Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
HOPE
The Corner Bar is as cozy and charming inside as its red-brick exterior. Despite being early autumn and past the summer tourist season, the pub is shoulder to shoulder with patrons, and has been since shortly after I arrived.
After not being able to catch a server’s attention through Mari, the hauntingly beautiful vampire former opera singer’s, first set, I lined up at the bar.
Nobody seemed to notice or care about the wide variety of species with whom they were sharing closed quarters.
Another example of how different Harmony Glen is from my hometown.
When I finally reached the polished wood with its classic bronze rail, a forty-something blonde woman with a fading summer tan, warm hazel eyes, and natural beauty welcomed me with a kind but unmistakably tired smile.
Whether it’s food or drinks, the job is essentially the same, and I know the look of someone who’s doing more than one person’s work.
That’s why instead of ordering a drink, I offered to stand in for whoever no-showed or called in sick. And to my happy surprise, the woman—Cate, the bar owner—accepted.
Which is why I’m weaving through the crowd with a tray of drinks perched on one ever-steady hand when I spot him. Him, him. Waving my free hand, I catch his eye and give him what I hope is the universal signal to wait right there. Then serve out the orders at lightning speed.
“You’re here,” I squeal when I reach him. “Oh shit, did I miss your message, and you’re here because I didn’t answer?” I fish my phone out of my pocket, but he catches my hand before I can swipe the screen to check notifications.
“I’m here to join you, if the invitation from yesterday still stands.”
The invitation. My duh moment when I asked him to go to bar with me immediately after he told me he doesn’t do well in group settings.
An invitation he declined, albeit it indirectly.
And now he’s here. Someone who prefers solitude, in what must be the most crowded place in town this Saturday night. To be with me.
“If that is no longer what you want…” he says when I continue to silently gape.
“I do, it is, it definitely is, I’m just shocked speechless, is all.
Which is shocking in itself, I know. But it’s good silent.
Happy silent. Really happy.” Then I remember there’s a serving tray hanging from my other hand.
“Shoot, but I’m also working, and I don’t want to let Cate down.
She’s the owner, but you probably knew that since you’ve both been in the area for years, and I know you have a lot of business connections through the farm.
She was so relieved when I offered to cover because she was short-staffed tonight. ”
Ogram’s thick eyebrows pinch together at the bridge of his nose. “You know Cate?”
“I do now. I met her tonight.”
“You came to listen to a singing performance, and now you work here.” It’s a statement, but he says it slowly, as if he’s trying to make sense of it.
“Well, I’m working here tonight, but,” I let my gaze drift around the busy pub, “I’d say yes if Cate asked me to help out again.”
“While you’re on vacation?”
The question snaps my attention back to Ogram. It’s a simple question. Yes or no. My answer definitely isn’t no, but yes isn’t right, either. So I hum “mm-hmm” and nod.
And get a single nod in return. “I understand.”
But he doesn’t. Not really. How could he, when I’m not sure what I mean? What my future looks like when my vacation time runs out.
“Oh, hey, are you on a break, or can I give you my order?” a woman about my age asks after tapping my shoulder.
I give her a, “One sec,” then place my hand on Ogram’s chest. Warmth and comfort and electricity race through me all at once, and when his heart beats beneath my palm, I swear mine falls in sync.
“It means so much that you came to a place packed with people to spend time with me. I don’t expect you to stay since I have to buzz around here like a busy bee, and it’ll probably be late when I’m done, so—”
“I will wait for you.”
I know he means tonight, but it feels like more. I want it to mean more.
HOPE
“Thank you so much,” Cate says as I hand off the server’s apron while she cashes me out.
“I swear I’m not usually a disorganized mess.
One of my longtime staff called in because her daughter came down with strep, then one of my recent hires popped her head in the door at the beginning of her shift to tell me she’d taken a shift-manager job at the hotel, effective immediately.
So, I was down two servers, and yet, once you hopped on, everything was right on track, as if I were fully staffed. You’re amazing.”
I get a “Thank you” out past the lump in my throat. In all my years waiting tables, busting my ass, taking last-minute shifts to fill in for coworkers, my boss never appreciated me like Cate just did.
“Too bad for me that you’re just in Harmony Glen on vacation or I’d offer you a permanent job.” Smiling, she removes an envelope from the drawer, closes the register, and hands me the envelope and a wad of cash. “Pay is in the envelope. Cash is your tips, my dear.”
My eyes go wide as I fan the edges of the cash she gave me. Even without counting, I’m sure it’s a lot more than I make on a good shift back home. “Thank you. How much is the tip out for the bartenders?”
“Zero for you. You did me a huge favor tonight, so I’m covering your tip out. Buuut… if you want something to do another evening, or you decide you’re so happy here, you’re never leaving, pop by and we’ll talk.”
“I’ll do that,” I say, and I think I mean it.
