by Gerri Hill
“Here you go,” Nancy said, sliding two frosty mugs her way.
“Thanks.”
“Any tips yet?”
Megan nodded. “Yeah, Paul and Michael came in. They tipped me a whole buck.”
Nancy laughed. “That’s my boys.”
Megan smiled back at her, then headed off to deliver her beer. It was a lively crowd this evening, conversations and laughter loud enough to drown out the music playing. She placed the beer next to the man and woman and stuck around only long enough to ask if they were enjoying their meal.
“The burger is perfect,” the man said. “Excellent, in fact.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to pass on your compliment.”
She turned to another table—a woman sitting alone still glancing through the menu. She was about to walk over when she stopped. Oh, crap, was it her? The woman had her back to Megan, but still, the gray hair looked too familiar. She glanced around, waving at Eileen. She then pointed at the table, silently asking her to take it. Eileen smiled and promptly ignored her, going to another table instead.
“I swear, she thinks she owns the place,” Megan muttered.
She took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face and went over to the table. If it was her, she would simply pretend she didn’t recognize her and go on about her business.
“Welcome to the Phenix Grill,” she said as she placed a drink napkin in front of her. “Can I get you something to drink or are you waiting for someone to join you?” she asked in her most pleasant voice. Her smile faltered, however, when the woman—Leah Rollins—looked up and met her gaze. Her eyes were a smoky gray, almost the same color as her hair. When she’d first seen her in the bookstore, she would have sworn her eyes were blue.
“Hello, Megan,” Leah said, her glance traveling slowly over her, top to bottom. “Owner and waitress…that’s admirable.”
Megan didn’t know why she felt the need to explain, but she did. “We’re busy and shorthanded,” she said, her words a bit clipped.
But Leah’s smile was genuine. “I meant no disrespect, Megan. When I open my store up, I only hope I can afford employees,” she said easily. “I may be doing everything myself.”
Despite her smile, Megan refused to warm up to her. “So? A drink? Appetizer? Order to go?” she asked pointedly.
Leah laughed. “Wow…subtle. I see you’re still pissed about the parking.” Leah made a show of looking over her shoulder, as if assessing the parking situation outside. “As I walked over, I couldn’t help but notice that all of my spots were filled.”
“You’re not even open yet!” Megan said through clenched teeth.
“I thought we’d covered that already.”
Megan stared at her. God, why does she keep smiling at me? I just want to smack her!
But no. She could do no such thing to a customer. She squared her shoulders and tried to force a smile to her face. It just wouldn’t happen for her though. Screw it, she thought.
“So…kinda busy here. Are you ready to order or not?”
“Well, I’ve been told by three people so far that you have the best burgers in town. I thought I should try one.” She glanced at the menu. “You have so many choices though. What do you recommend?”
Really? Really? Megan sighed. “Without knowing your preferences, it would be hard for me to recommend one.”
“My preferences, huh?” Leah asked, arching an eyebrow. “What would you like to know? If I like spicy or not?”
Megan stared at her. Is she actually flirting with me? Seriously? She shook her head. No, surely not.
“If you like spicy, I recommend the fiesta burger,” she said evenly. “It has guacamole, pico de gallo, pepper jack cheese,” she said. Then she smiled and added, “And healthy stuff like lettuce and spinach.”
“Well, I was leaning toward the pesto burger because I love grilled zucchini and peppers and the garlic pesto sounds intriguing,” Leah said.
“Also a good choice,” she said.
Leah met her gaze. “But I like spicy. I’ll go with the fiesta burger.”
Megan nodded. “Rare, medium or well done?”
“Medium well, please,” Leah said. “And I was also told your onion rings should not be missed.”
“Yes, they are a local favorite,” she said. “Regular or spicy?”
Leah laughed. “If we’re going spicy all the way, I think I’ll need a beer. Anything light. I’m not choosy.”
“Coming right up,” she said, turning to make a hasty exit to drop off the order. God, how could the woman be annoying one minute and pleasant the next? That, in itself, was infuriating. And flirting with her? Really?
“Why the frown?” Nancy asked as Megan leaned against the bar.
“That woman is here,” she said. “And she’s…she’s annoying.”
Nancy’s eyes lit up. “Really? She’s here?” Nancy scanned the crowd. “Where?”
“What is your obsession with her?”
“I just want to meet her, that’s all.”
Megan smiled. “Great! Then I’ll let you bring out her dinner. In fact, she wants a light beer. You can take that to her,” she said. “It’s time for my break.”
“Wait…you don’t get a break,” Nancy said. “It’s Friday night.”
“So fire me. She’s at table twelve.”
Chapter Five
Leah sipped from the water glass that had been placed in front her and absently scanned the crowd. As Megan had warned her, business was indeed booming over here. She wondered if that would help her own store any. It might, provided she had parking. She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. She imagined Megan Phenix would be plenty mad when she found out Leah was going to install signs on each of her allotted parking spots. That would probably provoke another visit from her. She sighed. She really did need to play nice with her neighbors, she thought. Going to war over parking wasn’t going to win her any friends in town. Of course, sparring with Megan Phenix had proven to be entertaining. The younger woman had just enough of a temper to be fun.
