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Chapter Ten
It took almost three hours before the bar closed. And once the kitchen staff were gone, the remaining staff helped Ollie clean up before leaving. She forgot how long it took to wrap up the bar and by the time everyone was gone, she was exhausted. And hungry. But also very aware that she was alone with Jackson.
And he’d waited, nursing beers and watching her the whole time. Had it been anyone else, Ollie would have felt uncomfortable having eyes on her. If anything, she liked the way he saw her. He smiled whenever their eyes met and it made her focus on getting through the few hours left of her shift. While Jackson’s smiles told her he wasn’t like the other guys, her brain wasn’t allowing her to see things that way. She was worried she’d let him in too far already.
She’d been unloading the register when Killian stepped onto the bar floor. Ollie lifted her head to watch him glare at Jackson before he turned to her. He looked pissed and Ollie didn’t know if it was because she’d been flirting with a customer or because said customer was still sitting there. Killian gave her alookand walked out the door.
In the time it took for Killian to leave and Ollie to lock up, Jackson had already started piling one of the bin trays with dirty glasses. Smiling, she came around the bar and put the keys by the register.
“I wasn’t expecting you to help.”
“Do we need to wash these before you lock up?” Jackson asked, ignoring her comment as he picked up the tray.
“Toss them in the dishwasher in the back and they’ll run it in the morning.”
“What else do we need to do before locking up?”
“Well, I promised you free food, so we need to eat.” She smiled and got a beautiful grin in return. It distracted her for a few minutes. “Uh, glasses, empty bottles, everything goes in the back.”
“Okay, I’ll start on the glasses. Do you wanna do the rest?”
“Sure,” Ollie nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For staying. For helping.”
“You asked me to.”
“I didn’t think you’d actually wait.” Ollie laughed.
“I’ve been coming in every day for the last week in hopes of seeing you again,” Jackson told her. “Waiting five more hours didn’t seem like such an ordeal.”
Ollie’s heart pounded hard. There was something earnest about Jackson that told her he wasn’t looking to hurt or take advantage of her. If anything, he was being honest and his interest in her hadn’t waned. After their coffee/hot chocolate morning and her conversation with Frankie, Ollie felt likemaybethis could be fun. She wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal or anything, she liked the way Jackson made her feel—the word that popped into her head wassafe.
She hadn’t felt safe with a man in a long time, so it was a big deal.
“I’ll get started on these,” Jackson told her, and Ollie realized she’d been staring. Nodding, she looked away to hide her blush.
She foundthem both full body aprons, and after showing Jackson where to load up the glasses and dishes, Ollie dragged empty bottles into the back and separated everything into their respective bins. They went back and wiped down the bar, swept and mopped the floor, and locked up. After they’d shed their aprons in the kitchen, Ollie pulled out the leftovers and spread them out on the table. Tugging out an extra Tupperware dish with a grin.
“Lucky you, Harry even left us some of his famous tiramisu.”
Jackson’s eyes widened, “That’s not on the menu, is it?”
“Nope,” she grinned. “He makes it for the staff when it’s a slow shift.”
“All of this smells really good, I can’t believe I’ve never eaten any of this food before.”
Arching an eyebrow, Ollie looked at Jackson over the food. “You’ve been coming here every day for the past week and you haven’t eaten the food?”
“Before I met you, my friends and I came here to drink after work,” Jackson said with a shrug. “And after...well, my focus wasn’t on the food or drinks.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” Jackson picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth and Ollie watched in fascination as he chewed. “Oleander?”
“Shit, sorry, what were we talking about?”
