Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
BLUE
West never made it back out to the bar.
He let Tuffy and me shut everything down while he stayed holed up in the office doing whatever it was rich people did. Judging by the steady clicking of his keyboard and the crease in his brow every time I passed the open door, he was probably moving decimal points on some spreadsheet.
By the time the place emptied out and the last tips were counted, it was almost two in the morning.
I wandered back toward the office and threw myself down on the couch with a loud, theatrical groan.
My legs ached, my back hurt, and my brain felt like it had been shoved into a bowl of tequila.
West didn’t even acknowledge me at first, which was fine.
I could only assume he was solving a serious crisis.
But after a few minutes, I had a burning question. One that wouldn’t let me rest until I heard the answer.
“So you seriously tended bar for a while?” I asked, cracking one eye open.
He smiled but didn’t look away from his screen. Just kept clicking.
“Seriously, West. That was impressive,” I said, shifting so I could face him. “Having you back there actually made the night go smoother than any Friday we’ve had in a while. Even with the crowd.”
He held up a finger, signaling for one more minute. I sighed and leaned back again, letting my head rest on the arm of the couch.
A moment later, a loud chime erupted from his computer, followed by a round of fake applause and a robotic crowd cheering, “Yay!”
I sat up. “Let me guess. You have your own applause button for every time you make another million dollars?”
He snorted and shook his head as he stood up. “No. I just beat Solitaire.”
“You’ve been back here playing Solitaire?” I stared at him, equal parts annoyed and amused. “I thought you were back here doing CEO things. Making power plays. Ordering yachts.”
“Not the whole time,” he said, moving to sit on the edge of the desk and folding his arms. “I’ve been going through contracts and checking emails, too.”
“Multitasking. Impressive.” I reached for my bag, rummaging around for some Advil because my head was starting to pound. Without a word, West handed me the water bottle he’d been drinking from. I took it, grateful but trying not to show it.
“So…” he started slowly. “Is Aiden going to be a problem?”
I nearly choked on the water, spluttering as I tried to keep it from spraying everywhere. “Aiden?” I laughed, wiping my mouth. “God, no. Aiden is definitely not a problem.”
He tilted his head slightly, waiting.
“We’ve hooked up a few times,” I shrugged. “It’s not his fault he didn’t know the plans changed. Honestly, you’re smart enough to know that already. So maybe the question is, is Aiden going to be a problem for you?”
West gave a dry snort, lips twitching with something attempting to be a smirk but didn’t quite make it. It wasn’t humor, it was a deflection. One of many I’d noticed from him.
“I need to head back to Atlanta tomorrow morning,” he said, smoothly changing the subject.
“Some things need my attention before Monday since I will apparently be in Virginia Beach, but I’ll be back tomorrow night.
I know you normally work late Saturdays, but we should probably make time to sit down and get our story straight before we’re locked in a metal tube with my grandparents. ”
“I thought the story was straight,” I said, eyes narrowing. “We did this on a whim. We’re still getting to know each other. A couple of crazy kids caught up in a moment.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “You’re not wrong. But Sunday’s always been the day we do family dinners. That was going to be when I told them. And something tells me my grandparents are going to see straight through my bullshit.”
“They always do,” I muttered, mostly thinking about my dad.
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder while I added loud enough for him to hear, “We’ve got someone else we can call to cover the bar.
Mandy usually helps when one of us is sick or we’re slammed.
She can take my spot behind the bar tomorrow and Sunday. I’ll let Tuffy know to expect her.”
West nodded. “Good. Anything you need, just make it happen.”
We walked together toward the door, the heavy silence between us oddly companionable. He locked the office, and we made our way through the hallway. Outside, Marshal and Marcus were still parked in the exact spots they’d been in all day, unmoving, like overly loyal gargoyles in suits.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
We all did what we had to do to make it. Some of us poured shots. Some of us chauffeured fake newlyweds around in black SUVs. It wasn’t their fault West was pretentious.
West hovered near me as I got to my car, his hand brushing the small of my back, but never quite landing. It was the kind of gesture that felt more protective than possessive, and that, somehow, made it worse.
“I think I’m gonna take my fancy ride home tonight,” I said as I turned to face him.
West looked over at Marshal, then back at me. “You sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah. My car will be fine here while I do my wifely duties.”
He didn’t argue. Just stepped aside and held a hand up for me to head toward the waiting SUV. Marshal took some silent cue from West and moved directly into the driver’s seat. West opened my door and helped me into the car, barely touching me. It was like he was afraid I’d change my mind and run.
But I knew I needed to get into character. I needed to get used to the mode of transportation that West thought was necessary.
Once I slid into the backseat and West shut the door, Marshal glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Home?”
“Please,” I said politely, already feeling like maybe I should have just driven myself. I was so out of place being driven home from a dive bar.
We pulled away, and I leaned against the window, watching Harmony Haven blur past in streaks of gold and black. Streetlights, storefronts, trees I’d known since childhood. Everything looked the same. But I didn’t feel the same.
I was supposed to hate West Brooks.
I wanted to hate him.
He was controlling, arrogant, and infuriating. He took from me the only thing I’d ever wanted—even if he had no idea yet. And then he took the bar. Now I was mixed up playing ‘house’ with him just to gain a little control over my life.
Damn him. But also… I didn’t hate him.
Not even close.
By the time I clocked out of Fiddlers Saturday evening, I was tired, sore, and already mentally bracing for Sunday’s performance. I ended my shift early, got in my fancy SUV, and had Marshal take me to West’s house. It was somewhere near the lake, which made me irrationally angry.
The lake wasn’t far from Fiddlers, maybe thirty minutes. I was familiar with that drive because I took it several times a week when I was trying to buy Dad and me our own lake house. I may have resolved that I didn’t hate West like I thought I would.
My phone pinged with a text, and I glanced down to see a message from my dad.
Dad
Take chewing gum.
Dad had been asleep when I got home from work Friday, and I left early Saturday to make some calls and get Mandy to the bar.
I had some ordering to do as well. But I’d left him a note that I was leaving town with West until Monday and he had been texting me randomly all day with tips for my first plane ride.
Blue
The window seat is bladder prison, the tray table is not for my feet, and take some chewing gum. Got it.
Dad
Love you.
Blue
Love you too!
I smiled down at my phone, already missing my dad, but knowing he was having the time of his life with Lisa taking care of his every whim. He may have been in bed when I left, but Lisa was already at the house making brunch and prepping an area for Dad’s physical therapy. She really was a godsend.
The car turned and started to slow, so I looked up from my phone and watched as we entered a small drive that was lined with a white picket fence. My mouth immediately opened in shock, my gasp loud enough that Marshal glanced in his rearview mirror at me.
The house was not what I expected. It was a modest one-story tucked between a row of trees. It had a fresh coat of paint, modern details added around the trim, and only a small amount of landscaping added along the walkway to the front door.
It was not what I expected from West, who seemed to bask in owning all the finer things. The house may have had some work done, but it was still older and humble, which was the complete opposite of West Brooks.
My blood began to boil as I stepped out of the car and looked around.
Despite not hating West the way I planned, I was once again on the verge of scratching his eyes out.
Because this house was the one I had wanted.
The one he bought to flip and resell. The one I gave up on knowing it was going to cost too much once he had his way with it.
This house should have been mine.