“Don’t see a ring on your finger,” she said.
“I’m in witness protection,” I dodged. “’Scuse me.”
It was only as the dinner crowd died down and the bar crowd thinned that I got to catch my breath. Mae joined me behind the bar, doing the same.
“Busy night,” Jules said.
“Did you know wings weren’t actually invented in Buffalo?” Parker took a swig of beer.
“Yes, they were,” Delaney countered.
“Anchor Bar, 1964,” Mae agreed with Delaney.
“Mason told me they came from a southern barbeque restaurant in Memphis.”
“Mace was yanking your chain.” I started cleaning glasses now that the bar was so thin. Mae picked up a rag and began wiping it down. “The girls are right on this one.”
The last word caught in my throat as Mae slid behind me, our bodies touching ever so briefly. She was killing me. Absolute and complete torture.
“So what’s the word?” Parker asked. “Any more thoughts on the bar?”
They all knew the state of affairs. After talking it through with Mae, though, I still wasn’t sure what to do. Her parents were in Florida, and we hadn’t had any problems, payroll or otherwise. Working alongside Mae felt natural, as if it were meant to be. But this was only temporary for her. And as for me? I rubbed the back of my neck, trying not to look as tangled up as I felt.
“I don’t know. O’Malley’s is good. Things are good. But is that only because it’s temporary? Or am I just afraid of what it means otherwise?”
Parker raised a brow. “What would it mean?”
That maybe I finally found something I actually want. And I’m not sure I knew how to want something without screwing it up.
No way in hell I was going to say that out loud, though.
“Maybe it’s easier to be restless than responsible,” I said instead. “Don’t quote me on that.”
“What about you, Mae?” Jules asked. “You look pretty comfortable behind that bar.”
“I’ll admit, I don’t hate it. But I’m starting to miss the kitchen. I’m looking around for pastry chef positions, but they’re few and far between. At least locally.”
Mae had said as much yesterday. The thought of losing her from Cedar Falls just after I got her back didn’t sit well. But at least she’d shown some interest in staying, which was surprising.
“I hate how sad you sound. It’s not you,” Jules said to Mae.
“You know what we need?” Delaney asked. “A proper girls’ night.”
“Totally,” Jules agreed. “As the saying goes, the only way to get over a guy is to get under another one.”
Everyone laughed, including me, even though it was almost physically painful. Having a front-row seat to Mae getting back in the saddle told me all I needed to know about my feelings for her, as if they were ambiguous.
“You have the bar?” I asked, anxious to move away from their discussion.
“Yep,” she responded, oblivious to my discomfort.
Thankfully.
I closed down the tables, sent the kitchen home, waved goodbye to Parker and Delaney and only headed back behind the bar as Jules was leaving.
“Maybe you should ask the boss first, for the night off?” she said in parting to Mae, waving goodbye.
And then we were down to two.
