Chapter Two
DARCY
He’s going to fire me. Why wouldn’t he? I’ve only worked at Arcane Brew for a few months and in that time, I’ve broken six mugs, three saucers, and two, no, three plates.
That must be a record, right? No one’s that clumsy.
Not even me. It’s just that every time he looks at me with those eyes like dark emeralds, so tall and so built…
I flush scarlet and my brain scrambles. I’ve been around attractive men before.
But Lincoln Wolf? He’s on a whole other level. One I clearly can’t handle.
Sable hair that’s a little long, those dazzling green eyes, and muscles for days…
I swear his Arcane Brew shirts are painted on him, the way they outline his broad shoulders and solid pecs.
Add in that husky voice that makes my knees weak, the little laugh lines around his eyes, and the chiseled face of a god?
Hoo boy. He lights up my lady parts like a freaking Christmas tree.
Which is a problem. The last thing I want is a boss that I’m attracted to.
I can’t afford to lose this job—not after what happened last time.
Not when I don’t even know if I still want to be an au pair.
Being stranded in a strange city by my last employer was a gut punch I haven’t recovered from.
Lincoln’s warm palm settles on the small of my back as he guides me to the employee break room.
My stomach flutters and my mouth goes dry.
I look at the slashed skin of my palm and the thin line of blood.
What if, after he gets me a Band-Aid, he lets me go?
We’re in the middle of the morning rush.
Instead of being out there helping Clara or even cleaning up my mess, he had to ask one of our customers to help.
Technically, Winter is more than a customer.
She’s married to one of Lincoln’s friends, but still…
I swallow hard and glance at Linc as he closes the door behind us and guides me over to the sink.
His expression is blank, which makes me even more nervous.
“I’ll pay for everything,” I blurt. “I know I’ve broken a lot. Too much. But please, give me another chance. I swear I won’t break anything else. I’ll… I’ll be the best employee you’ve ever had.”
Lincoln takes my bloody palm in his large hand and holds it up, gently prodding the edge of the wound. “You’re bleeding. We’ll worry about plates later, Darcy.”
Is that good or bad? Either way, I’m not above begging.
I may be a terrible barista, but I like it here.
Lincoln is a good boss, and Clara is the best. I think we might even be friends now.
I haven’t really had one for a while. I lost touch with my friends from high school after I went abroad, and my jobs didn’t allow a lot of time to meet people outside the families I worked for.
“Please don’t fire me.”
Lincoln’s eyes snap up, meeting mine. “I’m not going to fire you. Shit happens. Let’s leave it at that.” He turns on the faucet and adjusts the temperature, then crowds closer. His big body surrounds me as he guides my hand under the spray.
I suck in a breath when my cut stings, getting a lungful of his woodsy cologne.
His chest is hard against my back, but his hands are gentle where he holds my palm, one thumb brushing lightly over the cut to clean the wound.
Sparks of pleasure flow through me, centering low in my belly, and making it hard to draw a breath.
Is he this attentive to other employees? Is it wrong that I hope not? Yes. But I can’t help the thought, especially when he murmurs, “There you go,” so softly in my ear.
Lincoln turns off the water and grabs a few paper towels, drying my hand. “Let’s bandage it up so it doesn’t get infected.”
“You’re really not going to fire me?”
“No, Darcy. I’m not firing you.” He rummages through the cabinet next to the sink and removes the largest first aid kit I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it looks like he could perform surgery with it.
Lincoln gives a low chuckle when I say so. “Wouldn’t be the first time. Let’s see that wound.” He ushers me to sit at the table in the center of the room and flips open the lid on the kit.
It wouldn’t? A hundred questions hit me.
Admittedly, I don’t know much about my boss.
Clara says he and the other guys that frequent Arcane Brew were part of some Special Forces group in the military before settling in New Orleans.
I hold out my hand, palm up, then ask, “In the military? Or other klutzy baristas?”
A spark of humor lights his dark eyes. “Between my old team and my four-year-old, I’ve become a pro. Not sure who’s worse when it comes to injuries.”
My stomach tightens, and I automatically look at his left hand. No ring. Is he divorced? Or does he not wear a ring at work? Am I crushing on a married man?
