32. Anthony
Chapter 32
Anthony
P ATIENCE, IT TURNS out, is not a quality I possess. Because I spend a solid hour staring at the ceiling as the sun rises, trying like hell to decide what to do. Do I call her? Show up at her door and beg for her forgiveness?
I check the time. Six a.m. I fling the covers off and throw on shorts and running shoes, then gulp down a glass of water and head out for a run on the beach. I need to clear my head. There’s still so much for me to work through, but hell if I’m going to do that without Darcy by my side. If she’ll still have me, that is.
Water laps up the shoreline as I run, seagulls swooping and diving fifty yards out in the ocean as I try to remember the last time I felt so hopeful. Yes, I have mounds of issues that I clearly need to work through, but for the first time, I can take a solid breath without it feeling like my chest is going to crack.
With a smile, I bear down and run faster.
I fully intended to head straight to Darcy’s after a shower, but Harrison is already downstairs and intercepts me before I can make my escape.
“We’re booked solid today,” he calls over his shoulder. Then he turns and yelps, feigning shock. “What…what is that on your face?”
I reach up but find nothing out of place.
“Your lips. They’re…smiling?” He pauses. “Are you ill? Feverish? Did that punch Levi landed knock a few screws loose?”
“Fuck off,” I chuckle good-naturedly.
“Well, I’m glad you’re in a good mood, because it’s all hands on deck today.”
“I need to—” I start.
“Help me like the owner you are?” Harrison finishes. “Excellent!”
I sigh. “Is it that bad? I really need?—”
“Boss.”
“Harrison.”
“When’s the last time I actually asked you for help?”
I consider. “Never?”
He snaps and points a finger at me. “Bingo.”
In no time at all, we’d stocked everything up for the day and opened, then were swarmed with one party after another. We ran ragged, and while normally I’d have taken up my station behind the bar, there was no time to do anything but serve a few beers and run right back onto the floor. Which meant that I got to be on the receiving end of a slightly panicked father who was running point on a birthday party for his four-year-old.
The dude clearly needed some help, but at the same time, it was comforting to see how all the other dads came together to wrangle the little wild things for the party. I comped a pitcher of beer for them, and you’d have thought I was Santa Claus with the grateful looks they gave me.
“Our wives thought it’d be a great idea for us to run one of these ourselves,” the host dad said, clutching his plastic cup of beer like it was a lifeline. “And I thought, how hard can it be? Me and the guys figured this was the safest place to do it. They’re contained, they’ve got game tokens, easy.”
I stared at him and waited for the punchline. There was nothing easy about little kids’ birthday parties. Not unless you were an oblivious asshole who let your kids run rampant with no regard for anyone else. I may not have kids, but run a place that’s regularly filled to the brim with them, and you learn some things real fast.
“Anyway,” he said with a squirm, “thanks for the beer.”
I grunted and walked away, no longer comforted in the least.
Surprising no one, I was back in that same party room an hour later, cleaning up puke from where none of the dads paid attention to the little girl who ate not one, but five cupcakes fast as lightning. It would be funny if it weren’t gross.
Half an hour later, I finally finish cleaning up the mess and scrub my hands for all I’m worth, then find Harrison at the front helping the same little girl pick a prize for the insane number of tickets she’s somehow cobbled together. With her prize picked, she skips off with a smile.
I meet Harrison’s eyes. “That girl is going to be a handful.”
He laughs. “And good for her.”
“Good point,” I acknowledge. “And when she grows up, she’ll be a woman who knows what she wants.”
Reid and Matty saunter in, Midnight and Killer strapped to each of their chests. I raise an eyebrow. “No animals, guys. No matter how adorable they are.”
Matty grins. “We wanted to check on you.”
“Nice bruise,” Reid says, lifting his chin at the faint blue surrounding the wound on my cheek.
I exhale. “Yeah. I deserved it.”
“Did you also deserve the verbal ass-kicking that Darcy gave you? Because I bet it was epic.” Reid’s eyes are lit up with the possibility of fresh gossip.
Harrison rubs his hands from behind the counter. “Ooh, what’s all this? I wasn’t going to ask about the face, but clearly, I left too early yesterday.”
