Chapter 3
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” a tall guy with floppy hair and a thin moustache said as Jessica passed him a light beer.
Please don’t be a pick-up line. She was too tired for this tonight. Her string of bad days from last week was officially in danger of becoming a bad fortnight.
“I don’t think so,” she replied.
“I never forget a face. Certainly not one as pretty as yours.”
Ugh.
Jessica tucked her tray under her arm. “You guys need anything else?” She purposely avoided Mr Never Forget’s eyes, directing her question at the two couples he was sitting with.
“Did you go to Melbourne Uni?” he tried again.
Once upon a time, Jessica had … before she’d met Rob and got pregnant.
Before everything had changed.
“Juliet, right? Studying town planning? You did that project on government-subsidised low-cost homes for families?”
This was hitting way too close. Time to shut it down.
“No, sorry. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.
” With a polite smile, she stowed her order pad in the pocket of her black jeans and headed back to the bar.
Wyatt was down one end, working on his laptop.
The other server, Olive, was slicing limes to refill the cocktail station, her head bobbing to the beat of the pop song playing on the pub’s Friday night playlist.
“He’s cute,” Olive said without looking up.
Jessica placed her tray on the bar. “I’m not interested.”
“Could be fun …”
The last time Jessica had thrown caution to the wind and chased fun, she’d ended up pregnant to the much older guy she’d just started seeing. She and fun weren’t friends anymore. Not that she could ever regret Sam.
Teddy sat down opposite Jessica and slung his work satchel across the back of his chair.
“What can I get you?” she asked him.
“Anything. I couldn’t face cooking. And I thought you guys might be missing the best coworker you ever had.”
“I’ve been missing the tips you brought in,” Olive said.
“Is that all I am to you guys? A pretty face?” Teddy clutched his chest, and Jessica had to bite her cheeks to stop from smiling.
It was easy to see why everyone loved Teddy.
If things were drastically different, she would’ve let herself entertain the idea of trying to get to know him outside of work.
“I’ve got it.” Mr Never Forget launched onto the stool next to Teddy, his hand slapping the bar. “You’re Jessica. We had a bunch of classes together. And then you disappeared. What was up with that?”
What was up with people being unable to mind their own damn business?
“Friend of yours?” Teddy inclined his head towards Mr Never Forget, but his eyes didn’t leave hers.
There was a hint of protectiveness in his deep voice, and Jessica shouldn’t have been noticing things like that about anyone.
Least of all, Teddy. Never in a million years would Teddy James be interested in her.
“Hey, man.” Mr Never Forget offered Teddy his hand. Warily, Teddy shook it. “Jess”—oh, so now I’m Jess?—“and I are old friends.”
This was quite the exaggeration. Mum brain was a legitimate thing, but Jessica didn’t normally forget whole people. And she didn’t have a clue what this dude’s name was.
“So, how’d you go from university to working at a bar in a small town?”
She picked up a stack of paper coasters and tapped them against the bar until the edges were perfectly aligned. “You’ve got me confused with someone else.”
For the first time, Mr Never Forget’s eyes clouded over with questions. “I don’t think I do. You used to sit in front of me. I always thought your hair was cool.”
People had been saying this to Jessica her whole life because curls didn’t just get the girls, they got everyone.
“I get people confused all the time,” Teddy cut in to their conversation.
“And I’m the worst with names,” Olive said. “You know when someone tells you their name several times and you still can’t remember but you should know it so you can’t ask again without making it weird? Welcome to my world.”
One of the perks of living in a small town? How they looked after their own. Jessica would always be grateful to Wattle Junction for embracing her and Sam so wholeheartedly.
“I guess.” Mr Never Forget frowned. “Sorry?”
Jessica didn’t blame him for phrasing his apology like a question because he clearly didn’t believe her. And he shouldn’t. But Jessica refused to look backwards or wonder what things could’ve been like. She was too focused on making the most of what she had now. For herself and for Sam.
“No problem.” Jessica picked up a cloth and wiped down the already clean bar. She waited until Mr Never Forget had paid and left.
When she looked up, Teddy was watching her quietly. “What?” she asked.
“You know Wyatt’s rules,” he said.
“He wasn’t harassing me. I had everything under control. Besides, you would’ve stepped in more if I needed it, right?”
Teddy had intervened countless times when an over-eager patron expressed interest in one of his female co-workers. If he was feeling protective right now, it wasn’t because Jessica was special. It was just a hangover from his years behind the bar.
“Of course.”
Teddy went back to his drink, and Jessica started unstacking a tray of clean glasses. They were still warm from the dishwasher.
“What did you study?” Teddy asked, dragging her away from the monotony of her task. “I remember you saying you started a uni degree.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied.
“Well, what did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a dentist. Initially, because I thought the robot chair was super cool, and then, because …” Teddy paused, his cheeks flushing.
“Because?”
“It’s silly.”
Jessica raised her eyebrows, her hands resting against the glasses underneath them.
Teddy laughed softly. “How cheesy would it sound if I said I wanted to make sure everyone could smile confidently?”
Of course that was why. God, Teddy was adorable.
“Come on.” His lips curled into one of the smiles that Jessica had spent too long thinking about. “What about you? Your secret’s safe with me. I promise.”
It was his charm that disarmed her, and before she knew what was happening, Jessica answered honestly. “I just wanted to be happy.”
Because that’s all anyone can hope for when they have to grow up before they should.