“I told you he was a good guy, right?”
I looked toward the length of the bar that stretched out in front of me and saw Ryan standing there with a few men who were drinking beers and watching the football game on the flat screen mounted high behind the bar. I narrowed my eyes at him when I saw his silly little smirk.
“You could have at least told me he was your brother,” I said, shoving my coat and purse under the bar on the shelf.
Ryan laughed and held his hands up in mock surrender. “Now, where would the fun in that be?” he quipped.
I arched an eyebrow at him and ignored him as I poured myself a cup of coffee from the brewed pot behind the bar.
“Okay, okay,” he offered as he took a few steps toward me and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I didn’t know if you’d go out with him if you knew.”
I had wondered if that had been his reasoning. It was the only rational explanation I could come up with, and I was relieved to know that I was right.
“You still could have told me.”
“He likes you, you know.”
My stomach fluttered, but I was not going to give Ryan the satisfaction of admitting his words affected me. “You guys have different last names, though,” I stated in an attempt to change the subject quickly.
Ryan nodded. “We have different fathers.”
“I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“That you two couldn’t possibly be full brothers.”
“Oh, and why is that?”
I shrugged. “Well, he’s actually good looking and you’re, well…” I shrugged again and pretended that my description of him would be less than kind. A smirk formed across my lips after a few seconds and I stuck my tongue out playfully.
Ryan pretended to whip my leg with the bar towel in his hand, snapping it at me but falling just short of actually making contact. He knew as well as I did that that was definitely not the case. While I wouldn’t have pegged Cole and Ryan as brothers based on their physical appearance, both men boasted ruggedly handsome features. There was no denying Ryan was an attractive man.
I heard the bell above the bar’s front door toll in announcement of a customer’s arrival. I didn’t look to see who it was. I didn’t have to. The tell-tale words that followed the opening of the door let me know exactly who’d opened it.
“Well, fancy meetin’ you here, princess.”
Jeremy patted my shoulder as he slid onto the bar stool beside me. His cocky grin never wavered, but I knew he was going to play it up seeing as Ryan was standing right in front of me.
“Imagine that,” I said to him. “I’m always here, everyone knows that.”
“Exactly,” Jeremy retorted, then added in a loud whisper, “That’s why I’m always here, too.”
I bit my lip to stifle my chuckling, but pointed at him and advised him to cut it out. I could see Ryan’s jaw clench as he turned away for a minute, probably to compose himself.
He really didn’t like Jeremy, did he? I could tell Jeremy saw and felt the annoyance from him as well, his satisfied smirk broadening into a full-fledged grin.
“So,” Jeremy said, spinning his bar stool slightly so his back was to Ryan but his voice was still louder than it needed to be. “Folks are talking, princess. People saw us out together the other afternoon. We’re practically a couple, you know.”
I rolled my eyes and cast a quick glance in Ryan’s direction, seeing him turn slightly and make only a second’s worth of eye contact before turning his back on me again. I lowered my voice slightly, this time trying to sound more serious. “And you’re practically delusional. I mean it, cut it out. Stop relishing in Ryan’s irritation, because I know damn well that’s the only reason we’re having this conversation.”
Jeremy just laughed. His laughter was stifled when Ryan’s voice rang out from the other end of the bar.
“So, tell me, Jeremy,” he said, “Are folks talking about Cole and Amy, too? They actually went out together last night.” He spit out the word actually like Jeremy and I having coffee downtown was purely a figment of the imagination.
I whipped around on my bar stool to face Ryan as heat crept into my cheeks. I wasn’t sure why he had felt the need to tell Jeremy about Cole and I going out, and I also didn’t know why I was blushing, but I did know I didn’t much like Ryan using my personal life as ammunition to get back at Jeremy.
“Whoa, you two need to slow down,” I said, trying to rein in my frustration. “It was just coffee.” Then I realized I had technically had coffee with Cole and with Jeremy, so I added, “Coffee. It was just coffee with you, and it was just coffee with Cole.”
