3. Eliza #2
“Uh, yeah, good to see you, too.” If there was one thing I was, it was stubborn, and I didn’t want him to see the effect he had on me.
An effect he really shouldn’t have, given he was my ex’s older brother—and my new coworker.
“Are you looking forward to the new job? I’m surprised you accepted it, actually. ”
From what Leo had told me, I thought his goal had been to be head chef of a fine dining restaurant—not a small town bar—which was why when I had given Leo’s number to Wes, I didn’t think it would go anywhere.
Leo took a beat before responding, drumming his fingers against the bar top. “The opportunity came at a good time.”
His vague words hung between us, but I didn’t press. I didn’t need to know why he was here or what he was doing. I needed to mind my own business. Simple enough.
“Well, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, so prepare to be sick of me,” I said. “I bartend in the evenings, and then we also live in the same apartment building. I’m right across the hall from you.”
“Lily’s old apartment, right? She mentioned it when I picked up the keys,” he said. “I’ll have to ask her for some stories about you, too, next time I see her.”
My jaw dropped, and I let out a laugh. “Okay, see, I knew you’d end up collecting blackmail on me. That’s why you’re here.”
“Damn. Has my cover already been blown? I haven’t even started my job yet.”
I side-eyed him but couldn’t help the smile on my lips. “You met Gabe tonight, right? Him and Lily are dating. And Wes is dating my other friend Jules.”
Leo parted his lips to say something when a voice cut in.
“Hey, Eliza, I’m going to get going,” Andy said.
Shit. I’d completely forgotten he was there.
“Wait, but—” I started.
“I’m just in town for the night. I don’t want to get in the middle of anything,” he said with a polite smile, looking between me and Leo.
“There’s nothing going on between us,” we both said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. Why did we sound…guilty?
“Um, right…” Andy’s polite smile turned into an awkward laugh. “Anyways, it was nice meeting you, Eliza.” He grabbed his coat and beelined toward the door.
“Uh, yeah, it was nice meeting you, too,” I muttered in return, even though Andy was already gone. I shook my head at the interaction. “That was weird.” I tore my gaze away from the door. “Well, his loss,” I said with a shrug, more to myself than to Leo.
“Definitely his loss,” Leo agreed, and heat unexpectedly coursed up my neck to my cheeks.
While I’d been excited to wrap up my shift and go back to where Andy was staying, I couldn’t say I was disappointed that it wasn’t happening.
I felt more standing here talking to Leo than I likely would’ve in bed with Andy, and that…wasn’t a great realization.
“This damn curse,” I muttered, grabbing three clean beer glasses and filling them with what Gabe and Wes preferred. When Cooper was out, he typically stuck to one beer, so I figured he wouldn’t want another. I left Leo’s for last.
“Curse?” Leo asked with furrowed brows, and I was about to tell him but stopped myself. Talking to Leo about my sex life was the last thing I should have been doing. Boundaries. We needed boundaries. “What do you mean?”
“Um, nothing,” I said quickly before asking what beer he wanted.
“She thinks her sex life is cursed,” a voice cut in, and I let out a groan as I set the glass down.
“Gran,” I scolded. “You can’t go around telling people that.”
“What? Maybe the person who will break it is in this very room,” she said innocently, sitting on a stool and setting her bag—with colorful yarn and knitting needles sticking out—on her lap. “You never know.”
“Your sex life is cursed, and you thought that guy was going to be the one to break it?” Leo looked absolutely dumbfounded as he hooked his thumb over his shoulder.
“It was possible,” I argued. “But now we’ll never know.”
“If anything, he would’ve made your curse worse,” Leo muttered, taking a sip from the beer glass I slid his way.
“Really?” I asked, unamused and a little annoyed he thought he knew what I needed. “Okay, well if you know what I should be looking for, why don’t you tell me.”
Leo didn’t miss a beat. He leaned forward slightly, his tattooed, corded forearms resting against the bar while his gaze locked with mine. “An electric connection. Fire. Passion. Something you can’t walk away from.”
My eyes traced the movement of his mouth as he spoke, his words landing between us, low and deliberate. A subtle warmth crept up my neck, and my pulse picked up.
That kind of fire didn’t come with a one- or two-night stand. I’d had plenty of great sex over the years, but never that spark, that impossible pull. The kind of connection Leo described required more. More intimacy, more time, more…something I hadn’t found—and wasn’t looking for.
I didn’t want someone I couldn’t walk away from. I wanted the exact opposite—someone I could walk away from and neither of us would think twice.
I scoffed, parting my lips to refute his words when my grandma spoke up.
“You know, Leo, I was thinking the same thing,” Gran said. “I’m Marnie, by the way. Eliza and Cooper’s grandma. I hope Golden Falls has been treating you well so far.”
“Great to meet you, Marnie. No complaints here. Wes, Cooper, and Gabe have been showing me around, and then I start my new job in a few days.”
“Those boys are wonderful. I’m glad you have some time to explore town and get settled before work starts. Maybe go to a yoga class or two in your free time.”
“Gran,” I huffed.
“What? I can’t be proud of my granddaughter’s business?” she asked with an innocent shrug.
“Seems like the very thing you should be,” Leo chimed in. “I’ll have to stop by sometime in the next couple of weeks.”
Gran gave me a see? look, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Hey, Gran. Ready to head out?” Cooper asked, coming up to the bar.
“Yes,” I answered for Gran.
That got Cooper to pause and say, “Actually, should we stay a little longer? I bet you have a fun Eliza story to share, Gran. Don’t you?” He grinned.
I scratched my forehead with my middle finger, discreetly flipping him off. Everyone was in the mood to cause trouble at my expense tonight.
Gran’s grin matched Cooper’s. “As tempting as that is, I should get home. But”—Gran turned toward Leo—“I have plenty of those stories if you’re ever curious.” She gave his arm a gentle squeeze before sliding off the stool.
Coop reached for Gran’s bag, hitching it on his shoulder and giving her his arm.
“Thanks for the ride, my boy.” Gran beamed.
Coop’s eyes softened. “You know it’s my pleasure. Did you have a good time at knitting club?”
“I sure did. Finished my sweater and got some good gossip.”
“Bye, Gran,” I said with a gentle laugh. “Give Coop trouble on the ride home.”
“You know it.” She winked at me. “Goodnight, Firecracker. Get home safe, okay?”
“I will. No need to worry about me. Talk to you tomorrow.”
For as long as I could remember, Gran had always called me Firecracker and said that if I ever wanted to settle down, I needed someone who would come blazing into my life. The fact that Leo called out fire in regard to what I needed unsettled me.
I watched Gran and Cooper walk out before I turned to Leo, a softness in his expression that further unsettled me. Leo would be intertwined with my professional life, but I couldn’t let it happen personally.
Boundaries.
“I should—” we both started to say, and I nodded for Leo to finish.
“I should get back.”
He tipped his head toward the table where Wes and Gabe were sitting. The two of them couldn’t have been more different, but I loved that they got along. It made Lily happy, too.
“I’ll see you around, Trouble.” Leo got off the stool and grabbed the three glasses before he made his way back to the booth.
Well after Leo sat down, I realized he’d called me Trouble.
Trouble?
One of us was trouble, and it sure wasn’t me.