I point my finger at Reid. “I’m not telling you shit,” I proclaim. To Harrison, I say, “And you’re getting a raise and title change. Now go do something worthy of it.”
His eyes widen. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” I say gruffly. “Beat it before I change my mind.”
He practically leaves a dust trail.
Turning back to the guys, I motion them outside and follow. Squinting up at the bright blue sky, I take a deep breath and let it out. “Let me guess: Ox told you two?”
“Who else?” Matty answers. “By the way, how do you feel about cats?”
“Don’t answer that,” Reid interjects. “Unless you want a litter roaming around your loft.”
“I’m allergic,” I deadpan. The fact that I’m scratching Midnight under her chin notwithstanding.
Matty narrows his eyes. “I think you’re lying.”
I grin. “Guess you’ll never know.”
“I think Darcy needs a kitten, don’t you?”
Reid pretends to think. “I bet that Agatha does, even if Darcy doesn’t.”
Matty’s eyes light up. “Excellent call.” He starts to leave, waving as he goes. “See you later, man.”
Reid points two fingers at his eyes and then back to me in a classic I’m watching you move as he starts to back away. “Don’t fuck this up, man.”
I raise my hands. “Working on it.”
“You better be. She’s perfect for you.”
I huff a laugh. “Believe me, I’m well aware.”
The rest of the day is interminable. But we finally close, and I head upstairs for a shower. I’ve got a woman to apologize to.
* * *
I find her exactly where I figured I would, back in Agatha’s garage that has steadily morphed into a full-on workshop over the months I’ve seen it. Gone are the lawn care tools and potting soil, replaced by tools I can’t name, and stacks of wood propped off the ground. Noah Kahan blares as usual from a speaker on the workbench, and Darcy bends over the lathe, her back to me, clad in her sexy-as-hell overalls. Sawdust flies as she holds what looks to be a table leg in place, the sound of the lathe barely drowned out by the music. I can picture her face, the concentration in her ice-blue eyes behind the plastic safety glasses, the way her bottom lip is sucked into her mouth, held in place by her teeth but slowly being released as she finishes with the task at hand.
I love her.
I love her so damn much.
She straightens, finishing the area and turning the lathe off, the act of which makes the music seem that much louder. With an exhale, she pulls the safety glasses off and sets them to the side, then releases the leg from the lathe and holds it up to inspect it. I can’t see if she’s pleased with the work or not.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
She startles and jerks her head my way, her widened eyes relaxing when she realizes it’s me. “Anthony.”
I offer a smile. “Hi.”
She steps around to the speaker and lowers the volume, and when she turns back to me, her cheeks are flushed. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to speak to me again after what I said yesterday.”
I gape at her. “Seriously? Woman, I’m the one who should say that. After I behaved the way I did—said the things I said—shit, Darcy. I’m so sorry.”
Her lips, free of her usual red lipstick but no less devastating, tilt up. “Ox was right.”
Furrowing my brow, I ask, “What do you mean?”
She shrugs. “I saw him this morning after I ran out of yoga, and he basically told me you’d come to your senses.”
I straighten from where I’ve been leaning against the side of the garage. “He’s correct. Amazing what having a literal bucket of ice water dumped on a man will do to his perspective.”
“It wasn’t a bucket,” she protests with a laugh, her eyes bright and playful.
“Sure felt like it.” I move toward her. “And it was cold as fuck.”
“I’m not apologizing for it.” She juts her chin up.
“Nor would I ever dare ask you to,” I murmur, wrapping my hand around her waist and pulling her to me.
She doesn’t relent, keeping her body stiff in my grasp. “You should know I won’t hesitate to do it again, either.”
I huff a laugh. “I would expect nothing less.” Tilting my head down to hers, I bring our mouths close. “I’m sorry. Truly. I’m going to do better.”
“Good.”
“I love you.”
She smirks. “I know.”
I swat her ass. “Brat.”
Her smile widens as she wraps her arms around my neck. “I love you, too.”
With a laugh, I slant my mouth over hers, capturing her lips in a kiss that has never felt sweeter.