Jeremy pressed his hands against the bar, staring hard at his fingertips as he sneered, and then he glanced up at Ryan. The smirk on his face was—angry? No, not anger. It was determination shining through a mask of certainty that whatever game he and Ryan were currently playing, he planned on winning it.
“Nah, Ryan, I hadn’t heard that rumor yet. Thanks for thinkin’ to tell me though,” Jeremy said. He chuckled as he raised his eyebrows to me. It may have sounded like a chuckle and looked like a smile, but the two together weren’t sincere.
It was Ryan’s turn to boldly taunt him. “See, Jeremy, that’s where you’re wrong. It ain’t no rumor. That’s a fact, buddy. Have a nice night.” With that, Ryan disappeared through the swinging doors into the back office, most likely trying to prevent himself from saying or doing anything else that would create more animosity between him and me once Jeremy left.
I sighed, shaking my head. “Look,” I said as I turned to Jeremy. “I don’t know what’s going between you and Cole, or even you and Ryan, but—”
“It ain’t nothing, princess.” Jeremy replied teasingly, tapping the top of the bar with his hands as he stood.
Oh, but it was something, and I knew because of the way Jeremy and Cole’s eyes met a second later when the bell tolled and Cole walked coolly into the bar. As their eyes locked on each other, I watched Jeremy’s expression morph into one of smug delight.
“Look, you guys…”
Jeremy held up a hand to me, silencing me. “Don’t worry, princess. I’ll take this as my cue to leave.” He tore his stare away from Cole and grinned shamelessly at me, reaching across the bar to pat my arm affectionately. “Call me so we can get together again.” He pursed his lips together and turned his face away from me. I didn’t see him do it, but I knew that he must have winked at Cole. I could see Cole tense up.
“Jeremy, enough!” I hissed at him. “I don’t have a phone. If you want to see me, it’ll be here at the bar.”
He nodded, still not suppressing his smirk. “See you around, princess.” Thankfully, he left uneventfully, managing not to purposely edge on Cole further. He and Cole had known each other for a lot of years, so maybe he not only knew how to push Cole’s buttons but also knew when to stop before things got ugly.
I exhaled deeply as I rounded the bar and put on an apron. Cole sat down on the bar stool I’d been occupying.
“The tension between you two is insane, you know that, right?” I blurted out. I didn’t want to be involved, but it wasn’t like either of them were trying to hide their disdain. Cole ran his hand through his hair and sighed.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I don’t mean to keep popping in when he’s here, honest.”
Ryan announced, “Seems you both keep showing up for the same reason.”
I whirled around. Ryan had conveniently shown up from the back office. I’m sure Ryan knew he shouldn’t have said that, but if he didn’t, I knew the glare I gave him would confirm it. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one getting a little fed up with the constant tension between Jeremy and Cole in his bar.
“You can stop it anytime, Ryan,” I said.
Cole cleared his throat, probably in an attempt to clear the air and turn the conversation in another direction. “Anyway,” he said before his brother could retort. “I was just coming by t
o say hello before it got too busy in here, Amy.”
I turned my gaze toward him. I undoubtedly shouldn’t have been surprised he was here to see me and not Ryan, but I still was. Once again, I knew my face was burning with a deep red blush and I refused to look in Ryan’s direction.
“Oh. Well, thanks. I mean, it probably will get busier soon.” I sounded forced and awkward.
Cole gave me a shy grin. “We should go out again, Amy. Even if you are seeing Jeremy, too.”
“Cole, I’m not seeing Jeremy. I ran into him downtown the other day and we walked around for an hour or so. He’s just trying to start trouble.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cole quipped, smiling again.
“I’d like it if we went out again, Mr. Ceden,” I said, leaning my elbows on the bar. I was flirting, I knew I was. At least, I think I was. I wasn’t sure if I remembered how. When Cole’s grin grew wider and he reached out to touch my arm lightly, I knew I must have done something right.
