Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Andi
“Is this seat taken?” A hand smacked my rear. Hard.
My body jolted forward, and the tray of beers I’d been carrying tipped with no chance of recovery. Beer splashed everywhere, soaking the floor and my jeans as the glass mugs shattered on the floor at my feet. I muttered a curse under my breath as I dropped the tray onto a nearby empty table.
My hands trembled. My heart sprinted, pounding painfully like it used to when…
No. Not now. Not here.
I muttered a curse and tried to pull myself together, but the sting of the slap still burned like some kind of punishment.
I closed my eyes for half a second, long enough to chase away the flash of a different night, a different man, and a slap that came with promises of worse if I ever stepped out of line again.
Relax. You’re safe here.
But was I? Because even though this wasn’t him, the air felt the same. Hot with shame. Suffocating with unwanted memories. This was my first night on the job. My new start. One small step toward normal…and now this.
I swallowed hard and forced my eyes open. I wouldn’t fall apart. Couldn’t.
“Whoa, what happened?” Norah came around the corner carrying her own tray, skidding to a stop as she took in the mess. “Everything okay?”
I nodded quickly, brushing away a disobedient strand of hair clinging to my cheek. “I…slipped.”
I didn’t look at the man behind me. Didn’t need to. I could still feel the echo of his greasy palm on my butt and the way my body had frozen.
Norah set her tray on the nearest table and grabbed a bar rag from her back pocket. “It’s okay.” She knelt to start blotting up the worst of the spill. “Go refill your glasses and take a breath. Don’t let it rattle you.”
Too late for that.
But I nodded again like I was fine, like I wasn’t shaking inside. Like I could still pull off this whole “new life” thing.
I may not have landed in Tarnation on purpose, but I wasn’t going to let some drunk with grabby hands send me running.
“Hey, sweet thing, where’re you going?”
“Gus, leave her alone,” Norah warned.
I didn’t answer. Didn’t look. Just kept walking. But I felt his eyes crawling across my skin.
“I’m just havin’ a little fun,” he replied, like that made it okay.
I slipped behind the bar, head down, hands shaking as I grabbed clean glasses.
“Well, that’s one way to test the floor’s alcohol tolerance.”
Norah let out an unamused sigh. “Very funny, Luke,” she said. “And this wasn’t me. Our new waitress just had a bit of a mishap.”
“New waitress?”
I glanced up in time to see the man—Luke—looking over.
My heart stalled for a second. He looked so much like the cowboy I’d run into at the diner earlier.
But this wasn’t him. Similar, sure. But the man at the diner had this quiet intensity about him that made my stomach flip.
This one looked like trouble with a smirk.
Still, he was handsome. Blue eyes. Confident swagger. Dangerous combination.
Norah gestured toward me. “Red hired her this afternoon.”
Luke’s gaze landed on mine, and I immediately felt my skin tighten like it was bracing for impact. I’d already been groped, grabbed, and gawked at enough for one night. I didn’t need another cowboy staring like I was up for auction. But then he smiled.
It was…disarming—charming, even—and when the light hit just right, his blue eyes actually sparkled. I didn’t want to smile back, but my lips moved before I could stop them.
Norah introduced us. “Luke, this is Andi. Andi, this is my annoying older brother, Luke.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand.
Holding my gaze, Luke took my hand, lifted it gently, and brushed a kiss across the back of it like some kind of cowboy Casanova.
Oh. Wow. Okay, then. I’d never experienced anything so…old fashioned and cliché in my life. It was ridiculous. Over the top. And still, somehow, stupidly effective.
Norah groaned. “Really?”
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, still holding my hand. “Or maybe a dance?”
“I’m working,” I said, gently pulling my hand back.
“Maybe when you’re not,” he replied with a wink.
I didn’t answer, just gave a non-committal nod to be polite and turned back to the bar. His attention was flattering, but I’d barely made it through the night without quitting…or getting fired. Definitely not the time to flirt.
“Keep movin’, loverboy,” Norah said, nudging him aside. “I’ve got work to do.”
I was heading back toward the tables when an arm locked hard around my waist.
A jolt of panic shot through me—fast and paralyzing.
“How about me, darlin’?” Gus leered, yanking me against him. “Can I interest you in doin’ anything with me?”
My breath caught. For a split second, I wasn’t in the bar—I was back in that penthouse, back in the grip of someone who didn’t care how many times I pleaded for him to stop.
“Let go of me!” I shoved at his chest, but my hands trembled.
“You’re feisty!” he slurred, snickering. “Just one little kiss and I’ll let you go.” He puckered up, leaning in.
“Ew! Get off of me!” I twisted harder, my heart hammering hard against my ribs, but his grip only tightened.
My skin crawled. I couldn’t breathe. I needed him off me—now.
“Hey!” Luke snapped, grabbing for Gus’s shoulder as Norah signaled across the room for the bouncer. “Back the hell off!"
“Stay out of it, McKade,” Gus barked. “This is between me and my girl.”
“I’m not your anything,” I snapped, even though my voice cracked.
“That’s enough,” Luke said, but the second the words left his mouth Gus threw a wild punch, catching Luke square in the jaw. He staggered, more surprised than hurt, but his boot caught on the leg of a barstool, and he hit the floor with an angry, “Fuck!”
That brief scuffle shifted Gus just enough for his grip on me to falter. I twisted to wrench myself free, but he recovered too fast—his hold crushing tight again…until a broad-shouldered blur slammed into him like a freight train.
And this guy didn’t waste time talking.