32. Harmony
CHAPTER 32
Harmony
T he phone rings as soon as I slide on my jeans, and I look down to see it’s Brady. “Hello.”
“You ready?” he asks, and I can hear people in the background.
“I am,” I tell him, “but it sounds like you have a full house. Why don’t I just meet you there?”
He takes a full minute before he answers me. “Okay, then we’ll leave your car here and go home together.” My heart squeezes in my chest when he says that.
“Okay, I’m going to leave now and clock in early so I can help.”
“Okay, baby, drive safe,” he urges and disconnects before I have a chance to say anything to him. I pick up my keys and walk over to the car and make my way to the bar. It’s literally jam-packed by the time I get in.
“Hey,” I greet when I quickly walk in, seeing him behind the bar with another guy, who is new.
“Hey, baby,” he replies softly to me. “This is Aiden. He started today.”
“Hi, Aiden,” I say, holding up my hand. “I’m Harmony.” I look back at Brady. “I’ll hang my purse up and start.”
“Did you eat?” he asks, coming over to where I’m standing and putting his hand on my hip, pulling me a bit to him.
“I was still full from lunch,” I say, and he just nods at me, letting me go. I turn and walk to the closet, and I can feel him at my back. I walk in to hang up my purse, and he follows me in, closing the door behind him. I barely have time to turn back around before his arms are around me and his lips are on mine. I get on my tippy-toes, wrapping one arm around his shoulders while the other arm goes around his waist. The kiss is probably the best kiss he’s given me. I take that back; every kiss is the best kiss he’s given me. This is the best kiss he’s given me today.
“Hey, baby,” he whispers when he lets my lips go, “did you sleep?”
“I did, for a full four hours,” I inform him, and he smiles before he nods, then lets me go.
I walk out with him at the same time Janelle spots us. “Hey, you two,” she says, rushing to serve her drinks.
“What section am I in?” I ask, going over to punch in.
“You can take that section over there.” He points to the right. “I’ve been trying to serve them, but the tour this afternoon decided it would be a party if they stayed.”
“Got it,” I confirm, grabbing my pad and walking over to a couple of tables. When I look up, I see Emmett at one of them.
“Well, hello again,” he says with a sly smile as he sits back in his chair. He’s with a bunch of guys I saw at the barn.
“Hey,” I reply, smiling back at him, “how is Wyatt?”
“Almost threw up when he had to muck the stalls.” He snickers. “I’ll send you the video if you give me your number.” He smiles big. “Then I can call and officially ask you out on a date.”
“Fuck off,” I hear growled from behind me and look over at Brady, who stands with his arms crossed over his chest. The glare on his face even makes me laugh as I hear the table laugh with him. “I’m going to serve this table.”
“Aren’t you busy behind the bar?” I ask, and he ignores me but looks at Emmett.
“I’ll be watching you,” he warns Emmett.
“Good news, buddy, I’ll be watching something else.” Emmett leans back and folds his own arms over his chest.
“We aren’t serving you today,” Brady declares and turns to me. “They are cut off.”
He turns and walks away from the table. “It’s funnier fucking with him than when I was fucking with Charlie.”
“Be careful,” I caution him. “When the tables are turned, it’s not going to be as fun.”
“Darling, one would have to find someone worth it,” he shares, shaking his head. “Never had that opportunity.”
I let his words sink in and then take a deep breath. My mind wanders over to Brady, and I wonder why he’s still single. “What can I get you guys?” I push it from my mind and do my job.
I work for three hours straight, serving food and drinks. Brady makes it a point to always come closer to the POS system when I’m there. Every time I look up at him and find him looking at me, he winks at me, making all parts of me flutter and then get tingly. “Here,” he offers, handing me a bottle of water, “drink.”
I shake my head but take the bottle from him, finally having a second to stop. I’m twisting open the cap when the stool next to me is pulled up, and I see Brock sit down. The water bottle is halfway to my mouth. I freeze as he looks at me and smirks before Brady is there.
“What can I get you?” Brady asks.
“I’ll have the new blend,” he instructs to Brady, who nods at him and walks away.
“Hey, Harmony,” he says, giving me a chin up, “how’re you doing?”
“Um… I’m doing good, thanks.”
He nods at me, and all I can do is look at him. Brady comes back and throws the coaster on the bar in front of him before putting his drink down. He picks up the glass and brings it to his lips. His hands are still dirty, so I know he just walked over when he finished work. “Heard about Winston.”
“Yeah.” Brady is quick to answer him. “What did you hear?”
“He spent the night in lockup.” He tries to hide his smile with the glass. “Bonded out this morning.”
Brady looks over at me. “Not a surprise there.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “But it is a surprise they are charging him.” My eyes go big. “Never thought that would happen.” He finishes the rest of the glass. “I hope they all rot in hell.” He gets up, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a wad of bills, and then slaps a twenty on the bar. “I hope they all rot in hell,” he repeats, then looks at me. “Glad you got out from under them.” He turns and walks out of the bar without a second look.
“He looks lost.” I look over at Brady, who has his hand outstretched beside him.
“He made his bed, and now he has to lie in it.” He pushes off from the bar. “He chose a side. That side was the wrong one, and he lost the best thing that ever happened to him.”
“Doesn’t he have a daughter?” I ask Brady and raise my eyebrows. “Something tells me having a child is the best thing that ever happened to someone.”