“Mr. Ceden, huh? That sounds very professional, Ms.—”
It took a moment for me to realize he was waiting for me to fill in the blanks. My smile faltered slightly, but I tried to recover quickly by patting his hand.
“Cole, we…”
“What’s your last name, Amy?”
“Cole.” I stalled, but he didn’t say anything else. He was still waiting for an answer. It took a moment for the silence between us to give him the only answer he was going to get. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him, therefore, I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there.
A minute ago I thought I trusted him, but when it came down to the wire, it seemed I was still unable to open up, even if the only thing he was asking for was my last name.
He sighed as he stood up. “Don’t worry about it, Amy,” he said, but the look on his face said something completely different. I’d either hurt him or I’d embarrassed him. Maybe I had done both.
“Cole, we’ll get together and talk about…”
He made a dismissive gesture. “I swear, it’s all right. I’d better go for now.” With that, he gave a little wave and left.
He didn’t look back in my direction even once. I let out a deep breath, not sure how to fix the situation and ultimately feeling silly for not just telling him my last name. What would it have hurt?
“You can’t blame him, Amy,” Ryan advised from behind me. For a moment, I had forgotten he was still there.
“I know, I just…I don’t know. I’m just upset that…”
“That upsets you?” His tone was not antagonizing when he asked. He actually seemed genuinely surprised.
I shrugged, trying to give myself a moment to orchestrate a proper answer.
“I’m not upset, Ryan. I just don’t want to feel pressured to divulge information if I don’t want to.”
He gave me a look that readily confirmed this was a weird thing to say. I sighed, turning away from him. I wasn’t in the mood to defend myself.
“None of us know much about you, Amy. And you’ve been here for months now, not just weeks. That tells me there are things you don’t really want anyone to know. You don’t mention California, family, or anything that remotely relates to any sort of life you might have outside of work. Go ahead and keep your secrets, Amy, but I’m telling you that not even the most sordid secrets stay secret forever.”
I turned around to face him, but he wasn’t done yet.
“If you don’t want to tell me, Amy, that’s fine. But Cole might be a different story if you actually want whatever is going on between you two to go anywhere. You can be honest with him without telling him everything, you know that, right?” I just continued to look at him with a conflicted expression on my face while my mind spun at a hundred miles a minute, and I attempted to comprehend what he was telling me. After what seemed like a lifetime, I just nodded.
“Thanks, Ryan.”
There were more than a few things I could have said during this little heart to heart, but right now I had work to do. I also realized that if I wasn’t careful, I was going to ruin whatever Cole and I might have before it even started.
I heard Ryan shut the cash register drawer behind me and say goodnight as I turned away from him. He was leaving, too? Wow, I really had upset everyone this time.
He stopped just before reaching the swinging doors into the back offices. “Amy?” He turned to meet my eyes. “I’m going to call it a hunch but I’ll assume Cole hasn’t told you about Jeremy yet, or else you probably would realize just how hard it is for him to watch you two act like best friends.”
“Told me what?”
There was obviously more to the story. Ryan wasn’t just being protective of me when it came to Jeremy. This was because of Cole and I. Were we even dating? Hell if I knew. If things weren’t complicated before, I could tell they were about to be.
Ryan sighed and looked at me like my confusion was something to be sympathetic of. “Cole and Jeremy used to be best friends,” he said simply, as though this statement held all the answers I would ever need.
Suddenly, it dawned on me.
She’d been discussing marriage with me while secretly having an affair with my best friend, Cole had said. When I tried to tell him about my run in with Jeremy the other day, he had quickly dismissed it. I don’t want to talk about Jeremy Allecks, he had said.
“Jeremy is the best friend that Cole’s ex cheated on him with,” I said, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.
I had a funny feeling Ryan wanted to say more, but he just nodded and walked toward the office. We would have to finish this some other night.
