Page 15
“Harloe—”
“If he gives me any trouble, I’ll let you know,” I concede.
Will gives my shoulder a final squeeze before waving at Nora and leaving. Her cheeks are still a little red from staring at him earlier, so she avoids his gaze in favor of flipping through one of my old yearbooks.
With my brothers gone, the apartment feels empty and less like home. As annoying and overprotective as they are, I don’t mind them hanging around.
“I consider that a win.” I drop onto the edge of my bed, facing Nora, who is sitting on the couch. “Asher didn’t hit on you once today.”
Nora’s crush on Will has always been glaringly obvious since we were kids. But it never stopped Asher from flirting. He can’t resist a challenge.
Nora laughs. “Maybe he finally took the hint.”
“Doubtful. But at least his antics are good for entertainment purposes.”
She nods, setting the yearbook aside. The slap of the book on the table sends a stack of papers floating to the ground. One in particular lands on top.
“What is this?” Nora holds up a past-due notice, and I quickly snatch it out of her hand.
“Nothing.”
“The bank is threatening to foreclose on the bar? That’s not nothing, Harloe.”
“I’ve got it under control.” I walk to the window, watching Will and Asher waving goodbye to each other as they climb into their trucks.
I do have it under control—mostly. Or, at least, I did.
Before the wedding, Zander promised he’d worked out a deal with the bank to get an extension on our loan. That was either a lie, or he found a way to reverse it when I left him at the altar, because a week after our wedding-day fiasco, a past-due notice arrived in the mail.
I’ve avoided Zander since our run-in at Ransack, but it’s clear he’s making good on his promise to make my life difficult.
Nora follows me to the window, eyeing the notice in my hands. “Do your brothers know?”
“No, and they aren’t going to find out. I have an appointment with the bank after Dad’s doctor’s appointment tomorrow. This is our first default in a while, so there has to be something I can do. Even if I have to use my truck for collateral.” I roll my shoulders back, hoping I sound more confident than I feel.
Between Dad’s heart issues and the stack of bills piling up in the downstairs office, I’m being pulled in a million different directions. I didn’t realize how big of a mess the bar was when I moved home, but I’m quickly realizing the full scope of it.
The rumble of motorcycles sounds in the distance, and my gaze moves to the end of the street as four bikes round the corner. Shane is front and center, sending those traitorous butterflies in my belly fluttering.
It should be illegal to look like that riding through town.
Nora follows my gaze down the street. “The whole town is still hung up on Shane sticking up for you with Zander. I think he has his own fan club after that move. Remove your hand before I remove it for you. Who even says shit like that outside of books?”
“Shane, apparently.” Which is why it’s no wonder every girl in town now has her eyes on him.
They come to Ransack, keeping an eye on the door, hoping he’ll walk in.
He hasn’t.
Aiden and East are regulars at the bar, but Shane steers clear for whatever reason. Maybe he has a girlfriend back in Vegas? With his reserved confidence and guarded demeanor, he doesn’t strike me as the relationship type, but I don’t really know much about him.
“Have you talked to him since then?”
“Nope, and it’s for the best. I have enough to deal with without adding a biker with a hero complex to my list of problems.”
She chuckles, watching the group of bikers ride through town.
The people in Lanceleaf have a lot to say about what might have happened between me and Shane on my wedding night. If only they knew that the reality isn’t nearly as fun as the rumors. What they think was a torrid affair was a drunken chat filled with embarrassing confessions.