See, Darcy? This is why you shouldn’t be thinking about your boss that way! I want to slide under the table in total embarrassment.
Lincoln’s warm hand engulfs mine, his thumb stroking the tender skin of my palm. He studies me a moment, then reaches for a tube of antibacterial ointment. “Single dad,” he says softly, answering my unspoken question.
I focus on where he’s dabbing the medicine into my cut, not daring to meet his gaze. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions. One glance and he’d see the interest, the attraction, and curiosity on my face. “A little boy or girl?”
“Girl. Her name is Grace, but everyone calls her Gracie.” His tone softens when he says her name.
I feel a throb low in my belly and my heart thumps out a double beat.
Picturing Lincoln Wolf with a little girl that looks up to her dad?
It’s almost painful. I want that. It would never happen with Lincoln.
I’m not kidding myself that he would be attracted to a woman at least ten years younger than him, who’s his employee, but to have a family with a man who wants his wife and child, even adores them enough not to leave?
To be important to someone finally and have a houseful of children we could raise together? It’s my dream for the future.
“It’s not too deep. You don’t need stitches, which is good because my sewing skills suck.” He winks at me, then wraps some gauze around my palm.
It tugs a smile to my lips. “Thank you. For bandaging my cut and… and for not firing me.”
Lincoln is silent as he places a piece of tape on the bandage. When he meets my gaze, the intensity in his eyes steals my breath. “I take care of what’s mine.”
This man is lethal. Just his husky voice slays me.
I stand on shaky legs and wrap my arms around my waist. “I’ll be more careful.”
Lincoln cleans up the first aid kit and stows it back in the cabinet. He returns to my side, so tall next to my smaller frame, and takes my upper arm in his large hand once more. “Please do. I don’t want my employees injured.”
I nod. His reminder that I’m only his employee doesn’t sting. It doesn’t.
Stop it, Darcy! He’s out of your league.
So far out, in fact, he could be in outer space. I straighten my spine, ready to get back to work. “I’ll see if anything else needs to be cleaned up. Winter doesn’t even work here. She shouldn’t have to?—”
Lincoln gently squeezes my arm. “She doesn’t mind. Especially if there’s a chance for free coffee.”
I huff a laugh. “She’s here more than I am.”
“That’s because she lives upstairs with Keane.”
I hadn’t realized there were apartments up there.
I know the Citadel Securities office is on the floor above us.
Lincoln works with the men there as well, though I’m not sure what he does.
“Do you—?” My cheeks turn hot as I trail off, realizing I was about to ask him if he and Gracie live up there as well.
“No. Living above a bar isn’t conducive to helping a four-year-old sleep.”
Of course it isn’t. Double Tap Bar is next door, and on the weekends, it can get pretty rowdy.
I’ve stopped in a few times when the boredom became too much at my little studio apartment.
And though I want to ask more, I clamp my mouth shut so I don’t pry into his personal life any more than I already have. “I should get back to work.”
Lincoln lingers at my side, his thumb brushing once over the skin of my upper arm. “Darcy.”
I wait, holding my breath as the air thickens between us. His gaze drops to my mouth, then back up to meet mine. He swallows. Then he releases me and takes a step back. “Have a good day.”
Right. Of course, he wasn’t going to kiss me.
I nod and hurry to the door. My eyes sting, and I blink a few times.
By the time I’m out in the main cafe area, the mess I made is cleaned up, and Winter is sipping a cup of coffee while chatting with Clara.
The rush of customers has hit a lull, and there’s only the hushed voices of people as they linger at tables, enjoying their coffee and beignets.
Everything is as it should be, but I feel hollow inside.
Lincoln strolls out of the break room and into his office, closing the door behind him.
“You good, Darcy?” Clara asks.
Am I? No. Fifteen minutes alone with Lincoln and I wanted him to kiss me. What’s wrong with me? I was fired from my last job because Mrs. Buckholtz didn’t like the attention her husband paid me. Now I want the attention of my new boss? I have to figure out where to go from here.
Tonight, when I get home, I’ll look at more au pair postings and force myself to decide if that’s what I still want. If it isn’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do. One thing I know for certain—I can’t stay around Lincoln Wolf much longer.