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Grimm gingerly lifted the tray from the counter, careful not to let one of the mugs slide off.
“You want me to carry that?” she asked.
He frowned. “It’s heavy. I’ll do it.”
She smothered a grin. Having worked as a waitress to pay the bills while she’d attended culinary school, she’d carried trays heavier than the one Grimm was lifting with both hands.
The tray tilted slightly. A couple of the mugs slid in spilled beer.
Dezi cringed, waiting for the disaster that would surely happen.
Grimm righted the tray and set off at a turtle’s pace, aiming for the table full of fishing buddies.
She had to give him credit. He managed to get all the drinks there without losing one.
With no one at the bar, Dezi wiped the counter and cleaned the few mugs in the sink. Then she moved around the barroom, wiping tables and collecting empty bottles and glasses. As she neared the table full of fishermen, they all looked up.
“Hey, we want you as our waitress,” one man said.
Another added, “The big guy isn’t nearly as pretty.”
“Thank you.” She smiled good-naturedly. “Can I get you anything from the bar?”
“Another round,” the man at the head of the table said, smacking his nearly empty mug on the wooden table. “We don’t have to drive. So, why not?”
“That’s eleven beers?” she asked, counting the number of men at the table. “No, wait. There are only ten of you. What happened to number eleven? Did he get seasick out on the water?”
The men all frowned.
“We only have ten in our group. It was the max number we could fit in our rental van.”
Dezi frowned. “I’m sorry. I thought you checked in with eleven. My mistake.” She left the table and returned to the bar, where Grimm transferred empty mugs from his tray to the bar.
“I’ll have fresh mugs ready for you in a minute.” She slipped behind the counter and went to work filling ten mugs. “You might fill some bowls with pretzels and take them to the big table. It might help absorb the alcohol they’re drinking.”
“Where do they keep the pretzels and bowls?” he asked.
“Back here.” Dezi paused in filling mugs and pulled out a large bag of pretzels and a couple of clean bowls.
Grimm moved in beside her and poured pretzels into the bowls.
Dezi liked having him near her, working efficiently beside her. Like he’d said, he wanted her within sight at all times. She was perfectly okay with that. His presence made her feel safer. At that same time, he also made her feel a little off balance and out of breath, especially when they bumped into each other.
Everywhere their bodies touched sent fire coursing through her veins and pooling low in her belly.
At one point, Grimm reached around her as she simultaneously turned to grab a bottle of whiskey from the shelf behind her. Trapped between him and the counter, she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe and wished with all her might that he’d kiss her.
CHAPTER8
Molly and Parkerreturned from the lodge’s kitchen, bearing trays of sandwiches, chips and some of the fancy cupcakes Dezi had made the day before. “Anyone hungry?”
“More than you’ll ever know,” Grimm whispered, his face close enough to Dezi’s that he only had to bend a little to claim her lips.
She stared up at him, her eyes dark, brown-black pools. Her tongue flicked out to moisten her bottom lip.
Swallowing a moan, Grimm straightened and stepped away. “Sit. Eat while you can. I’ll check on the big table.”
He made certain the men from the fishing tournament had full glasses and bowls of pretzels before he made his way to the table Molly, Parker and Dezi had claimed and deposited the food trays.