She glanced around, looking for Megan and spotting instead an older, slightly less attractive version of her. Leah smiled as she approached. Her hair was darker than Megan’s and a little longer, her body more round than Megan’s…but the resemblance was unmistakable. This must be the sister.
“Hi. I’m Nancy Phenix, co-owner of the grill,” the woman said as she placed a frosty mug of beer down in front of her. “I understand you bought the shop next door.”
Leah nodded. “Yes. I’m Leah Rollins.” She held her hand out. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Welcome to town, Leah,” Nancy said with a big smile as she shook her hand. “I know you’re still getting settled, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re a friendly bunch here.”
Leah nearly choked on her beer, wondering if these two were indeed sisters. Nancy appeared welcoming…pleasant, actually. Megan, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. In fact, Leah would go so far as to say she was a tad on the grouchy side. She had to hide a smile as she remembered Megan wadding up her note and throwing it at her before she stormed out of the bookstore. She turned her attention back to Nancy and nodded politely.
“Thank you, Nancy. I appreciate it. I’m staying at a bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks until the upstairs gets remodeled. After that, I’ll be right next door.”
Nancy nodded. “Yes, I heard you’re staying at the Howells’.” She touched Leah’s arm lightly. “And don’t you worry about the remodeling. Tony does excellent work.”
“Well, good. Glad to hear it.”
Nancy smiled again. “Well…I should get back to work. It was so nice to meet you, Leah.”
“Same here. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Nancy turned to leave, then stopped, leaning close to her. “When I asked Megan how old you were, she said seventy-five,” she said in a near whisper. Then she winked. “I think you look fabulous for seventy-five.”
; Leah was actually speechless as her gaze followed Nancy back to the bar. Was she flirting with her? And seventy-five? Well, she supposed she deserved that. Apparently Megan Phenix had a warped sense of humor. She looked around, oddly disappointed that she wasn’t anywhere in sight.
* * *
Megan let out a big yawn. “I am so tired,” she said. “Damn Brent and his flu.”
“As if I wasn’t on my feet the whole night too,” Nancy said as she slid a glass of wine in her direction. “I hate bar duty.”
“Standing behind the bar is not the same as waiting tables,” she said.
“Well, you took a long enough break.”
“Only to give you time to check out the new blood in town,” she said.
Nancy smiled as she sighed wistfully. “She’s so cute.” Then she slapped at Megan’s hand. “I can’t believe you said she was seventy-five! She’s probably my age.”
Megan waved her hand across the bar. “Whatever. She’s irritating.”
“She seemed very nice.”
Megan narrowed her eyes. “Do you have a crush on her or something?”
“Seeing as how I’ve only met her…no. But I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better,” Nancy said.
“She’s hoarding parking spaces,” Megan said. “And she’s not even open for business yet!”
Nancy held up her hand. “Do not start with the parking crap again, please.”
“I’m just saying…”
Nancy walked around the bar and sat down beside her, sliding the wine bottle between them. It was a familiar routine. The staff was cleaning up and Eddie had just turned the vacuum on. In the kitchen, the last of the dishes were being piled into the washers and Maria was scrubbing down the sinks. Johnny was inventorying supplies and Eileen was going over schedules for tomorrow. Ralph was going around to the windows, lowering the blinds. Another Friday in the books.
“Your roots are starting to show. And you need a haircut,” Nancy said as she brushed the hair off Megan’s face.
Megan nodded. “I have an appointment next week for color. Remember, I’m letting it grow, though.” She glanced at her. “Do you think I should still color it? Kinda tired of blond.”
“The color looks good on you,” Nancy said. “You’re a natural blond anyway.”
“Dirty blond,” Megan corrected as she tucked it behind her ears. “Barely lighter than yours.”
“You could use a little trim, at least. It looks shaggy.”
“Yeah…I’ll see what Gloria says. She’s the one who talked me into letting it grow.” Megan tapped her shoulder. “Here…give me a little back rub.”
Nancy let out a long sigh but stood, moving behind her. Megan moaned as her fingers squeezed her shoulders.
“You really need to get a girlfriend to do this.”
“Ouch,” she said as she leaned forward. “Not so damn hard.”
“Again…you need a girlfriend for this.”
“How can you even say that? The last one was so disastrous,” she said.
“I told you she was all wrong for you. You never listen to me.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “You encouraged me, if you’ll recall.”
“Well, at first, sure. After Tammi, I didn’t think you’d ever date again.”
Megan leaned her head on the bar. “Please do not bring up her name.”
“Good Lord, Megan. That was over ten years ago.”
“Makes no difference. She made the Wicked Witch look like a saint.”
Nancy sat down beside her again. “Your problem is, you choose the wrong kind.”
“What? You mean the extremely cute, charming, lying and cheating kind?”
