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“Hey, darlin’.” Fiona slides onto a neighboring stool, her voice gentle, more like the tone she uses when one of the girls needs a shoulder to cry on.
Slowly, I relax the cramped hand clutched around the glass. My fingers probably aren’t strong enough to break it anyway.
Fiona nudges my shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it now?”
“Hell no.” I push the glass away. “Bruce, you can get rid of this.”
He pauses in his task of wiping down the counter and nods. The glass is swept away in silence.
Fiona sighs. “I guess you noticed that Sophie left right before you returned from your meeting.”
“Did she?” I haven’t given Sophie a second thought.
Fiona knits her eyebrows together. “Conner ran out of here in a hurry.”
“I know. I told him to go.” When I jump off the stool I could swear I’ve aged ten years since I woke up in Conner’s arms this morning. If wishes were real then I would wish to return to that moment and force time to stand still.
“Haven, you need me for anything else?” Bruce folds the bar towel and exchanges a glance with Fiona. No doubt the entire staff is aware of the drama with Conner. After all, I didn’t bother to keep my voice down.
“No, you go home to your wife and kid. Enjoy the next two days off. I’ll see you Tuesday.”
He nods and doesn’t linger.
Fiona pokes her tongue in her cheek, clearly debating whether it would be smart to just keep her mouth shut right now.
Squeaky hinges pierce the silence. I’m on intimate terms with every sound in this building. That was the door to the men’s restroom swinging open and shut.
Alex wanders into the room. I wasn’t keeping track of him so it’s a surprise to see he’s still here. He could have left half an hour ago.
“My favorite boss lady.” He beams and swaggers over.
Fiona clears her throat pointedly and abandons her barstool. “I’m out of here.”
“Good night,” I say even though there’s nothing at all ‘good’ about tonight.
She cocks her head and pauses with her hand on her hip. “Call me if you want to talk.”
My nod is polite but we both know I won’t be calling to discuss why I melted down on Conner. The less she knows about my cousins the better.
“Bye, Fiona,” Alex says and claims her barstool.
He drums his hands on the polished wood counter and waits until Fiona is gone before slithering closer. “Hi there, gorgeous.”
My head hurts. After the disastrous meeting with my cousins I thought it would be a good idea to beef up security around the club, just in case. It’s a fact that good help is tough to come by and Alex can be trusted to oust troublemakers and not do anything fucked up. There was nothing special about what we had and I haven’t even talked to him in a year but judging by the hope written on his face, it seems he’s got some incorrect ideas about why I called him back.
I edge away from his muscled arm. “Think I’ll lock up on a minute.”
This only makes him smile wider. “Great. I’ll walk you home. I even remember the way.”
“It’s across the street. Not tough to find. But I’d rather be on my own.”
“Don’t say that.” He slides a hand up my arm and starts massaging my shoulder, which is still sore after Jared nearly broke it. “I’ll make you forget all your troubles. I’ll make you feel real good.”
Sounds like some fucking corny song lyrics. His touch makes me want to scream. I throw his hand off, rougher than I meant to.
“Alex, you should go now.”
The light in his eyes dims. He swallows. I wonder if he’s about to cry.
