On the Plus Side

by Alison Bliss

  Valerie picked up the metal tin and did a palm spin with it before setting it down with a clank and tossing a scoop of ice inside. “Oh yeah? Why is that?”

  He watched her as she flipped the bottle of melon liqueur in the air and let the green liquid trickle down into the metal cup, and then he said, “Because I didn’t know there was such a thing. I made the whole thing up.”

  Huh? Without adding any flair to her move, she poured some sweet and sour mix into the metal cup and eyed him warily. “I don’t get it. Why would you do that?”

  “Well, usually when a bartender doesn’t know how to make a drink, they call the person who ordered it over to the bar to ask them what’s in it.” He smiled wide as his gaze slid over her chest. “Basically, it was supposed to be my one-way ticket over here, but you were too smart for my own good.”

  Oh, jeez. He was flirting with her. God, she must really be off her game tonight if she hadn’t even seen that one coming. A bit of harmless flirtation came with the job, especially since a bartender’s income was based mostly on tips, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t distract him in other ways.

  To keep Casanova from staring at her boobs all night, Valerie reached for the next bottle and tossed it behind her back before catching it in her opposite hand.

  “Impressive,” he said, nodding.

  She winked at him. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Then she tipped the bottle of Everclear over into the shaker and grinned. After drinking this potent concoction, the poor dude would probably be seeing double.

  Valerie shook the lime green mixture and strained it into a slender shot glass, which she then inserted into a short, wide tumbler that she held upside down. Then she flipped both over simultaneously, encapsulating the liquid inside the smaller container. After trickling in some lemon-lime soda and adding a splash of blue raspberry vodka and a touch of Blue Curacao for color, she carefully set the cocktail in front of him. “That’ll be eight dollars.”

  He handed her a ten-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

  “Thanks.”

  She rang him up and threw the ones into the tip jar next to the register. He lifted the inner shot glass slowly, allowing the inner green fluid to flow out and mix into the blue moat surrounding it. He set the shot glass to the side, lifted the tumbler to his lips, and downed the whole thing in one swallow.

  His eyes hardened into a sheet of glass, and he coughed. “Damn, that’s toxic.”

  Valerie giggled. The funky cocktail looked and apparently tasted like hazardous waste. Still, maybe she should talk to Logan about making it one of their signature drinks. It was bound to be a big seller.

  “I didn’t catch your name,” he said, holding out his palm. “I’m Ryan.”

  “Valerie,” she said, sliding her hand into his.

  His fingers stretched over hers and closed around them. “So, Valerie, what are you doing after work?”

  She started to withdraw her hand, but he tightened his grip to keep it in place. “Well, I have to be at my other job by noon. So I’m going home and crawling into bed.”

  One of his brows lifted. “Alone?”

  “Well, I, um…” She didn’t necessarily want to announce to a strange man that she lived alone. Granite was a small town where most people knew each other, but she’d never seen this guy before.

  A strong, well-muscled arm slid around her waist, yanking her free from Ryan’s grip. “Actually, I was planning on putting her to bed tonight. Right, princess?”

  The moment she heard the pet name pass over his lips, her spine straightened and her head snapped up. Her gaze landed directly on Logan’s bitter glare, and she sucked in a hard breath, her mind reeling from the sudden burst of oxygen flooding her lungs.

  Too stunned to speak, she stared at him in silence. Did he really just say what she thought he did?

  Ryan verbalized his disappointment with a sigh. “Damn. I should’ve known you had a boyfriend lurking around here somewhere. You’re too damn pretty to be single.”

  Though she didn’t think he meant it as an insult to single women everywhere, Valerie couldn’t stop her eyes from narrowing slightly. Maybe she was channeling her inner feminist, but she didn’t particularly like this young guy’s assumption that all single girls were ugly. It was the farthest thing from the truth. “Actually, there are plenty of beautiful women in this world who are single…by choice.”

  Logan’s arm tightened protectively around her, intense heat emanating from his body. “She’s just not one of them.”

  “I got it, man,” Ryan said, swaying to his feet. “She’s off the market.” His words had begun to slur a little.

  Valerie opened her mouth to say something, but Logan’s fingers dug into her side and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “That she is,” he told the other guy. “But you’re a handsome fellow. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to procreate with.”

  She didn’t know whether it was due to the amount of alcohol he’d consumed or the idea of having children, but Ryan’s face sheeted white. “That’s not quite what I had in mind for tonight,” he said, chuckling a little.

  “I didn’t think so.” An amused grin played on Logan’s mouth. “Is there anything else we can get for you?”

  “Nah, I’m good.” He gazed over at Valerie with glossy eyes. “I’ll be back in a little while to get another one of those drinks from you,” he said, wearing a goofy, half-lit grin.

  She nodded and watched him stumble away. The dude was clearly a lightweight. Unfortunately, she would have to cut him off after the next drink and call him a taxi. By morning, he would be in hangover city. Safe travels, little buddy.

  Logan removed his hand from her waist and glared at her as if she’d done something wrong. “I need to talk to you in the back room. Now.”

  * * *

  Logan waited for her in the hallway.