“That would probably be true,” he explains, “but imagine having the child with someone who you love more than life itself.” He shrugs. “That probably would have been the best thing to ever happen to him.”
“Wyatt is the best thing to ever happen to me,” I tell him, “regardless of who his father is.”
“But you loved Winston,” he points out. “Brock didn’t, and everyone knew it”—he grabs a rag—“including the mother of his daughter.”
“How would she know?” I ask.
“The man is a walking shell of himself, and the only time you see any light in his eyes is when his daughter smiles at him,” Brady informs me. All I can do is nod at him, thinking back to all the times over the years that I took my car in to be serviced at his shop. I always thought it was because he lost his parents one after another, but maybe I was wrong.
I turn back, clearing Brock from my mind as I continue the tables. It’s almost ten o’clock when it clears out, which is later than normal for midweek. “Come here,” Brady says as soon as the door closes. I look over at him from the table I’m cleaning, thinking he has to show me something. I drop the rag and walk to him, only for him to smash his lips on mine in the middle of the bar. He kisses me and makes me forget we are in the middle of the bar before we hear someone clearing their throat.
I step away from him and see Aiden trying not to smirk. “Is there anything else for me to do?”
“Yeah,” Brady says, “bus the tables and then make sure the dishwashers are going. We’re heading out.”
“You got it, boss,” Aiden replies, turning and walking toward the table.
“Brady,” I hiss at him, “that’s my job.”
“Yeah, and I just handed it over. You haven’t eaten at all, and it’s getting late.” He pulls me by my hand to the closet, opening it and grabbing my purse. “We have to go.”
“Night,” Brady calls over his shoulder.
“See you two tomorrow,” Aiden calls out by the time we’re walking through the swinging door to the back parking lot. Brady opens the door for me and helps me in, and by that, I mean he almost picks me up to put me in the truck.
I slap his hands away when he’s about to buckle me in, and he just laughs, closing the truck door. “You’re just leaving him to close up?” I ask of Aiden.
“He’s worked in bars his whole life, and he’s helped out in the summer. He’s back in town for good. If things go right, he’ll be taking over the night shifts for me.” I swallow down the lump that grows with his last statement. There will come a time when it’s not just me and him. I’ll move out of his house, and eventually, this between us will fizzle out. I look out the window at the night sky, seeing a couple of stars. When we get back to his house, I wait for him to walk up the steps before I follow him.
“You okay?” He looks over his shoulder at me.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I guess I’m just tired.” I try not to think about the fact he knows me better than I think he does.
He pulls me by my hand up the stairs and walks right past the bed toward the bathroom. He lets my hand go when he walks in and turns on the lights before making his way to the bathtub. He turns the water on, touches the stream to see if it’s warm enough, and adjusts it before looking at me. “Get undressed and take a bath,” he orders me. “I’m going to go grab you something to eat.” He kisses my neck before walking out of the room, but comes right back in. “Do you need me to undress you?” He winks, making me laugh. “I’ll be back.” I stop him from leaving the bathroom by holding his hand.
“How about you take a bath with me and then we can both get something to eat?” I want this moment with him. I stand in front of him. “We can take a bath together and then”—I get up on my tippy-toes to kiss his neck—“we can eat.” His eyes shine with mischief. “Food, we can eat food.” I move away, peeling the shirt off me and getting naked in front of him before stepping one foot into the water and then sitting down. I pin my hair on top of my head and look over at him. “Do you not want to take a bath with me?”
He quickly gets naked, giving me a chance to take him all in as he steps into the tub and turns to sit between my legs. His back is to my chest as he crouches down while my legs wrap around his hips. “Why are you still single?” I close my eyes and want to drown myself in the bathtub when I hear the question that just came out of my mouth.
“I guess I just haven’t met the one I want to do everyday life with,” he answers. “I want to be married just once. I want a love like my parents’, a love that is around even if she isn’t. I want it to consume me, and all I can think about is nothing else but that person.” He rubs my legs, and I feel the golf ball-sized lump forming in my throat. This man, who every time I get quiet, makes sure I sleep or nap. He makes sure I’ve eaten. He’s the most thoughtful man I’ve ever known. “What about you?” he asks me. “Do you ever think of falling in love again?”
“I do.” I clear my throat. “I know what I want and what I need. But it’s not only about me this time. It’s about the man accepting another man’s child. Even if Winston and I are not together, he’s going to be forever in Wyatt’s life until Wyatt tells me he doesn’t want him in his life. So, whoever it is has to be okay with that.” He turns his head to look at me. “When that time comes, I’ll know.”
He turns in my arms and pulls me into his, making me straddle him. “Kiss me,” he urges in a whisper, and here in the middle of the bath, this man asks for me to kiss him. It takes a full five seconds for the kiss to become more, and we end up making out until the water is ice cold.
I get out of the tub before him. “I’m going to go see what we can make for a snack.” I dry off, grabbing the shirt he wore today and putting it on. “Meet me downstairs.”
“Yeah, baby,” he agrees as he gets out of the tub and reaches for a towel, my stomach and vagina fluttering from the sight of his naked body.
I’m halfway down the steps when the knock on the door comes. I look out and see a woman, so I open it, never expecting it to be who it is. Pulling it open, I see a woman who is taller than me with long red hair. The smile on her face falls when she sees me. “Sorry,” she says, “I was looking for Brady.”