***
The next night at the bar, Jeremy came in again. Thankfully, it was just a quick visit. So quick, in fact, that Ryan barely had time to give him the angry glare he usually wore on his face when he was around and didn’t even get to toss in a few snide remarks within earshot. In the short amount of time he was there, Jeremy managed to slip in one more attempt at getting me to make plans with him.
“I’m serious, Amy.” It was clear he was trying to sound convincing. “It’s a big community bonfire. Everyone goes. Come with me.”
I was laughing, mostly because he was using every excuse in the book and making sure there was no reason I’d be able to say no. “Jeremy, I’m not going to—”
“You have to. Everyone in town goes.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I swear, I get it. Just friends.”
“Just friends.” I relented, and I struggled to hide my reaction as I watched the realization wash over his face that he’d actually succeeded in getting me to go with him. I pointed at him and repeated, “Just friends, Jeremy.” Then I set down the menus I’d been holding and leaned closer. “But I do want to talk to you about Cole and—”
“Amy,” Jeremy interjected. “Princess, don’t ruin my moment! You finally said yes, leave it at that for now.” He gave me a half smirk but I could tell he truly didn’t want to talk about Cole. I didn’t blame him, but he had to know I was aware of their past. It was only fair that I be honest with him. What would I say? Did I really want to date Cole? Is that what I wanted to tell Jeremy? I didn’t even know.
“You’re really something, you know that, Officer?” I said, picking up the menus again. “Now, get out of here before my boss comes out. I don’t feel like dealing with the tension between you two again.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes at the mention of Ryan, and I saw him steal a quick glance to my right. I didn’t bother to turn; I knew Ryan must be hovering somewhere behind me. I was more than thankful for not turning to see him when Jeremy leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. My face was flushed and I was standing stock still in shock when I heard Ryan’s voice by my shoulder.
“You all right, Amy?”
I nodded, turning slowly to face him. “I’m fine.” Then I crossed my arms and set my jaw squarely. “But I just want to know if you’re warning me about him because he’s a jerk or because I happened to go out with your brother th
e other night.”
“A little of both, I guess,” Ryan admitted sheepishly. I gave him a sharp glance and chose not to respond. He sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor.
“Look, Amy…I guess I shouldn’t meddle in yours or Cole’s business. It’s just that Cole isn’t exactly the most outgoing guy.”
I looked at Ryan, waiting to see where his train of thought was heading.
“He was with Denise for almost five years and she was his social network, if that makes any sense. He doesn’t do much of anything now except work, and he’s good at it, but I just find it a bit sad, that’s all. I’ve had this bar for almost ten years and known Cole my whole life, and I can tell you that not once to my knowledge has he ever asked a girl out on his own accord.”
My eyes widened slightly at this remark. “Never?”
“Not that I know of. And he asked you out practically right in front of me, so that’s saying something, even if it did take a slight bit of prodding on my part.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to this. I was flattered, but I was also a bit taken aback to hear that Cole was so reserved. He seemed comfortable enough that night at the pub. Then again, I supposed we had been on his own turf. It was his bar and he undoubtedly knew most of the people there.
“Okay,” I said, holding up my hands, pretending to surrender. “I get it, Ryan, you’re just looking out for your brother. It’s all right.”
“And for you, Amy.” His gaze locked with mine. “I’m telling you, you won’t find a more loyal guy than Cole. Well, except for me, but I’m not interested in you.” He smirked, feigning a look of disgust while looking me up and down.
“Jerk,” I muttered playfully at him before heading back toward the tables I was serving.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cole came into the bar about ten minutes before closing. He slid quietly onto one of the bar stools, hunching forward on his elbows as he watched me clean up behind the bar and collect the used bar towels to toss into the washing machine in the back room. He’d greeted me happily and made small talk as I prepared to close down the bar, but I could tell there was a certain tension between us from our conversation yesterday. I was glad Ryan had disappeared into his office to balance off one of the two cash registers.
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