The second customer of the night asked me to get them a plate of nacho chips and salsa, which was one of the snack options the bar offered. I gave the order to Lizzy this time so she could make up the plate and give it to me to deliver.
But when I returned to the table with his plate of nachos, the customer looked at the dish with confusion.
“Where’s the side of guacamole?” he asked.
I nearly groaned. I had written down chips and salsa, but I had completely forgotten he’d also asked for guacamole on the side.
“I’ll be right back with that,” I told him.
Luckily this guy didn’t seem to be too upset. He just went back to his conversation with his friend.
But I still had to confess to Lizzy that I had screwed up one of the orders.
“I’m so sorry,” I told her. It felt like I had apologized more in the last forty-eight hours than I had in my entire life.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” she told me with a sympathetic smile.
But the night didn’t get any better. I messed up orders, mixed up customers’ requests, and delivered food to the wrong tables, with each customer seeming to get increasingly irritated.
A customer was in the middle of chewing me out when Evan sauntered up from behind the bar counter. He had been busy making drinks for customers on the other side of the bar for most of the night.
I had been glad for that. It meant he hadn’t seen all the screw-ups I’d made. But now the customer had raised his voice at me and I couldn’t say a word in my defense. I had messed up his order, after all.
I wasn’t cut out for this. I didn’t know why I had thought I’d be able to do this. I should have known I would make a mess of things.
“Is there a problem here?” Evan asked as he walked up to us.
The customer gave him the short rundown of all the various ways I’d screwed up his order. Evan apologized and offered to give him half off his bill.
I wondered if it would come out of my paycheck. It would only be fair.
But that meant it would take even longer for me to get back on my feet. If I kept on screwing up and kept on getting my paycheck docked, who knew how long it would take.
Or maybe if I got bad enough Evan would fire me on the spot. I was half-surprised he hadn’t done so already. The night had been a disaster.
While Evan talked to the customer and tried to smooth his feathers, I ducked out of the conversation and made my way to the back hallway. I needed a moment to myself.
My breath was coming too fast. My hands were clammy. My head swam and turned fuzzy. It wasn’t a panic attack exactly, but I was feeling overwhelmed and disorientated and I didn’t know what to do.
Evan appeared in the hallway, catching me standing in the corner, wringing my hands together and no doubt as pale as a ghost.
“Having a tough time out there?” Evan asked.
“I don’t think I’m cut out for this,” I said. “I keep screwing up and making mistakes.”
“You’re brand new to this customer service thing, aren’t you?” Evan asked.
“It’s that obvious?” I asked.
I continued wringing my hands together nervously, waiting for Evan to tell me I was fired. Waiting for him to tell me I had imposed on him long enough and I needed to leave his apartment.
I still hadn’t decided what to do. I still didn’t know what direction my future should take. I was using my time with Evan to try to sort that out.
If I had to leave now I knew I would end up back at home, marrying Jacob, and being miserable for the rest of my life.
My lower lip trembled. I fought back the panic rising in my chest.
“You’ve been working for most of the night,” Evan spoke up, politely not mentioning my quivering lip or my glossy eyes. “Why don’t you take a break before getting back to it?”
“You’re not going to fire me?” I asked.
“I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d be quite this awful at customer service,” he said.
My face fell. Evan put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. I looked up at him hopefully.
“But I’m sure if you stick to non-customer stuff, you’ll be fine,” he continued.
That squeeze was affectionate, almost brotherly. Not suggestive or sensual about it at all.
But from the way my stomach fluttered, I knew the feelings I had were anything but familial.
9
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bar closed and the last of the customers cleared out.
I slumped over the counter, lowering my head with a sigh.
“Tough night?”
I lifted my eyes to see a good looking man coming out of a room at the back with a stack of papers in his hands. This had to be Mason, the manager I’d yet to meet.
“Don’t worry,” he continued. “It’s hard on everyone at first. You’ll get used to it.”
I sat up straight and cleared my throat.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” I told him. “You and Evan were very kind to hire me out of the blue like this.”
“We really need someone until we hire a full-timer to replace some of Grant and Lizzy’s shifts,” Mason said. “But you’re welcome to keep on helping out for as long as you want. We’re a busy place.”
“I’ve noticed.” I wrung my hands in my lap, wondering how much Mason knew about my screw-ups. “I’m still learning, but I promise I’m trying my best.”
“Evan told me this is your first customer service job,” Mason said. “We don’t expect you to be an expert right away.”
I didn’t know if I’d become an expert at it ever, the way things were going, but I was willing to work my hardest. I wasn’t going to disappoint Evan or make him regret helping me.
“This stupid machine!” Lizzy cried out with a frustrated groan.
“Still haven’t gotten the hang of it?” Mason asked.
“I hate you.” She pointed a finger at him. “What was wrong with the old system? Why do we need this newfangled thingy?”
“It’s supposed to be more customer-friendly,” Mason said. “Easier for calculating tips when splitting between multiple people.”
