Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Korrie
One week later
A fter another week working at Lyrics, I’d gone from part-time to damn near working every night. And that was perfect for me, exactly what I wanted and needed.
With asking Bishop for a couple more shifts, Pyper and Regan needing me to cover a few of their nights in the next few weeks, and the incredible tips I made, things were looking up where finances were concerned. I’d have a little bit saved for my father’s meds, and as long as my hours kept up like this and my tips were this steady, I was even looking into possibly hiring someone to be with him a night or two during the week while I worked so he wasn’t alone.
I closed out the last customer, and Regan led them out—all the while the trio singing slurred versions of ’80s hits—before she locked up. I sat at the bar and started going through my paperwork while Regan and Pyper cleaned up their areas. There was light jazz playing overhead, and I let a smile filter across my face as I remembered the singer who’d come in tonight.
I learned that Adele had known Bishop for a while and performed at Lyrics many times. She’d been here with Oliver, who was either her boyfriend or husband, and I only knew that because the man couldn’t take his eyes off her—or his hands, for that matter.
I started going over receipts, making sure everything added up, not realizing I was humming a song Adele had sung before closing until I felt gazes on me and heard myself.
I lifted my head and noticed that everyone was staring at me. Pyper, Regan, and Bishop all had their eyes locked right on mine. Pyper had a stunned expression on her face, Regan wore a wholly satisfied smile, and Bishop’s expression… I couldn’t quite gauge.
This heat surrounded me all of a sudden, wondering how loud I’d actually been humming, or maybe I hadn’t been humming at all? Maybe I’d been full-out singing and hadn’t even realized.
Oh God.
It’s not like it didn’t happen on occasion when I was focused on something. My father always called me out on singing out loud without knowing it in the most loving way, telling me to continue because it was the nicest background noise he’d ever heard. But singing in front of my dad was one thing. Doing it in front of my coworkers and boss… a whole other ballpark.
“Sorry,” I muttered and turned away quickly, letting the heavy curtain of my curls obscure part of my face.
“Bishop,” Pyper interjected. “You need to let Korrie sing at the club some nights.”
“Yeah,” Regan was the one to say now. “Her voice is just as good as Adele’s. She has that sultry note, a husky tone. Korrie would be perfect for the club.”
I looked up then, feeling my eyes widen that my voice had been compared to Adele’s. She sang so beautifully, had real soul in the way she weaved words together. It was as if she felt every single word.
I started shaking my head. “N-no. I was just humming along.”
Regan started to chuckle. “You weren’t just humming, Korrie. You were all-out singing, and it was incredible.”
I felt my pulse jackknife in my chest. Bishop still had yet to say anything, but I felt his stare on me.
“Okay, well enough with putting Korrie on the spot. I’m going to head out before the temperature drops even more.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Regan murmured as she started shoving old receipts into a folder. “They said it’s gonna be even colder tonight. I can’t wait until this cold front passes and spring can push its way through.”
A few minutes passed, and the two women said their goodbyes to Bishop and me before heading off to the back room to grab their stuff. I heard their voices trail off before silencing as they left out the rear door.
Then it was just Bishop and me, and I looked up at him, seeing his focus still on me.
“What?” I asked softly, curious about what he was thinking right now.
He cleared his throat and went back to cleaning off the counter. “Nothing.” His voice was husky, deep. It turned me on.
He looked up at me again. “Your voice is beautiful, Korrie. I’d never heard anything quite as lovely as Adele’s before.” He looked me right in the eye. “That was until I heard you just now. Your voice is the loveliest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Oh. Wow. Talk about a compliment. I didn’t know quite what to say, how to respond to something like that. So before I said something that made me look like an idiot, I gave him a grateful smile and turned back to my paperwork, finishing up so I could leave as well. Although I didn’t want to go. I liked being in his company, especially when it was just the two of us. It was so… comfortable with Bishop.
“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”
I shrugged and then shook my head before looking at him again. “You didn’t. It’s just, no one’s really ever heard me sing aside from my father. I guess I’m not great at accepting compliments.”
He chuckled softly. “Well, you and I are the same in that regard. I’m pretty damn awkward when someone says something nice to me, which doesn’t happen very often, so there you go.”
We looked at each other then, and I felt something shift in the air, something that was very familiar, pulling me tighter, making every part of my body tense.
“Do you want a drink?” He walked fully behind the bar and gestured to all the liquor bottles behind the counter. “Or something non-alcoholic?”
“Actually, I’d like a drink. Preferably with alcohol.” I smiled, and I felt like it was a sexy one. The truth was, I felt beautiful around Bishop. Every time I caught him staring at me—which was all the time—I felt this fresh wave of hardcore desire.
He made me feel like a sexual being.
“Any preference?”
I shook my head and said, “Something strong.”
And there was that dimple again, and he even gave me a wink, one that had my damn toes curling once more.
I watched in female appreciation as he went to work making us drinks. Two glasses. Coke. Rum. A red swizzle straw. Then it was right in front of me.
He walked around the bar and took the seat beside me, and it was hard not to feel the heat from his body spread into me or inhale deeply and take his scent into my lungs.
He tipped his rum and Coke toward me, and I did the same, giving him a thankful smile. I brought the glass to my mouth and took a long drink, the alcohol burning, but I welcomed it. It helped me push my arousal for Bishop away.
Ha! Away, my ass. My desire for him is so front and center I can’t think of anything else.
Long moments passed where we sat in silence as we drank, and the sexual tension in me wrung so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“Korrie?” He said my name deeply—sex-laced?
“Hmm?” I swallowed the mouthful of booze and looked at him, but my breath caught at the expression on his face, at the way he stared at me.
“I want to tell you something, because I can’t keep it in any longer.”
He sounded so torn, so passionate about what was on his mind.
“Okay,” I whispered, but I knew what he’d say. I knew what words were about to spill from those full lips.
And I held my breath as I waited to listen to them and tell him it was exactly what I wanted too.