Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Austin
The lunch rush at Bowman’s is over, and all unoccupied tables have been cleared ready for the first wave of people coming for an early dinner or after-work drinks.
I’m taking advantage of the late afternoon lull by restocking the fridges behind the bar when Mum takes a seat on the barstool closest to me.
“You’re in an awfully good mood today.”
“Business is good,” I reply nonchalantly. It is, but that’s not the only reason there’s a spring in my step. I texted Cassie earlier, and she agreed to stay at my place tonight.
“It is. You’re doing a wonderful job, Austin. Your grandparents really would be so proud if they could see what you’ve achieved.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Cassie recently,” she hedges.
Taken off-guard by the unexpected turn in the conversation, I almost smack my head on the underside of the bar as I stand up.
Feigning calm, I make a noncommittal sound of agreement as I wash my hands in the sink.
Mum examines my expression closely as I get out the chopping board and knife to slice fresh lemon and lime wedges ahead of the evening rush.
If she asks outright if Cassie and I are seeing each other, I won’t lie, but I’d prefer not to discuss my dating life with my mother if I can avoid it.
The development in my relationship with Cassie is so new—I don’t need anyone, not even my well-meaning mum, sticking their noses into our private business.
“Her performance at the reopening was wonderful. You should ask her to play again—you don’t have anyone booked for the end of next month yet.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Cassie was clear she wanted that to be a one-time thing.”
Mum frowns. “But she’s so talented. Surely it can’t hurt to ask.”
For a moment, the only sound between us is the rhythmic tap of my knife as the blade hits the chopping board.
The last thing I want is for Cassie to feel like I’m asking for special favours now that we’re sleeping together.
On the other hand, she’s amazing, and I’d give almost anything to hear her sing again.
“Alright, I’ll ask.” Mum beams. “But if she says no, that’s it. No pressuring her,” I warn.
“Of course not,” Mum agrees, pushing off the stool. “You can ask her when she comes in for her shift tonight. I’m off to top up the napkin dispensers.” She waltzes away, humming to herself.
Before I know it, five o’clock has arrived, and so has Cassie. I catch her attention as soon as she steps out of the staff corridor and into the bar. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. Is something wrong?” she asks, concern clouding her sunny expression.
“No. I promise this isn’t that kind of ‘we need to talk’.”
She smiles in relief. “Good, because those aren’t words you want to hear from your boss or your boyfriend, so—” Her eyes go comically wide. “Not that you’re my boyfriend. I just meant that—”
“Cassie, breathe.” Laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder, I steer her back through the staff-only door and towards my office. “I’m not interested in casual or in playing games. Call me your boyfriend, partner, whatever. I’m all yours and I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to.”
“O—OK.”
“Glad that’s settled.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?” she asks, leaning against the edge of my desk and crossing her legs at the ankles.
“Before I ask, I need you to know that you can absolutely say no.”
“OK,” she drags the word out warily. “Now I’m intrigued.”
“I know you said before that performing here was a one-off. If that’s still how you feel, I completely respect that, but I was wondering if you’d do another gig here at the end of next month? We’ll pay whatever your usual rate is, obviously.”
“Oh.” Surprise, relief, and worry war for dominance in her expression, and I’m not sure what to make of her reaction.
Luckily, she doesn’t leave me guessing for long.
“I really hadn’t planned on gigging while I was here.
” She chews on her lip. “Wait, you said the end of next month?” At my nod, some of the tension eases from her shoulders.
“That’ll be enough time,” she mutters, more to herself than to me. Time for what? “OK. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
She holds out her hands and I take them, allowing her to pull me between her denim-clad thighs. “You play a couple of songs with me.”
“Oh, no. I’ve never played for an audience. Guitar’s just a hobby.”
“A hobby you’re really fucking good at.”
“Cassie.”
“Austin,” she drops her voice multiple octaves in an imitation of mine.
“Why would you want me up there with you? You really don’t need me.”
“No, but I want you.” She plays with one of the buttons on my open flannel overshirt. “It’ll be something fun we can do together.”
“You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”
With a saccharine smile, she replies, “You know me so well already. Do we have a deal?”
“I have missed playing…” I think about how good it felt to pick up my guitar again the other day. “Alright, but only if we can rehearse beforehand.” No matter how eager I am to see Cassie play again, I refuse to make a fool of myself in front of the whole town to make that happen.
Her expression softens. “Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you feel ready.”
“Thank you,” I reply, holding her blue gaze steadily. Something intangible crackles in the air between us.
Sliding off the desk, Cassie presses the length of her body against mine and reaches up to loop her arms around my neck. “You’re welcome.”
I lower my head to give her what I intend to be a gentle thank-you kiss, but the moment our mouths connect, a simple brush of lips no longer feels like enough.
Cassie’s hands tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck, urging me on as I slip my tongue inside her mouth.
Needing her closer still, I bend my knees and band one arm around the top of her thighs to lift her so we’re level.
Cassie giggles between kisses. “Damn, you’re strong.”
“No—” I nip at her lower lip. “You’re just tiny.
” I smother her squawk of outrage with another kiss, needing another taste of her before I go out and deal with people all evening.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and my regulars, but neither of those facts magically makes drunk people as funny as they think they are.
I’d much rather stay here with Cassie all night if I could, or better yet back at my house where I could lay her out beneath me and—
“Oh my God!”
I almost drop Cassie in surprise. Tightening my grip on my girl, I turn to glare at whoever’s barged into my office. Molly.
“What do you want?” I ask, unable to keep the impatient growl out of my voice. There’s no reason for her to have come in here.
“I was—it—” She flounders, mouth opening and closing like a fish while she searches for a full sentence. “Cassie was supposed to start at five.” She crosses her arms with a huff.