“It may be customer-friendly, but it’s not Lizzy-friendly,” she fumed. “The instructions make no sense. It’s all numbers, and equations, and math.” Her nose scrunched up in disgust at the last word.
“Can I see?” I asked curiously. “I was pretty good at math in school.”
“Be my guest,” she said with a wild wave of her hand.
The expensive private school my parents had sent me to had been more of a finishing school for young ladies, but the academics were rigorous at least, and I’d always excelled at anything to do with numbers. As the headmistress would say, I’d be well equipped to do the finances involved with “running a household.”
I took Lizzy’s place in front of the computer. There was some kind of spreadsheet looking program open on the touch screen. I tapped to open the help menu and skimmed through the FAQ section. I found something about calculating the sums for split orders and tips. I went back to the spreadsheet. It looked a little complicated, but after examining it for a few seconds, I thought I had a grip on the problem.
“Hm.” I tapped a few more buttons. “I think this is it. Try it now.”
Lizzy’s skeptical frown didn’t leave her face, but after running a few test purchases, the frown melted into a surprised smile.
“It works!” She enveloped me in a hug, nearly knocking me off my feet. “You’re a genius!”
“I just read the instructions,” I told her.
“And Alice saves the day,” Evan announced as he slid over to our side of the bar. “I think this makes up for a few broken glasses, don’t you?”
The door to the bar opened wide, letting in a cool evening breeze.
“Sorry, we’re closed,” Mason called out.
“Alice,” said a familiar clipped voice.
My hear
t stopped. I felt the blood drain from my face. I turned around slowly.
My sister, Grace, stood in the entrance, arms folded primly over her chest, a single eyebrow raised in a condescending sneer. Her sleek trousers and perfectly fitted blouse were something out of some high-end fashion magazine.
“So this is where I find you?” she asked, looking around in disdain. “In some dive bar?”
“We’re not a dive bar,” Mason muttered, then raised his voice. “I’m sorry, but the bar is closed. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
“I’m not staying,” Grace said shortly. “I’m just here to pick up my sister and leave. I don’t intend on staying in this place one second longer than I have to.”
“Wow, rude much?” Lizzy said. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but you don’t come into someone’s place of business and start insulting them.”
My sister sniffed, ignoring Lizzy completely as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder.
“Come along, Alice,” she said impatiently. “You’ve got everyone worried.”
The blood had frozen in my veins. A loud rushing sound filled my ears. I hadn’t been able to make a single sound.
Evan came around the counter to stand beside me and murmur in my ear.
“We can kick her out if you want,” he said.
“Alice.” She said the word with absolute finality. “Come.”
“How—” My voice cracked. “How did you find me?”
“Our father had someone track down the location of the wifi signal when you sent me that message,” she replied.
Evan furrowed his brow.
“Can you even do that?” he wondered out loud.
I had no doubt someone with my father’s connections could, in fact, do that.
“I don’t…” I faltered, then tried to continue. “I don’t want to… I’m not going back.”
My sister heaved a put-upon sigh.
“Let’s stop this nonsense right here and now,” she said. “You’ve got nowhere else to go.”
“Yes, she does.” Evan stepped out to stand in front of me, like a knight protecting a princess from a dragon.
“And you are?” my sister asked with all the interest she would give a flea. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter who you are.” She turned her gaze back to me. “Alice, I’m getting tired of this. Our parents are furious, but if you come home now they’re willing to forget about it all. We can still hold the wedding and everything will be fine.”
“I—” My voice shook. I couldn’t continue.
I’d known my parents were mad, but hearing it from my sister’s lips only confirmed it. I hated incurring their wrath. I’d always been such an obedient daughter. I’d tried so hard to not do anything that would upset them. I’d been a good girl my whole life. Knowing my parents were furious with me made my stomach drop to the floor.
Evan took my hand and squeezed tight.
His previous words came back to me. That my own wellbeing came first. His warm touch gave me a kind of strength I didn’t know I had.
I squeezed his hand back.
“I’m not going,” I said.
My sister raised both eyebrows. I’d never talked back to her before. I’d always given into anything she told me to do.
Not this time.
“I’m not going back home,” I said. “I’m not going through with the wedding. Tell our parents that there’s nothing they can say to make me change my mind.”
Grace narrowed her eyes at me.
“We’ll see about that.” She turned on her heel and stalked out, slamming the door behind her.
The bar was left silent in her wake.
I slumped backward against the counter, my knees weak and nearly falling out from under me. My breath came in rapid fits and starts. Evan put a hand on my elbow to help keep me upright.
“Oh my god,” I wheezed, pressing a hand to my chest and feeling my rapid heartbeat. “I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I said that. They’re going to kill me.”
“They’ll have to get through me first,” Evan said.
I gave him a grateful look.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“Any time,” he replied. “Now, let’s get you home.”
Home. The word had such a different meaning now than it had only a few days ago. Before, home had meant the place where I played the part of the dutiful daughter. Where I did as I was told and hoped for a single scrap of affection in return.
