Chapter Eight
Zadie
Working at The Summit wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to me. Today it sure felt like it, though.
Like the rest of Copper Ridge Resort, the bar was more upscale than I’d expected for a small town. It was all polished wood and ambient lighting, craft cocktails and tourists who tipped well when they remembered.
It was a massive upgrade from the dive bars I’d worked in Calgary and Montreal. But it still meant eight hours on my feet, dodging grabby hands and smiling until my face ached.
Just over three weeks in and I was still learning the regulars, still memorizing the cocktail list, still figuring out which coworkers I could trust and which ones I needed to keep at arm’s length.
Jeremy fell squarely into the second category.
“Hey, Zadie.” He appeared at my side with his usual creepy, self-satisfied grin. “You’re looking a little rough tonight. Everything okay?”
Coming from anyone else, I might have appreciated the concern. Coming from a guy who’d been finding excuses to touch my lower back since my first shift, it made my skin crawl.
“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“You’re always tired.” He leaned against the counter, close enough that I could smell his cologne. Not that it was difficult. “You know, if you need a break, I can cover for you. Manager’s prerogative.”
He was only a shift manager, but God, he loved the title. Dropped it into every conversation like it came with a plaque in a corner office. Zane, who held the same position, never once felt the need to remind anyone. Hell, his family owned the entire resort, but you’d never know it.
“I’m good, Jeremy. Thanks.”
“You sure? Because Larissa said?—”
“Larissa said too much.” I shot a glare down the bar to where my coworker was serving a couple their drinks with her signature too-bright smile. She caught my look and responded with an exaggerated shrug of innocence.
We’d known each other less than three weeks, but Larissa and I had fallen into the kind of fast friendship where she already felt comfortable meddling in my life. I hadn’t decided yet if that was endearing or dangerous.
Probably both.
“I’m just having a rough day. Nothing I can’t handle.” It wasn’t exactly true, but it wasn’t a complete lie either.
I was pregnant, exhausted, emotionally wrecked, and spending most of my energy pretending to be none of those things. My best friend was hiding something from me. My ex was a conversation I kept putting off. And every time I closed my eyes, I saw a blue-eyed, too handsome man I had no business thinking about.
But Jeremy didn’t need that version of the truth. Jeremy needed to go check the ice machine or count bottles or do literally anything that wasn’t hovering over me.
“Honestly, I don’t know how you do it,” Larissa said, sliding over once Jeremy had finally drifted toward the other end of the bar. “School and this place? When do you sleep?”
“I slept in class this afternoon.” The shame was still fresh. There was nothing more embarrassing than getting called out by a professor because your snoring was interrupting the lecture. “Drool puddle and everything.”
“Oh, no.” Her hand flew to her mouth, but I could see the humor behind it.
“Go ahead. Laugh. I deserve it.”
“I’m not laughing.” She absolutely was. “But seriously, are you okay? You’ve seemed off the last few days.”
Off. That was a generous way to describe the free fall I’d been in since a pink plus sign had rearranged my entire future.
“I think I’m coming down with something,” I lied. “Maybe a stomach bug.”
“Ugh, there’s always something going around.” Her nose crinkled. “My sister had that flu thing last month. Got so dehydrated she ended up in the hospital.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing that serious. I’m just running on empty.”
“Well, it hasn’t stopped Jeremy from staring at your ass.” She gave me a sly look, shifting her eyes toward the other end of the bar.
