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He stands next to me, and I feel him watching me. To ignore him, I pick up straw wrappers and wipe down the bar.
“Have you heard from him?”
I roll my eyes. “I assume you mean Brady, and no, I have not.” I wish I had.
“So you just moved on to his brother to fill the void?” he blurts out bitterly.
That stings. It also pisses me off and I clench my teeth. Who the hell does he think he is? “I don’t see how that’s any of your goddamn business. But for your information, Tug and I are just friends.” I turn to walk away, but he catches my arm.
“Good, because you deserve better than either of them can give you.” He lets go of my arm and looks at me angrily.
“By ‘better’ I suppose you mean you? Did you ever think for a minute, Harrison, that you don’t know either one of them enough to judge them?”
“All of them are spoiled rotten and think they walk on water. They all need to be knocked down a peg, if you ask me.”
Where is this coming from? I’m so furious with him, I can’t even look at him. “How dare you talk about them that way! They’re family to me, Harrison. Liv and I have been best friends our entire lives.”
He inches into my space. “You’re better than them, Tori, and if you hang around long enough, you’ll either end up hurt or dead.”
“That’s it! I already told you there is no way in hell Brady had anything to do with Vanessa’s death, other than being the unfortunat
e driver of a bike that found itself in the path of a bird. Get over it, Harrison!” I snap, untying my apron and throwing it on the counter. “Tell Ted he can find a new barista. I quit.”
“Wait, Tori,” he shouts from behind me. “Look, I’m sorry.”
“It’s too late for apologies, Harrison. You should get some help with your grief.” I’m cool as a cucumber, and I walk out through the door. Wow! That felt amazing.
Tug is in the kitchen when I get home. He’s sitting on the island, sucking on orange slices. His brown eyes brighten, and he hops off the island when I enter. “I guess you finally spilled a drink on someone important and Ted had to fire you.”
I laugh at his assumption and shrug. “I quit, actually.”
Tug’s head whips around in confusion.
I wait for him to ask why, but he doesn’t. He watches me with inquisitiveness as I try to stay calm. I fail miserably. “Harrison Myers is an asshole!”
He smiles. “Guess that means you won’t be dating him again?”
I growl out frustration. “I’d rather go upstairs and lick my razor than ever look at him again.”
“I didn’t want to be the one to tell you, but I’m glad you finally figured it out.” He laughs.
I wish I could tell Tug everything. “Seriously, he has issues with your family.”
He shrugs. “Remember when I went out with Ashlynn?”
I nod.
“They’d gone out a couple of times. He was pissed when we got together. I don’t think he’s ever gotten over it.” If Tug only knew Harrison’s problem was about losing so much more than his high school crush to one of the Hunter boys.
I reach around Tug to get an apple from the basket behind him. He turns his head, and our noses practically touch. He licks his lips, and I lick mine. Warm breath hits me when he asks, “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
I quickly grab the apple and step away, taking a bite. Thank God he asked me a question. We were about to cross a line, embarking on something neither of us is prepared for. Something serious. He wanted to kiss me, and I’m not sure I would have stopped him. An undeniable little buzz remains in the air between us. His knowing eyes meet mine, and I remember he asked me if we were still on for dinner. I reply, “Definitely. Let me clean up a bit, and then we can head out.”
“Yes’m, Miss Tori, I’ll be here.”
Brady
It’s a little after five when I toss my bag into the back of my truck. In just over an hour I’ll see her beautiful face, apologize, and tell her everything. God, I’ve missed her. After trying to talk myself out of it all day, I think about her expression when she promised to forgive me when I screwed things up. At this point, I hope I’m not too late, that she’s not too crushed by my leaving to forgive me.
