Chapter Four
Wade
It’s slammed. Saturday brunch is always busy, but this is especially hellish, considering how eager I am to get off and see Rosie. She’s meeting me here in another few minutes and I can’t wait. Watching her fall apart on my fingers last night set something off inside of me and I feel myself hardening with just the thought of seeing her again.
I’m zoned out thinking about her when I feel a clap on my back. It’s Ethan.
“I know that look,” he says with a wink.
“What look?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I know what he’s talking about.
“The ‘I just met the girl of my dreams’ look. It’s one I know well. First me, then Scott, then Luke. It was just a matter of time for you, buddy. And boy am I glad it’s Rosie. She’s quiet, but from what the girls tell me, she’s a great woman.”
“She sure is,” I say, not bothering to hide my feelings. There’s no point, I’m already almost the edge for her and I have no interest in playing games. She will be mine.
“I’m happy for you, Wade. Really, you deserve it.”
“Thanks, man,” I say, a bit choked up. All three of these guys have helped me with settling back into civilian life and it means a lot to have friends who care. And who all know what I’ve been through. This town has a weird way of bringing me everyone I need.
“Get back to work, you sap,” Ethan says with a laugh as he turns to the other end of the bar. I look up and smile as I see my sister and Ava sitting across from me.
“Surprise!” Sophie shouts, leaning over the bar to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, hugging her back.
“She’s here to help me with some interior design at our place,” Ava says. My sister—though I hate to admit it—had an incredible eye for design, for how to make homes peaceful . She ran her own design firm in the city, but was always happy to drop stuff for a weekend and help out any of her friends or family.
“That’s great. I actually might need your help with a project too, Soph,” I say.
She looks back at me, brown eyes a mirror of my own. “Oh yeah?” she asks.
“Yeah… my friend, Rosie, wants to redo her place but never has the time. I was thinking you could check her place out and give me some ideas.”
“Your “friend?”” She puts the word in air quotes and I know then and there it’s not even worth trying to hide my feelings anymore.
“Hopefully more than a friend. She should be here in a few minutes, you can meet her and we can go over stuff,” I tell her, looking back to our cousin to back me up.
“You’ll love her,” Ava says to Sophie, “just like I knew you would,” she says looking back to me.
“You’re not getting a thank you,” I say back to her with a laugh. I turn to grab them some drinks and ask them what they want to eat. They order some stuff to snack on and I get back to powering through my shift.
I hear the bell on the door jingle and look up, hoping that it’s Rosie. Instead of meeting her lively blue eyes, I meet the angry, near-black eyes of the man I kicked out of the bar yesterday. Her douchebag coworker. Steve.
He looks livid, and drunk, as he approaches the bar. I move away from where Ava and Sophie are sitting, not wanting them to be involved in this. Steve comes up to the corner where I’ve moved and as he gets closer, I notice how sweaty and red he looks. Yep, definitely drunk.
“Hey, asshole!” he shouts.
“Calm the fuck down, Steve. You’re drunk and acting like a fucking idiot.”
He scoffs back at me. “Yeah, well you defended that bitch yesterday and made me look like a loser in front of my coworkers.” Every single word sounds like it’s taking him maximum effort to come up with. It’s pathetic. He’s pathetic.
“Don’t you dare call Rosie a bitch,” I say, leaving the area behind the bar and getting up in his face, hoping the fact that I’m nearly twice his size will scare him off. “Get the fuck out of here. You’re banned.”
“You can’t do that,” Steve says. “You’re just a bartender.”
“He can’t, but I can. Get the fuck out of here and never come back,” Scott, Ava’s partner and co-owner of this spot with Ethan, says from where he’s appeared behind me. I flash him an appreciative smile before turning back to Steve and giving him my deadliest I’m going to kill you if you don’t leave look.
Steve still looks like he’s seething, but he turns and leaves the bar. Something tells me this is far from over.
“Thanks, man,” I say, turning back to Scott who is perched in front of Ava and Sophie, holding Ava’s hand in his own.
“No problem, that guy has always been a dick. I’m sorry he’s been harassing Rosie, but glad it gave me an excuse to finally ban his ass.”
“Yeah. I think he makes her life at work hard enough, no need to have him barging in on her personal time, too,” Ava says.