  Arms crossed, he tapped his foot impatiently on the tile floor until she swung through the doors. Then he spun on her with flared nostrils. “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled out.

  Valerie flinched at his sour tone. “Um, okay,” she said. Then she squinted at him and scratched her forehead. “But you might need to be a little more specific. Don’t ever do what again?”

  Was she kidding?

  “If some drunk asshole is hitting on you, don’t try to take care of him on your own. Next time, let me know immediately. That’s what I’m here for.”

  “Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit? It isn’t like the guy was pawing me or something. I was perfectly fine.”

  “Yeah, well, then what do you call him grabbing your hand? I saw you trying to pull away from him and him not letting you go.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. It’s not like I was trying all that hard to get my hand back. Trust me, if I really wanted him to let it go, he would have. Otherwise, I would have kicked him in the balls so hard, he would have been tasting them for a week.”

  Logan grinned. “Still fighting dirty, I see.”

  “You shouldn’t be surprised. After all, you and Brett are the ones who taught me that move.”

  “That’s because you were bound and determined to go to prom alone. All your friends had dates, and three boys had asked you to go with them, but as usual you were being stubborn. If your friends weren’t around and something happened, you needed to know how to defend yourself.”

  Her eyes widened. “You remember that?”

  “Who could forget it? You were wearing that sparkly blue dress with a slit up the side that had your brother seeing red for a week.”

  Valerie laughed. “He saw what I was wearing when I left the house. I’m pretty sure my mom had to tackle him to keep him from going after me and hauling me out of the prom over his shoulder.” She paused and then tilted her head toward him. “My brother told you what I was wearing that night?”

  “No, I saw you when I…” Logan let the words die on his tongue.

  Her eyes focused directly on him. “You saw
me that night? When? Where?”

  Damn. He hoped she wouldn’t catch his slip-up, but as usual, Valerie immediately latched on to it like a dog with a bone.

  “You know, I don’t really recall.”

  “Bullshit.” She shook her head, not buying a word of it. “You’re lying to me.”

  Logan sighed. “Okay, fine. I saw you from the high school parking lot.”

  Valerie blinked. “What? No, you didn’t.”

  “I damn sure did.” But leave it to Valerie to accuse him of lying when he had actually told the truth this time. Go figure.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you be in the school parking lot that night?”

  “I was…in the area so I thought I’d stop by.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Granite is a small town, Logan. Everyone who lives here was in the area that night. What’s the real reason? If Brett sent you to spy on me—”

  “Whoa,” he said, raising one hand in surrender. “He didn’t, I swear. In fact, he doesn’t even know I was there. And to be honest, I don’t know why I drove through the parking lot that night. I guess I wanted to check up on you myself.”

  Valerie lowered her gaze to the floor, unwilling to look him in the eyes. “You said you saw me. Where was I?”

  “You were sitting by yourself on a concrete bench outside of the high school’s side entrance.”

  Her whole body tensed. “I, um…I didn’t know you were there.”

  “That was kind of the point.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  Logan shrugged a shoulder. “I figured you would be mad if you knew I was checking up on you. I know how much you hate it when Brett does it. And because I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

  She flipped her hair, obviously unaware of the nervous gesture. “Why would I have been embarrassed?”

  “Because you were crying.”

  “N-no, I wasn’t.” She rubbed absently at her arms as if a chill had slid down her back.

  “Don’t lie to me, Valerie. I had a good view of you that night. I know you were crying.” But now, seeing her with her arms cradled together and her wide eyes filled with such vulnerability, he almost wished he had kept his big mouth shut. He ran his fingers through his thick hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. It wasn’t my place.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She glanced toward the door. “I should get back to work,” she said, taking a step.

  “Valerie?”

  She stopped in place and turned back to him. “Yeah?”

  For once in his life, he needed her to tell him the truth. “Why were you crying that night?”

  Her shoulder lifted. “What difference does it make?”

  “I just…want to know what had you so upset.” She hesitated, as if she was going to make up some story that would satisfy his curiosity so he added, “The truth, please.”

  Valerie licked her lips nervously but stared directly into his eyes. “I was crying because I finally realized that the guy I wanted didn’t want me back.”

  Don’t do it. Don’t ask her. “Who was the guy, Val?”

  She didn’t hesitate to answer. “You.”

  The verbal sucker punch slammed into Logan’s gut with the same force as a champion boxer’s fist, threatening to double him over. All those years ago, it had been him. He had been the one to put sadness in her crystal blue eyes and sent tears trailing down her cheeks.

  Logan wasn’t even sure how, why, or even what specific thing he’d done to upset her at the time, but in the end none of that really mattered. The useless knowledge wouldn’t make it any less his fault. And really, why was he so surprised?

  He knew better than to ask her that question. Hadn’t he always suspected that he was somehow to blame? That night, he’d spent nearly an hour watching her sob and silently stewing in his own fucking guilt.

  So yeah. Logan had known. He just never thought in a million years that she would confirm it. But now that she had, it only made him want to protect her more.

  From him.

  Chapter Seven

  Valerie didn’t get it.

