“I’m working, you’re paying me. I can’t drink a soda and chitchat. That’s not right. I need to be doing something.”

“Maybe you should get her to do a trainin’ course for Tonia and Jonelle,” Nadine put in and Tate’s head swung in her direction in order to grin at her.

We were close but even when we weren’t close I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him smile.

He looked good smiling.

I straightened my spine and lifted my hand up again.

“Captain, can you just give me your keys?” I asked, sounding as exasperated as I was.

He looked down at me, still grinning, I did my best to ignore how good that looked pointed in my direction and he dug in his front jeans pocket, came out with the keys and dropped them in my hand.

“Knock yourself out,” he said.

“Thanks,” I returned and hightailed it to the hall.

* * * * *

My stock take took awhile because it was a big job and I kept going out to check if there were more customers. Around five thirty, I made note of where I stopped and headed out as the after work crowd was rolling in.

At six thirty, the after work crowd suddenly included Wood.

As I was waiting for Dalton, who’d showed a half an hour earlier, to fill my order, Wood slid onto the stool beside me. I looked at him and smiled.

“Hey there,” I said.

“Hey Lauren,” he smiled back. “Car’s done.”

“Find anything I need to know about?” I asked.

He shook his head. “All good.”

That would be the case. Brad had been obsessive about taking care of our cars even though I thought this was nuts considering he got rid of them to upgrade every two years. On a stringent schedule, he had the oil checks done, the tires rotated, the engine tuned and both our cars regularly detailed. Not cleaned, detailed. He spent a fortune on it. Crazy.

“Wanna drink, Wood?” Dalton asked him.

“Yeah,” Wood said on a chin lift, “Coors.”

“Gotcha,” Dalton replied and turned to the fridges.

“When’re you off?” Wood asked.

“Sorry?” I was hefting up the tray that Dalton loaded and concentrating on balancing it on my hand.

“Tonight, baby, when’re you off?” he repeated and his voice had gone gentle and he’d called me baby so my eyes shot to his just as my heart started beating faster.

“Seven, depending on when one of the girls shows.”

“Ridin’ out tonight,” he told me then went on. “You wanna be on the back of my bike?”

“Sorry?” I repeated, a thrill going through my belly at the thought of riding on a bike. I’d never done it but always wanted to, always. I figured that thrill was a bit more thrilling because Wood would be the one in front of me on that bike.

“You get done, I’ll take you to your car, follow you to the hotel and you and me can ride out.”

“I need to get dinner,” I said to him and he smiled.

“Then you and me’ll ride out and get dinner,” he amended.

“I’d like –” I started to accept but suddenly Tate was there and he had Wood’s Coors.

“Need you to stay tonight,” Tate said, planting the Coors in front of Wood and not looking at him because he was looking at me.

“What?” I asked Tate.

“Place is packed, babe, you need to stay until both Wendy and Tonia show,” Tate answered and I looked around the bar seeing he was right. It was even more packed than it usually was with after work drinkers.

Still, hopeful, I suggested, “Wendy can handle this crowd with two of you behind the bar.”

“I’m leavin’ soon, got somethin’ to see to,” Tate replied.

“But –”

He interrupted me. “Need you to stay.”

“Um…” I started but he walked away.

I turned to Wood and saw he was watching Tate and he didn’t look very happy.

“I’m sorry Wood, I’ve got to stay,” I said softly and his head turned to me and he still didn’t look very happy.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Tonia can be pretty late. On Sunday, she was an hour and a half late. I don’t know –”

I stopped speaking because I watched Wood’s face gentle and it looked so good, I had to concentrate on keeping my tray aloft and not swooning.

“’Nother time, baby,” Wood said softly.

“Okay,” I whispered and didn’t move.

When I didn’t move for awhile, Wood smiled at me and tipped his head to my tray. “You might wanna serve your drinks, Lauren.”

“Oh!” I cried. “Right. I’ll come and get my car tomorrow.”

He nodded his head.

“Later,” he said as I turned away.

“Later, Wood,” I called over my shoulder.

* * * * *

Tonia was forty-five minutes late and by the time she showed, Wood was gone.

She sauntered in wearing a tank top cut off just below her br**sts and a mini-skirt that was almost non-existent hanging on her h*ps and it was hanging in a way that it looked like it was valiantly trying not to give up the ghost but was about to fall off. She also had on sky-high stilettos that had crisscross straps that crissed and crossed all the way up her calves.

When she came in, I breathed a sigh of relief because I’d been on awhile and it might have been a slow day but it was a hectic night.

“Hey Tate,” she breathed, her eyes dewy as she hit the bar right next to me without even glancing in my direction.

“You’re forty-five minutes late,” Tate replied.

“Yeah, I –”

“You’re also dressed like a whore,” Tate went on and I sucked in breath and my eyes shot to Dalton who was close but edging back.

“What?” Tonia asked.

“You’re forty-five minutes late, you’re dressed like a whore and when you start workin’, you don’t sell shit. Tell me, Tonia, why do I pay you?”

“Um…” she flipped her hair because she always flipped her hair but this time I noticed it was also to hide the fact that she was nervous, “to serve drinks.”

“Your shift started nearly an hour ago. You serve any of those drinks in that hour?”

“I wasn’t here, Tate, I had a situ –” Tonia began.

“Woman, you always got a situation and I don’t give a f**k,” Tate cut her off. “Strut your ass right back out that door. I’m done.”