Really? That’s what she’s going with? “And?”
Cassie taps at my chest for me to set her down, and I oblige but wrap an arm around her shoulders, wanting to keep her close.
“What?” Molly asks dumbly.
“What part of that made you think barging into my office without knocking was a good idea?” I ask, unimpressed.
Fine, maybe Cassie and I shouldn’t have been getting quite so close at work, but that doesn’t make Molly’s behaviour any less rude.
Between this and how often she stops me to ask questions she really should know the answers to after weeks of working here, I’m regretting hiring her.
“I didn’t think—”
“Just go. Cassie will be out in a minute.”
Red-faced, she storms off without another word.
Cassie’s head falls back on a groan. “Ugh, just what I needed.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
“You know she has an enormous crush on you, right?”
My jaw drops. “What? No. You’re joking, right?” Dear God, please tell me she’s kidding. Molly’s even younger than Cassie. Hell, I even babysat her a couple of times.
Cassie’s incredulous expression makes my stomach churn. “How did you not know this? She really hasn’t been subtle. At all.”
“This is—is this something everyone knows?”
“Everyone but you, apparently.” Cassie snorts.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Oh, it is,” she assures me, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Anyway, I’m going to get to work before your mum comes in here looking for me next.” She’s still cackling at my horrified expression as the office door swings shut behind her.
An hour into the evening shift, it becomes abundantly clear that Molly’s told anyone who would listen about what she saw.
It’s not that I’m trying to hide my relationship with Cassie, but we only just got together.
It would have been nice to have some time where we could enjoy each other without the whole town chiming in with their opinions, but there’s no putting the cat back in the bag.
My only concern now is that Mum’s going to be upset she didn’t hear the news from me first. When I pass her on my way to pick up a food order, she halts me with a gentle hand on my arm.
“I’m happy for you, son. Cassie’s a lovely girl. ”
“This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
She gives me a wry smile. “I’m sure. Are you going to do something about Molly? That girl is insufferable.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t fire her for being an irritating gossip.” Still, I plan to have another word with her the first chance I get.
Mum sighs. “I suppose not.”
After delivering the selection of small plates to a couple near the bar, I spot Molly chatting with a table full of her friends and ignoring the other customers trying to get her attention. Utterly fed up with her, I stride over there.
“Molly, a word.” I stride towards the staff-only door, knowing she’ll follow.
“Should we go into your office?” Now that Cassie’s pointed out Molly’s crush, it’s impossible to miss her suggestive tone.
I barely repress the sneer of disgust that tugs at my lips. “Here’s fine,” I reply, gesturing at the empty staff corridor. “This won’t take long.”
“If this is about earlier—”
“It’s not. Well, not entirely. While I don’t appreciate you sharing my personal business with half the town, that isn’t why I pulled you aside. I’m not sure you’re a good fit for Bowman’s.”
“What? Why not?”
I clench my jaw, biting back my immediate response, determined to stay professional. “You were rude to a customer during your last shift when you got their order wrong. Today you’re so busy talking to your friends you didn’t notice two other tables in your section needed something from you.”
“I was only talking to them for, like, five minutes,” she protests.
“That’s not the point. You’re here to work, not gossip. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to have a conversation like this. I’m sorry, but this is your final warning—fix your attitude or I’ll have to let you go.”
“You can’t fire me just because I walked in on you and that bi—”
“Finish that sentence and you’re done here,” I warn, a dangerous growl in my voice.
Her face contorts into an angry snarl. “Fine. Can I go now?”
Give me strength. Unable to trust that I won’t snap and tell Molly to fuck off and find a new job if I open my mouth, I give her a stiff nod. She tosses her long blonde hair over her shoulder and flounces away. Something tells me I’ll be searching for her replacement sooner rather than later.
After taking a deep breath to calm down, I return to my post alongside Jamie behind the bar where I’ll spend the rest of the evening pouring pints and mixing cocktails.
On the bright side, now that I no longer need to be subtle, there’s nothing stopping me from glancing over at Cassie every chance I get.
There’s something magnetic about her that draws everyone in.
That’s not even me being biased because we’re together.
The customers love her, and we’ve had more than a few people ask if she’d be performing here again.
I’m pleased that I can now tell them yes, in part because it means keeping my customers happy, but mostly because she’s simply too damn talented to hide away from the world. She belongs on a stage.
Cassie catches me watching her more than once and clearly decides to make a little game out of torturing me all evening.
Every time she walks by the bar, she adds a little more swing to her step.
When she drops her pen, instead of crouching to pick it up, she bends at her waist, keeping her legs straight.
I’m torn between staring at her self-satisfied smirk and the incredible view she’s giving me of her perfect arse as she scoops up the writing implement.
I’m not the only one who notices her little show, but I am the one who’ll be taking her home later, and that’s good enough for me.
By closing, everyone at Bowman’s knows about Cassie and me.
More than a few knowing looks come our way as the team leaves to head home.
Cassie waits beside me, pointedly ignoring the attention we’re getting and looking up at the stars while I lock the doors to the bar behind me.
“I’m sorry about Molly,” I say, wrapping an arm around Cassie’s shoulders once I’m done.
“It’s fine,” she replies as we walk to my car. “I mean, I don’t love having everyone staring at me, but it’s not like it’s the first time.”
“What do you mean?”
She laughs uneasily, looking away. “Oh, just um, being new in town and crashing into the beer garden, you know?”
“Right.” While her explanation makes sense, I know that isn’t what she meant. More secrets. I don’t like it, but I said that I would give her time—I can’t be upset that she’s taking it. “Do you still want to come back to mine?”
Her smile outshines every star in the sky. “Sure. Take me home, Boss.”