“Well, Tammi was attractive, I’ll give you that. I would never call her charming though.”
“Of course she was charming,” Megan said. “How else do you think she managed to cheat on me for four years?”
“Because she was conniving, not charming,” Nancy said. “But you were too young to swear off dating. That’s why—after eight years—I encouraged you to date Erin. My mistake. She was too cute. You can’t trust women who are that pretty.”
“I was perfectly happy being alone,” she said. “Like now, I’m perfectly happy. Besides, we know every single woman in town and there’s not a one of them I’d want to date.”
Nancy sighed. “I know. We are limited here.” Then she nudged Megan with her elbow. “That’s why Leah Rollins intrigues me. She’s new in town. And I certainly wouldn’t mind dating her.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why. She’s irritating as hell. In fact—”
“Oh, my God!” Eileen said as she hurried over to them. “You’ve got to see this.” She held her phone up to them. “She’s making it a contest.”
“She who?” Megan asked as she stared at the phone. It was a bare ankle and foot. Her brow furrowed in a frown. That was her bare ankle and foot. “Are you freakin’ kidding me?”
Nancy laughed. “I see Mary Beth is still having a little fun at your expense.”
“Let me see that,” Megan said as she jerked the phone from Eileen. “Oh. My. God! She’s going to reveal more each day until someone guesses who the ‘naked beauty’ is and until that ‘naked beauty’ shares a romantic dinner with her.” Megan glared at her sister. “She’s out of her freakin’ mind!”
“This is hilarious!” Eileen chimed in. “You do know that not a soul will guess your name, don’t you?”
“I don’t know why,” Megan said. “Everyone already knows it’s me.” She took the phone again, flipping through Mary Beth’s Facebook page. “I see she still hasn’t taken that other photo down.” She grimaced. “God, I look like crap.”
Eileen shook her head. “You have no clue, do you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, Megan, you don’t look like crap. You look like an angel, according to Mary Beth’s caption, anyway,” she said. “So many of the women in town have asked you out over the years and you continue to turn them all down. And now Mary Beth apparently has some compromising photos of you. You don’t think they’re all dying to see them?”
“Good Lord, why? I’m thirty-nine years old. And it’s not like I go to the gym.”
Eileen rolled her eyes. “Please,” she said with a touch of disgust. “I do go to the gym and I still don’t look like you.” She took her phone from Megan’s hand. “See you two tomorrow. Maybe Mary Beth will work her way up to your knee by then.”
Nancy laughed as Megan scowled at her.
“Oh, lighten up, sis. I’m sure it’s all in fun. It’s been a long winter. Mary Beth is probably just trying to liven things up before tourist season.”
“Glad I can be the town’s amusement,” she said dryly. “And I didn’t turn them all down. I went out with Erin, didn’t I?”
“She doesn’t count. She’s wasn’t here long enough to be considered a local.”
“Unfortunately, she didn’t leave soon enough.”
Chapter Six
Leah sneezed as the second shelf came down and another cloud of dust drifted by. She went back to the coffee bar, trying to get out of the workers’ way as they hauled the old boards out to their truck. A loud bang from upstairs made her glance to the ceiling. Was that the toilet they dropped?
“I really shouldn’t be here,” she murmured.
She’d stayed out of their hair for the first ten days, only coming by in the evenings when they’d left the shop. True to his word, Tony’s crew was fast. She couldn’t believe how quickly the bedroom walls had gone up. It gave her a better idea of how much space she’d be left with and—despite Tony’s warning that it would delay the project—she’d changed the design of the kitchen. Even if it added a week to their work, she wanted the apartment the way she wanted it. It wasn’t like she would be able to redo it later.
Today was the first day she’d been there while they worked. It wasn’t so much she was being nosy—because she was. But her parking signs were being i
nstalled today. That thought brought a smile to her face, albeit a slightly evil smile. She hadn’t seen Megan or her sister all week, but as usual, each evening when she came by, her parking spots were occupied. The parking code stipulated that she could designate five spaces in front of her shop to be exclusively hers. That was limited to business hours, of course, and she didn’t yet know what her hours were going to be. Hell, she still wasn’t even sure what inventory she would carry in the store.
She assumed the parking signs would be ignored since she wasn’t open for business yet—as Megan had told her several times. But the mere presence of the signs would no doubt irritate Megan Phenix to no end. She didn’t know why she continued to provoke her. Well, she did know why; it was fun.
Tony came down the stairs in the back, wiping his brow. He smiled when he saw her.
“Good. You’re still here.”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no. But we got the bathroom all finished. Chuck is finishing up the wiring for your stove, then we’ll start on the cabinets,” he said. “If everything goes as planned, we’ll start painting next week, then start on the flooring.”
“Oh, that’s great, Tony.”
“So plan to have your appliances delivered, say, next week Friday.”
“I can do that. Does that mean I can move in after that?”
“Well, I doubt we’ll be totally finished, but my thought was to store the appliances down here and we’d move them up when we’re ready. We’re just getting started on the utility room.”