up a few steps, waving at him and he flashes me another captivating grin. Holy crap! How the hell am I supposed to function around him if he keeps smiling at me like that?
“Good-bye, Ryan.”
“See you later, Emma,” he calls as he pulls out of his parking spot and I watch his taillights disappear down the street before turning toward the bar with a huge smile on my face. This day make have taken a bad turn but some things are certainly looking up.
* * * *
“Y’all need help with anything?” Moe asks, coming out from the office after closing out the registers. Bree glances over at me and I scan my area before shrugging.
“No, I think we’re about done here.”
He nods and pulls one of the barstools out before sinking onto it with a heavy sigh while Bree and I wipe down the bar in front of him. Working with Bree is always easy, especially when we’re closing because she’s constantly moving. I swear the girl never stops and by the time Moe actually shuts everything down, we usually have most of our cleanup done.
“Man, I am ready for bed,” Moe exclaims and I remember that I don’t have a car here tonight.
“Can I get a ride?”
Moe nods. “Yep. I was already plannin’ on it, Darlin’.”
I flash him an appreciative smile as Bree carries the last of the dirty dishes into the back to slip into the dishwasher.
“You going to be at the market in the morning?” Moe asks and I nod.
“Yeah, but I’m only doing Saturday this week.”
The local farmers market runs every weekend at this beautiful little park right along the Mississippi River and I usually spend my weekends there, selling my art. Even though I love working at the bar, art is my true passion and I’ll never get enough of it. I would be lost without it. Baton Rouge has a revolving door of tourists moving through on a regular basis and my stuff has been growing in popularity. It’s not something that will ever make me rich and famous but I get by doing what I love. How many people really get to say that?
“How’s it going? You famous yet?”
Chuckling, I toss my rag in the dirty bin and shake my head. “No, not quite famous but I did pretty well last weekend. Sold four pieces and made five hundred bucks.”
He lets out a whistle. “Atta, girl.”
I’m the only artistic person in my family and even if they don’t completely understand it, they’ve always been supportive of me. When I decided to not go to college and just focus on painting, I was terrified to tell my parents but they were incredible – encouraging me to shoot for my dreams when most parents would try to force their kid to continue with school. I beam at Moe as pride courses through my body.
“What time do you have to get there in the morning?” Bree asks, coming out from the kitchen with her bag.