  After the intimate conversation in the hallway, she’d thought she made some progress with Logan. But four days had passed, and he’d done nothing but steer clear of her. If anything, now he seemed more distant than before.

  Every time she tried to get close enough to talk to him, he dashed away to handle something important. Or so he’d said. Then he would make up some lame excuse as to why it took him so long to return and how he didn’t have a minute to spare for her. It wasn’t the usual reaction she got from men, and the whole situation grated on her last nerve.

  When James had asked to cut out early last night, Valerie jumped at the chance to stay late and close up the bar for him. She’d planned to use that opportunity to corner Logan and force him into having another conversation while no one else was around. But Brett had showed up half an hour before closing and her chance to talk to Logan was flushed straight down the drain.

  The only good thing that had come from staying late last night for James was that he’d promised to cover part of her shift today in return and had said she could come in late. Even still, she’d arrived early hoping to catch Logan alone and unaware. But that hope disintegrated when she saw him standing behind the bar with James while going over their inventory order.

  She still had time to spare before her shift started though. So when she spotted Leah sitting at a small, round table watching Sam and Max shoot pool, she headed in her direction.

  As she approached, Leah raised her head and smiled. “Hey, Val. How’s the new job treating you?”

  “It’s fine,” Valerie grumbled, plopping into the chair across from her friend.

  “Well, that doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong?”

  Valerie picked a piece of fuzz off her black slip-style dress. “Nothing. I’m fine. Actually, everything’s fine. Couldn’t be better.”

  “Come on, Valerie. I know we’ve both been busy lately, with me working on wedding plans and you working two jobs. But I’ve also known you long enough to know that when you say everything’s fine, then it’s the exact opposite of that. Spill it. What’s going on?”

  She sighed. “Nothing. It’s…”

  “Fine?” Leah asked with a smirk. Damn, that girl didn’t give up easily. “Don’t you like working here? You seemed to.”

  “No, it’s not that. I do like working here. Actually, I love it. More than I ever thought I would.”

  Leah cocked her head. “Then is it Logan? How are things going with him?”

  “They’re not,” Valerie said with a heavy sigh. “He spends most of his time avoiding me, and even when I do pin him down, he seems aggravated…like I’m bothering him or something. I think it’s pretty much a lost cause.”

  “What? It’s not like you to give up so easily on something you want.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve wanted him for years, and it’s gotten me nowhere. I don’t know why I thought things would be different this time around. It’s never been this hard for me to get a guy’s attention before.” She frowned. “I don’t like it.”

  Leah grinned. “Now you know how I felt in the past.”

  Sam stepped over to take a swig of the beer he’d left on the table next to his fiancée. “Actually, sweetheart, you had my attention from the get-go.” He winked at Leah. “I just didn’t let you in on that little secret until later.”

  Leah rolled her eyes. “Well, if you had told me sooner, we could have avoided all that unnecessary drama with my family. I’m pretty sure they thought you needed medication to balance out your crazy mood swings.”

  “Unnecessary, my ass,” Sam said with a laugh. “That was just plain fun. In fact, we should do it again sometime. How about at the wedding?”

  “Um, no. With the way my diet is going, there’s probably already going to be enough drama with me not fitting into my dress.”

  A muscle worked in Sam�
�s jaw. “Baby, do you really think I give a damn what size your dress is? I’ve seen you naked more times than I can count.” His eyes smoldered in Leah’s direction. “It’s not like you’re going to be wearing it long anyway. The first chance I get to pull it off that beautiful body of yours, I’m taking it. Count on it.”

  Leah grinned. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind.” She waved him away from the table. “Now go play with Max and leave us girls alone to talk.”

  Sam leaned in, brushing his lips over Leah’s. “Fine. But later tonight, I get my alone time with you…and I guarantee we won’t be doing much talking.” Then he kissed her again, letting his mouth linger over hers for much longer than was polite.

  “Get a room,” Max hollered, standing there with a pool stick in his hands.

  Sam lifted his head and wiped the corner of his mouth. “What the hell do you think I’m trying to do?” He grinned at his woman and then crossed to the other side of the pool table to take his next shot.

  A blush crept into Leah’s cheeks. “Um, so what were we talking about?”

  Valerie giggled. It was adorable that Sam could still fluster her like that. “Logan…and how uninterested he apparently is in me. Unlike your man.”

  Leah giggled. “Sam’s interested in you?”

  “What?” Valerie sat back and slapped a palm over her face. “Oh, God no. That’s not what I meant. I was talking about you. He’s definitely interested in you. Not me.”

  “I was just playing. I knew what you meant.” Leah reached across the table and placed her hand on Valerie’s. “You really need to calm down. He’s got you so wound up that you are absolutely freaking out.”

  “Who? Sam?”

  “See what I mean? You can’t even follow the conversation. Just breathe already.” Leah waited while Valerie took a calming breath. “Okay, now let’s think about this rationally. Men normally flock to you so what’s Logan’s problem? Why would he not be interested?”

  “Beats the hell out of me. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I’ve never had this happen before. At least not with other guys.”

  “Are you sure he’s not gay?”