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“Club soda with lime, please.”
She watched him reach for a tumbler and a bottle of lime juice, acutely aware of the way he kept glancing at her face. Maybe she was fluttering because he made her nervous, fixing her with those intense blue eyes.
“Is it always this busy?” she asked as he added club soda to the glass from the nozzle sprayer.
“On a Friday, yes.” He set the drink on a black napkin and slid it toward her. “That’ll be four dollars.”
She felt her cheeks heat as his eyes dipped down to where she reached into her bra for the money, then quickly back up to her face.
“You look like you could use a little help,” she said, fishing out a five and handing it over.
“We could.” He moved down the bar to stuff her money into the register and bring back her change. “Why? Are you volunteering?”
She blinked. Was she? More money was always better than less, and she wouldn’t mind a bigger cushion while she figured out where to go next. Something in her face must have given her away because he immediately moved in to capitalize on her hesitation.
“I’ll pay you ten dollars an hour in cash, plus whatever tips you make if you can stay until the crowd thins or we close. Whichever comes first.”
The jingle of a bell signaled another group entering the bar, and she stuck her hand out. “Deal.”
He grinned, giving it a firm shake, and reached under the bar to hand her an apron and an order pad. “I’ll take your coat and put it in the back.”
She slipped her phone into her back pocket and tied the apron around her waist, wrapping the string twice to secure it. Taking a deep breath, she leapt into the fray.
It was easy to fall into a rhythm, dancing between tables and the bar. They had an actual food menu, but since she didn’t have a code for the ordering system, she handed everything over to the waitress and shouldered the load of running food instead.
“You’re a godsend,” the waitress said, catching her in the kitchen and grabbing a bowl of what looked like beef stew and a basket of warm bread off the line. “I’m Clara, by the way.”
“Delaney,” she replied. “And I’m happy to help.”
Delaney flashed a quick smile before shouldering her way back into the bar. The pulse of customers eased from standing room only to comfortably full, and after a bit longer, most of the tables sat empty.
When a young couple got up from their two top and made for the door, she bussed it, splitting the tip in half to share with Clara, who’d been responsible for putting in their food order, and pocketing her portion.
The right front pocket of her apron felt nice and thick from the bills she’d stuffed there, and the thought made her giddy. Maybe she’d splurge on the good motel after all.
“I really appreciate your help.”
She yelped, spinning around and clutching her chest like her wildly beating heart might burst through her skin. On instinct, her eyes darted around for the quickest escape, and she took a shaky step back for the comfort of distance.
He watched her for a beat and then took his own step back, shoving his hands into his pockets. She felt her cheeks heat when she realized several people had turned to look in their direction.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” she lied.
Never show fear. Never show weakness. The words repeated like a mantra in her head.
“Well, I do. Really appreciate your help, I mean. I had someone call in sick, and we were swamped, as you could tell. I think I can cut you loose if you’re ready to settle up.”
Only a few people remained pushed up to the bar, and he didn’t seem concerned with them as he pushed a button to open the register and started counting out bills.
“Six hours plus a refund on the drink you never finished. And a bonus for doing me such a huge favor.”
She blinked at the amount of money he handed her. Too afraid to count it with so many people watching, she quickly slipped it into her bra and untied her apron. She’d have preferred to do this somewhere private. No one was watching her, but she felt exposed having this much money out in the open.
“I split the cash tips since all I did was run the food.”
He cocked his head when he looked at her. “Why did you split them?”
