Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Austin
Quill and Dagger is busy for a Thursday evening when I swing by after finishing up at Bowman’s for the day, but Jeremy still finds a few minutes to chat with Dev, Reggie, Francis and me.
“Everything all set for the big day?” Jer asks me, standing beside our table.
He’s gathered his hair into a bun today, and his ripped jeans flash glimpses of the tattoos on his thighs and—judging by the lustful looks he’s attracting from a table in the corner—I’m not the only one who’s noticed.
Jeremy, however, is completely oblivious to the attention he’s garnering as he eagerly awaits my answer.
“Almost. The new heater and picnic tables won’t arrive until next week,” I grumble.
“At least the replacement fence panels should get here tomorrow morning, so I have time to put them up before the soft opening this weekend. It just means the outside area will be sparser than I’d planned for our first week back, but everything else should be sorted by the big reopening party next Saturday. ”
“That’s great, man.”
“How did your training day go on Tuesday?” Francis asks, nudging his wire-frame glasses up the bridge of his chalky-white nose in a familiar habit.
“Good.” I hesitate, chewing the inside of my cheek before admitting, “I might have been a bit hard on Cassie.”
“The new hire?” Dev asks.
“Yeah. I thought she wasn’t taking the till training seriously and snapped at her.”
“Oh, I ran into her the other day. She’s a jumpy one—I’m surprised your surly attitude didn’t scare her off,” Jeremy says.
“Really?” I ask, surprised.
“That’s not your impression of her?” Jer asks while the others lean in like hounds scenting fresh gossip.
“No, she’s—” A frustrated huff blows past my lips.
I suppose she is jumpy, but I’d put that down to her nerves being frayed after the accident rather than a personality trait.
Truthfully, I’m not sure what to make of Cassie.
She’s reserved but stood up to me when I was being an overbearing dick, and she smiled politely with Mum and Mei, but kept her face carefully blank with everyone else.
The woman is a deeply confusing mess of contradictions, and I still have no clue what she’s hiding.
How do I even begin to explain all of that to my friends? “She’s… frustrating.”
Dev and Reggie outright laugh at my misery while Francis’s lips twitch in amusement and Jeremy claps a hand on my shoulder grinning like the cat that got the cream. “I think she’s going to be good for you.”
“Yep,” Dev chimes in. “You’re too stuck in your ways—it’s a good thing this girl came along to shake things up.”
“How am I stuck in my ways? You know all the changes I’ve made at Bowman’s—”
Dev raises a hand, cutting me off. “That’s work. Your personal life is as boring as a blank wall.”
“You realise you lot are a large part of my personal life, right?”
“Exactly,” Reggie replies. “You hang out with us, look out for your mum, and call to check in on your baby sister every week. That’s it. When’s the last time you went on a date?”
I groan. “You sound like my mum. I’ve been busy.”
“Mate, you’re a business owner, you’re always going to be busy,” Jeremy replies. “You need to make time.”
I cross my arms. “Maybe I’ve not met anyone I’m interested in enough to make time for. Did you think about that?”
Movement behind Jeremy snags my attention, and I glance over, tensing when I catch sight of the woman entering the pub.
Cassie. She’s in her usual uniform of jeans and an oversized t-shirt, this time with a grey sweatshirt tied around her waist. She takes off her glasses, cleans them on the hem of her top, then quickly puts them back on, glancing around as though she doesn’t want to be caught without them.
Reggie turns, craning his neck to see what’s caught my attention, then laughs. “Are you sure about that? You seem plenty interested in her.”
“Absolutely not. I’m her boss, and she’s a tourist.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing. You said she might stay for the summer, right? A short-term thing could be the perfect start to putting yourself back out there,” Reggie suggests.
“No, that’s a terrible idea. Besides, we don’t get on. Trust me, the less time we spend together, the better.”
Cassie’s light blue eyes land on me as she walks past our table, and she gives me a curt nod and a tight smile before weaving further into the pub and finding a free table in the far corner.
“Given that frosty greeting, I think you may be right,” Francis replies.
“You’re spoiling my fun.” Reggie pretends to sulk.
“Sorry, love.” He leans into his husband’s side and plants a quick kiss on his cheek. “She doesn’t seem remotely interested in him. No offence,” Francis adds, looking at me sheepishly.
“None taken. It makes no difference to me because I’m not interested in her either.”
“Then why haven’t you taken your eyes off her since she walked in?” Jer asks with a cheeky grin.
I cock my head and pin him with an accusing look. “Don’t you have work to do?”
