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“That’s so hard for me to imagine. Aiden was always the sweetest boy.”
“Well, that sweet boy was stung with asshole serum.”
Mama shook her head. “He’s probably not sure how to handle being around you. The same way you don’t know how to be around him.”
“But I wasn’t a jerk to him!”
“Yes, but you were the one who broke his heart all those years ago.”
“It’s not like I wanted to hurt him. Besides, that’s ancient history,” I repeated like the robot I was becoming when it came to talking about Aiden.
“Just because it happened a long time ago doesn’t mean the healing has come full circle, Hailee.”
I pouted. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours. Always yours.” She laughed and stole one of my french fries. “All I’m saying is, your break-up had to be hard on Aiden. I’m not saying how he’s acting is right, but I’m saying I can understand how he feels. Especially with how you went about the break-up…”
“Okay, can we not relive that?” I asked. I’d already spent long enough feeling guilty about the way I ended things with Aiden all those years ago. Could I have handled the break-up better? Yes. Did it crush me to my core to crush him? Of course, but I was young, stupid, and thought I was doing the best thing for us both. I’d already felt crappy enough for the past twenty-four hours. I didn’t need to feel even worse about my past mistakes.
“Sorry. What is it you want me to say?” Mama asked.
“Men are stupid, and your daughter is the best.”
“Men are stupid, and my daughter is the best,” she echoed.
Loyalty was Mama’s middle name.
Before we could continue, my cell phone rang. Mr. Lee’s name flashed on the screen, and I was quick to answer. “Hey, Mr. Lee. What’s up?”
“Hailee. Hey, how are you? I’d hate to do this to you, especially last minute, but the bar and grill is packed tonight, and Sarah went home sick. Do you think you can come in and cover for her?”
“The bar and grill is never packed on Sundays.”
“It is when an Oscar winner is staying at our inn. I told you Aiden would be great for business!”
At least one of us was thriving from Aiden’s arrival.
“I see. Yeah, sure. I’ll be over in about fifteen minutes.” I hung up the phone and told Mama what was going on.
She grimaced. “I have a feeling it’s going to be very hard for you to keep your distance from that boy with him staying at your inn.”
Who was she telling? I was in a constant state of sweatiness from the situation due to my shot nerves.
When I arrived at the bar and grill, I hopped behind the bar to get to work. I wasn’t the best at making cocktails, and whenever I had to cover for a person back there, my anxiety rose to new heights. I’d never seen the bar and grill that crowded. Leading the crowd was the man of the hour and the man who gave me the dirtiest of looks.
I stood behind the bar, feeling my chest tighten as Aiden’s eyes locked with mine. His smile evaporated, and the coldness came back as the lines on his face tightened, and the veins in his neck popped out. If love was based on smiles, and hate was based on frowns, I was the girl most hated by the boy most loved.
He blinked and moved his stare away from me, stepping back into the role he seemed to be putting on for the townspeople. A big smile hit his face, and he shouted, “Drinks on the house from me!”
No, Aiden. Don’t put me through this hell.
The crowd cheered, I all about cried, and then I got to work as the orders started rolling in. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want to have anything to do with me earlier. What he didn’t make clear was that he also wanted to make my life a living hell.
As people crowded the bar, I poured beer after beer, shot after shot, and my stomach repeatedly turned from the smell of the alcohol. After last night, I’d be okay going a long time without having a drink.
At the end of the bar, Aiden sat with Tommy Stevens, the journalist for our town’s paper. I’d overheard Tommy going on and on about a manuscript he’d written and how he wanted Aiden to read it. Aiden engaged as if he was interested, and Tommy kept going on and on about how Aiden would be the perfect hero for his movie idea.
The more Tommy drank, the more touchy-feely he was growing with Aiden. He kept patting Aiden on the shoulder, lightly shoving him in the chest to express his point as he grew louder and louder.
