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My hand is going to be permanently glued to my forehead with the amount of time I’ve spent bent over their inventory sheets at the bar. My ass will probably be glued to the stool in a few minutes, too. Ihaveto get this done for the weekend, Friday being one of our busiest nights, and if I don’t figure out what problem they keep causing, I’m going to be even more fucked after the fact.
The sound of the doors opening pries my attention away—which I’m grateful for—to find Nyla walking in, wearing a long, delicate floral dress that really suits her. I can see the glint of her massive engagement ring even from here.
“Hi Talia,” she greets me in her kind, soft spoken manner, face beaming. It’s impossible not to like Nyla. “Is Gia here?”
“She should be upstairs in the office,” I say, pointing my pen in the direction of the elevators.
“Is everything okay?” Nyla asks, approaching me and setting her Gucci purse on the countertop. “You have a red mark on your forehead,” she adds with a frown.
“Oh.” Suddenly self-conscious, I rub at it. “These employees don’t know how to track basic numbers, and it’s giving me a headache.”
“Well, take a break. I’ll probably need you for this anyway.”
“‘This’as in reference to why you’re here?” I quirk an eyebrow and sit up straight in my seat, stretching my arms over my head.
As if on cue, Gia exits the elevator and spots Nyla immediately. I swear they have a radar for each other. “Nyla, babe, tell me I know what this visit is about.” She has her mischievous grin on, which either means something frivolous is about to be bought, or drinking is about to begin.
Gia approaches Nyla wordlessly, the two only grinning silently at each other, until Nyla breaks the silence with two words, which she enunciates clearly: “Bachelorette party.”
Gia gasps and claps her hands together, her face utterly giddy. “And let me guess, you want it here?”
“Of course, I do!” Nyla laughs. Around Gia is the only time I really see Nyla this excited. I’ve seen her around Kieran, and while it’s clear they love each other, there’s more of a quiet passion between them. Whereas with Gia, Nyla practically takes ontheparty girl personality, but with a bit more rationality. They balance each other well.
“Thankgod! You’ve taken so long to ask, I was getting worried you didn’t want a party at all.” Gia takes Nyla by the hand and guides her over to a table. “Talia, could you make us a few gin and tonics and join us for planning thebestfreaking party toeverhappen?”
Gia’s excitement doesn’t die down even remotely as I go behind the bar and begin to make three drinks.
The doors open again, and Kay saunters in, his eyes immediately finding me at the bar, where he holds my gaze until my cheeks begin to burn and I have to look away. Even without looking back up, I can sense that he’s smiling at my clear bashfulness from his gaze.Bastard. I turn my focus to the limes.
The sound of a phone ringing echoes through the massive space, and Gia answers with a clipped, “Hello? Uh-huh.” She rises from her seat, and that’s how I know it’s an important call. Her pacing starts as Kay walks over to Nyla, who welcomes him with a cordial hug. Very brother and sister-in-law despite their brief history, which Gia told me all about on a wine-drunk evening in the office. Not that it would bother me. Nyla’s engaged. To Kieran. Rich, sexy, smart, surfer Kieran who rocks the hell out of a suit.
He still has nothing on his brother, though. It’s hard not to appreciate Kay’s ruggedness. Even now I catch my eyes lingering on his tattoos, stark against his skin, always matching his dark toned clothing.
I watch as Kay sits across from Nyla, chatting her up. He crosses an ankle over one knee, the picture of ease. It’s not until gin is spilled all over the countertop that I realize I was staring.
“Shit,” I mutter, searching for a towel.
“You’rekidding,” Gia says in that very Gia way, a hand on her popped hip. The call must not be going well.
Kay rises from his seat and heads over to me. “Everything alright? I heard a ‘shit’.” He smirks.
“I spilled some gin is all.” I mop it up quickly with a rag and resume the gin and tonics. I place them on a tray to carry over to the table when Kay places a hand on it, preventing me from lifting it into the air.
“Need some help with that?”
“No.” I yank out from underneath his hand. “Thanks, but I’ve got it.”
Kay’s giving me an odd look. Something about him is off right now, and I can’t put my finger on it.
Also, where’s the teasing? Why’s he beingnice?
Delivering a gin and tonic to Nyla, she shoots me a thanks with a beaming smile and takes a sip. Her eyes roll to the back of her head. “Yeah, Gia’s right, you makethebest gin and tonics. So what’s that about?” She tips her head toward Gia, who’s in full argue mode on the dance floor, shoulders hunched as she talks quickly and animatedly with her free hand.
“She was supposed to be getting a call from a big investor today. I’m sure that’s who it is.” I take a seat beside Nyla, taking a sip of my own gin and tonic.
Damn,I did make that good.
A large, tattooed hand swoops in and takes my glass from me. Kay raises it to his lips and drinks. And I watch the whole thing. I don’t know why, and somehow I believe he’d knew I’d watch. I almost forget Nyla’s here.