He laughs loudly enough to draw the attention of some other customers, including Cassie. Seeing he’s caught her attention, he gives her a cocky little wave. “You know what? I do. I think I’ll go take your new favourite employee’s order,” he replies.
My hands involuntarily clench into fists.
Jeremy smirks. “Not interested, hmm?” The dickhead saunters off before I can reply.
I’m not interested in Cassie, I’m… intrigued.
The only reason I feel a very small—tiny really—amount of protectiveness over her is because Mum has convinced me she needs someone to look out for her.
That’s all this is. My gut twisting when she smiles up at Jeremy doesn’t mean anything. I’m probably just hungry.
* * *
Cassie
After two near incidents in as many days where I panicked my cover might be blown, I didn’t dare leave the B&B after returning from the training session at Bowman’s.
Unfortunately, a person can only survive on snack dinners for so long, even with the wonderful breakfast spread Esther and her husband put on every morning.
Today my desire for a proper hot dinner and a glimpse of the outside world was enough to lure me away from my snacks and cross-stitch project and out of my room.
Esther kindly recommended Quill and Dagger to me during what’s become our daily morning chat.
She joins me for a cup of coffee while I eat breakfast. I think she can tell I’m lonely, but she’s too nice to mention it or ask why I’m here by myself.
The gastropub, with prints of famous murder mystery book covers thoughtfully placed among the rest of the cosy décor and its warm lighting, would be perfect if it weren’t for Austin’s presence.
I felt his eyes on me the whole way to my table and while I was placing my order.
Turns out the guy who ran after me to return my purse on Monday owns this place, and he insisted on bringing me a free dessert since I wouldn’t let him replace my coffee that day.
Now, alone in the corner, I watch locals come and go. There’s a group who look around my age and they’re all so vibrant and full of life. When I cast my mind back to remember the last time I laughed as freely as they do, I come up blank and wonder if I ever have.
I drop my eyes to the bowl of the most delicious-smelling apple pie and watch the scoop of vanilla ice cream melt instead.
Dragging the tines of my fork through the mixture, I break up some of the pastry out of habit so it looks like I’ve eaten some.
I feel eyes on me again and look up to meet those fucking judgemental green orbs and glare.
Austin watches me from near the doorway as his friends tug on their jackets and say goodbye for the night.
Fuck this and fuck him. I jab my fork into the bowl, scoop up a ridiculously large bite, then shove the lot into my mouth without breaking eye contact.
A soft moan escapes me as the flavours of the buttery shortcrust pastry and tart apple filling explodes on my tongue.
Damn, that’s some good pie. A muscle in Austin’s jaw ticks, then he turns away from me to say goodnight to his friends and leave.
Whatever. He might not like my being here, but he needs to grow the hell up and get over it.
I’m done apologising for an accident that could have happened to anyone.
I’m done listening to my mother’s voice in my head telling me to watch my tone and what I eat, as if being blunt and fat are the two worst things that could happen to a person.
Who knows, maybe in her eyes they are? Well, I’ve had enough.
I’m supposed to be someone my younger fans can look up to, but I’ve been restricting everything from food to fun to genuine friendships.
That’s not a role model. That’s someone contributing to the bullshit people like my mother ram down the throats of impressionable teens, and I don’t want to be part of that anymore.
Most of all, I’m done worrying about what might happen if this all blows up in my face.
So what if someone discovers who I really am?
If that happens, I’ll leave Pine Grove and take Liam and Bailey up on their offer to stay with them for a while until I’m ready to go back to Nashville.
Their place is much bigger than I was expecting, so I’m no longer concerned I’d be in their way when they’ve only been living together a short while.
I came here for a taste of freedom, but so far all I’ve done is cower and hide away.
No more. This trip is my one chance to figure out who I am without worrying what everyone else thinks, and I’m done wasting the opportunity.
Sure, things didn’t get off to a good start, but I found a way out of the problem all on my own.
It’s time I stop going through the motions of my own life and start really living.
I scoop up another forkful of pie and bite, thinking over my next steps as I chew.
First, I need to pay off my debt at Bowman’s.
Then I’m going to have some fun. If my secret comes out, I’ll manage.
I can use my card to pay Gem for the car repairs right before leaving town.
It won’t matter if my mother finds out I’ve been staying in Pine Grove.
I’ll call Liam to come and get me in Bailey’s car or catch a train back to London.
I’ll be out of here long before Miranda’s plane lands.
Whatever comes next, Austin Bowman had better watch out because I’m done taking shit from anyone, including him.