But now, home meant something different.
It meant a place of warmth. Of caring.
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go home.”
10
After that encounter with my sister, I thought I might end up tossing and turning the entire night. Instead, I had one of the best nights of sleep in my life.
I’d told her off. I’d stuck up for myself. I hadn’t given in.
My eyes blinked open. I smiled. Today felt like the start of a brand new me. An Alice who was confident and strong. An Alice who could take on the world.
I hummed a happy tune as I climbed out of bed and straightened the sheets. I’d never made my bed before. It had always been done for me. But I was a new Alice now. I could take care of myself.
Besides, I was a guest in Evan’s home and it would be rude to leave it looking like a mess.
Evan had stuck up for me last night. It was sweet of him. He had told me on that first morning when I’d woken up hungover in his apartment that my pathetic situation made his protective instincts flare up.
I didn’t much like the idea that I was so helpless someone would take pity on me, but I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t make my heart sing, just a little bit, that Evan wanted to protect me.
Besides, it was true, wasn’t it? No money of my own, no home to go back to, no friends to call on, no life skills to speak of. It was pathetic.
But I’d slowly started to change that. I’d gotten a job at a bar and was making some money. I wasn’t good at customer service, but at least I could take care of the cleanup, not to mention I’d fixed Lizzy’s cash register problem. And if we weren’t exactly friends yet, the people at Sin and Tonic had been friendly and patient with me.
As for a home…
I looked around at the spare room I’d been staying in for the last week. Evan had opened his own home to me and made me feel welcome. He’d made me breakfast, let me use his phone, and bought me some clothes.
It wasn’t anything I hadn’t had other people do for me in the past. I had personal shoppers and my family had a private chef.
But Evan hadn’t done any of that because he was getting paid to do so. He’d done it simply because…
I paused in the middle of fluffing a pillow.
Why exactly had Evan done all these nice things for me? Was it just because he was a good guy? Because he felt sorry for me? Because I had nowhere else to go and he felt bad kicking me out on the streets?
Whatever his reasons were, I was grateful to him. If I hadn’t wandered into Sin and Tonic that day, if I had somehow found myself at any other bar, I wondered where I’d be now.
Probably back at home, on the receiving end of my parent’s angry tirades. Or already hitched to Jacob, living with him and plastering on fake smiles to hide the fact that I was desperately unhappy.
But I didn’t have to worry about that now. I had stumbled into Sin and Tonic. I would thank my lucky stars and not question it. All I could do now was move forward.
But how exactly I was going to do that, I had no idea. That was the troubling part. I had no real plans, aside from continuing to crash at Evan’s and work at the bar. I couldn’t do that forever.
I wandered out into the hall toward the bathroom, my mind occupied with thoughts of my future. I didn’t notice the light was already on. I didn’t notice the sound of rushing water from the shower.
I did, however, notice the outline of Evan’s naked body through the frosted shower glass as I opened the bathroom door.
I squeaked and jumped back, startled. My hand closed tight on the doorknob, intending to swing it closed before Evan noticed I’d walked in on him.
But my attention was transfixed by the blurred figure in the shower. His body was only vaguely defined, but my mind filled in the blanks. Evan was tall and broad-shouldered, with slim hips. His strong hands were raised above his head and his chin was tipped back as he massaged shampoo into his hair.
My eyes wandered down the blurry chest, down his stomach, to his—
I squeezed my eyes closed. I didn’t know if I’d be able to see anything through the frosted glass, but I didn’t want to take the chance and invade Evan’s privacy.
“You going to stand there all day?” Evan called out, sounding amused.
I squeaked again.
“I’m sorry!” I blurted out. “I didn’t know you were in here and I just walked in without looking and—”
“You’re letting all the cold air in.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “You mind closing the door?”
“Right!” I said. “Yes. I’m going now. Sorry!”
I slammed the door shut with me on the other side. I rested my back against the door. My eyes were wide and my cheeks were flushed.
I couldn’t believe I’d walked in on Evan in the shower.
I hadn’t seen anything, not really. The glass had been too opaque for that. But still, how embarrassing. Would he think I’d done it on purpose? This was twice now I’d been caught watching him. First with the workout, and now this.
My cheeks burned even hotter as I groaned in horror. He was going to think I was some kind of perverted Peeping Tom at this rate.
Humiliation swirled within every fiber of my being.
I’d have to apologize again when he came out. I’d have to make sure he knew it was just an accident. Maybe I could do something to make up for it?
I decided to head to the kitchen. If I put together a nice breakfast for him, maybe he would be gracious enough to forget about the whole thing. I didn’t want him to start regretting letting me stay with him. Sure, I was making a little money now, but it certainly wasn’t enough to get my own place yet, or to even get a hotel room for more than a couple of days. I needed to stay on Evan’s good side.
Hot and Bothered (Sin and Tonic Book 4) Page 5