“Awesome.” Cate’s happy-businesswoman smile shifts to one more personal as she tilts her head toward the table in the farthest corner of the pub, and its single occupant for the past several hours. “He’s never been in here before. Not once in all the years.”
“That’s Ogram. He’s waiting for me.”
“Oh, I know who he is. And how he his. Which is why I’m letting you know that his being here tonight, for you, is a big deal.”
I can’t resist looking over at him, and when I do, his gaze is already on me, sending all the best kinds of warmth dancing through me.
“Your personal business is none of mine,” Cate says, “but I like you, and being a bit more seasoned than you, I can’t help feeling a bit mother hen. So, this is just me looking out for you, but based on your verbal resume and knowing where you’re from, I’m assuming you haven’t dated many monsters.”
“None,” I confirm, tearing my attention from the big green one I can’t stop thinking about. “Why?”
Gaze narrowed, her lips wiggle from side to side, then she nods, as if deciding an internal conversation with herself. “Well, the thing about trolls is that they’re intense. And dedicated. Intensely dedicated, if you get my drift.”
I shake my head, and she takes a deep breath and nods again, as if she’s gearing up for whatever’s next.
“Okay. I’m not saying they never do casual stuff,” she says, nodding at the bar top where she’s subtly making the universal hand movement for sex.
“But that wouldn’t bring your very solitary hunk of green lovin’ over there out to a crowded bar to sit among dozens of people for hours.
He’d just wait for you in private. His presence here, so far out of his comfort zone, is a good indicator that he sees you as his mate. As in, for life.”
“I’m sure Ogram doesn’t think that about me. He knows I’m only here short term. He wouldn’t choose me as his mate.”
“It’s not a choice for trolls. It’s an instinctive thing. Like love at first sight, but with the intensity dial cranked to maximum. And the way he’s been looking at you all night… you’re the one cranking his dial.”
Hearing that, I look over my shoulder. He’s still waiting. Still watching. And I still want nothing more than to finish this conversation and go to him.
“He’s been part of this town since before integration, and despite keeping to himself, he’s well-liked and respected by everyone.
So, if you want the same things he does, you couldn’t ask for someone better to go through life with.
” She’s wiping the bar when I face her again.
Wiping for the sake of waiting for me to look at her—I’d bet my tips on it.
“Just thought you should have that information if you didn’t already know. ”
So, it’s Ogram she’s looking out for, not me. Or maybe both of us. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, my dear,” she says, winking. “Hope I see you again soon.”
Nodding, I turn and cross the room. It’s hours away from closing time, but the bulk of the crowd cleared out after Mari finished singing. There are empty tables now and only a handful of people dancing to jukebox music, giving me a straight line to Ogram.
“Hi,” I say, dropping into the chair to his right. “I still can’t believe you’re here.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Mission accomplished.” I scooch my chair closer to him and weave my fingers through his. “An amazing surprise. I’m sorry I couldn’t make the most of it by dancing with you. I would’ve loved to see your moves. What’s your favorite song? I can put it on the jukebox now.”
The expression of horror on his face is priceless, making it impossible not to dissolve into laughter.
“I don’t dance,” he says, once my giggles have subsided.
“Hmm, we’ll see. Yesterday, you didn’t come to crowded bars, either.”
He doesn’t dispute the point. Maybe because it’s unarguable. Or maybe because he’s too tired, based on the yawn he fails to contain or mask.
“You didn’t have to wait around for me, and I’m happy you did, but it’s late and you worked in the fields all day, so let’s get you home to bed.”
“Will you be joining me?”
The heat in his gaze brings memories from earlier rushing to the front of my mind. His hungry kisses. His finger sliding along the slick line of my pussy. How I would have done anything he wanted. How I wanted him to do everything.
Sitting stone still, I’m suddenly hotter than while hustling around the bar. And from the flare of his nostrils, he knows exactly where my mind is.
“Tired farmers need sleep,” I say unconvincingly, even for my ears. “Will you sleep if I go home with you?”
“If you tell me not to touch you.”
“Well, fat chance of that happening.”
Chuckling, he lifts my hand to his lips for a soft kiss, then stands, using our joined hands to guide me up too. “Then I’ll see you home and say goodnight.”
“I drove here; my car is parked down the street.”
“Harmony Glen is very safe, but if you’d allow me to follow in my truck, before carrying on to the farm, I would still feel better knowing you’re safely inside your cabin.”
“I’d like it very much if you’d see me home.”
Nodding, he places one hand on my lower back, staying close by my side as we move toward the exit.
Intensely dedicated.
He sees you as his mate. As in, for life.
If you want the same things he does, you couldn’t ask for someone better to go through life with.
If Cate is right, Ogram knows I’m the one he wants to go through life with, even though we’re at the beginning of getting to know each other. Even though I’m different from him in every way. He just knows.
That’s the troll way, but I’m human. We don’t have an instinctive response to identify our ideal person. I’ve never been in love—I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like. But I know what I’d want it to feel like.
Like this.