I just nod. Sophie looks at me curiously before turning back into her drink. Hmmm.
I get back to work, constantly eyeing the door for the brown-haired beauty I’ve been waiting to see all day. Just as I bend down to empty the behind the bar dishwasher, I hear the familiar jingle of the door and just know it’s Rosie.
I rise and am greeted with the sight of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s dressed casually in a gray sweatshirt and bike shorts, frilly socks peaking over the top of her simple white sneakers. Her curls are swept up into a high ponytail and her fresh face is glowing. I could live a million lifetimes and never find someone as beautiful as her.
Her eyes meet mine and her cheeks redden as she gives me a small wave. I grin back at her, rounding the bar and scooping her into my arms before planting a quick kiss on her lips.
“Hi, honey,” I say into her ear. I feel better just seeing her, like she’s calmed me.
“Hi,” she says with a giggle. I set her down and grab her hand, leading her to where Ava and Soph are sitting at the bar.
“Rosie, this is my sister, Sophie. She’s in town helping Ava with some redecorating.”
“Oh! Hi! Ava has told me you have the most amazing taste in the world,” Rosie says, sitting on the chair I’ve pulled out on Sophie’s other side.
Sophie laughs. “I like to think so,” she says with a wink. My sister is not known for being humble.
I slide Rosie’s chair back in. “Can I get you anything? I should be done in a few minutes and then we can head out.”
“A water would be great,” she says, turning her face to mine. I press a kiss to her cheek before rounding the bar and passing her her water.
I hear her chatting away with Sophie and Ava and I’m glad to see she’s getting along well with Sophie especially. She can be a bit hard to crack sometimes. Sophie asks Rosie about her cottage and Rosie looks at me a bit surprised that Soph knows about it. I just shrug.
I finish cashing out and getting the bar set for the shift change before grabbing Rosie and saying goodbye to my cousin and sister. I’m sure the two of them will sit there chatting Rosie’s ear of all night if given the chance and I am definitely not giving them the chance.
I need some time alone with my girl.
We head outside and start walking towards the store.
“What did you do today?” I ask Rosie, her hand still in mine.
“Caught up on some school work and then went for a long walk. I ended up walking here, actually, so I might need you to drive me home. I’ll make you dinner,” she says shyly.
“Honey, I would’ve taken you home whether you made me dinner or not,” I say with a wink.
She laughs and it sounds like the most perfect melody. We make it to the store and take our time wandering around while figuring out what to have for dinner. We decide on chicken Caesar wraps, something easy but delicious. We head back to my car and I load in the groceries while Rosie takes the cart back.
As I see her rounding the corner, her grin meeting mine, I remember I didn’t tell her about Steve coming in today, about Scott and I banning him from the bar. I know I have to, but I don’t want to ruin her day. She seems to have so few peaceful ones.
But I need her to be safe.
I debate telling her the whole drive back to her place, as we unload the groceries, and as she starts plating dinner. I just don’t want to ruin the mood.
But her safety comes first to me. As I’m loading the last plate into the dishwasher, she turns to me with her glass of wine in hand, looking so beautiful, so relaxed that I know I can no longer leave this perfect woman in danger.
I cross the room and hold her in my arms.
“Steve came back into the brewery today,” I say, holding her chin up so her eyes meet mine. “I think he came to get back at me, but I know he still has it out for you. Scott banned him from the brewery, but I don’t trust him not to show up again.”
Her eyes begin watering at the news. “Oh, honey, please don’t be sad. I’ll look out for you, I promise.”
“I’m not sad,” she says, voice quivering. “I’m angry. This man has gone out of his way to make my life as difficult as possible this year and I’ve had enough of it.”
“He’s an insecure piece of shit and we’ll get him to leave you alone, one way or another,” I nearly growl the words. How dare this small, slimy man make a woman as perfect as Rosie feel this way.
“I just tried so hard to make him feel included, feel part of the team despite how unwelcome he’s made me feel. I’ve had enough of it. Thank you for banning him, it means a lot to me,” she says, reaching a hand to my face and caressing my cheek.
“You mean a lot to me,” I say, lifting her up and pulling her mouth to mine.
Time to show her just how much.