Spring River Valley: The Spring Collection (Boxed Set)

by Wynter, Clarice

  “Got it!” He swung by the kitchen and loaded his tray with the meals Bailey and her companion had ordered. He hid a smile. She couldn’t like the guy too much. She’d ordered a thick steak and fries, just like her date. Most girls trying to impress a man ordered salad with low-fat dressing. Either she wasn’t trying to impress him or she was so comfortable with herself she could eat in public and not worry about what anyone thought. He liked a girl like that. He saw too many frail, wispy creatures clinging to the bar, tossing back drink after drink with nothing in their stomachs but a well-fermented maraschino cherry.

  He hoisted the heavy tray on his shoulder and headed out across the dining area, skillfully maneuvering around tables and customers. When he reached table ten, the couple, clearly on their first date, seemed to be mired in an awkward silence. They sat quietly, staring at each other, while he placed their meals in front of them.

  “Thank you,” Bailey said. “This looks amazing.”

  Matt winked at her. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “We’re good, thanks,” her date said.

  “Enjoy, folks.” Matt slung his tray around and headed back to the bar, catching just a snippet of their conversation.

  “I usually spend Sundays at the law library…”

  The guy sounded about as exciting as watching paint dry. What a dud. If Matt had a girl who looked like that, the last thing he’d be talking about was the library.

  “Are you actually here tonight, Kelso?” Buck, the evening manager, snapped his fingers in front of Matt’s face. “I know you’re not used to waiting tables, but you have to step it up a bit. The kitchen is getting backed up.”

  “Sorry, Buck. I’m on it.” Matt circulated back around the floor, stopping by a couple of tables to schmooze and take a dessert order. He noticed Bailey’s date was on his cell phone, and her gaze flicked to Matt, just for a second, during which time, he almost walked into Annmarie, the hostess.

  “Easy, Kelz, you nearly clocked me.”

  “Sorry, Ana…” When Matt looked back, Bailey was again talking to her date. She hadn’t locked eyes with him. She’d only glanced in his direction, probably wondering why he was lurching around the dining room like a drunken sailor. He straightened the stupid tie they made him wear and headed back to the bar where he belonged, still managing to keep his eye on the occupants of table ten.

  * * * *

  “I’m so sorry about this,” Riley said. He was staring at his cell phone like someone had put a live grenade in his hand.

  Bailey looked up from her steak, ashamed to admit to herself she’d actually been more interested in her food than in Riley’s explanation of tort law. He was charming, in a stiff way, and handsome—nobody would dispute his boy-next-door good looks, but she had yet to feel even the barest hint of a spark. When his cell phone had rung, she’d actually been relieved for the suspension of his law lecture. “Is something wrong?”

  “One of the partners at the firm just called. He needs some research done for a case.”

  “On a Saturday night?”

  “Apparently there’s a deposition on Monday morning. From what he told me, we’ll be lucky if we’re ready by then, even if we work all weekend.”

  Bailey pouted, but not because she felt particularly sorry for herself. The one thing she’d picked up from Riley was his need for a little downtime. He seemed like a really nice guy who was trapped by his professional obligations. The look on his face told her he was truly torn between wanting to stay and finish their date and wanting to go back to work and dig into what sounded like an exciting case. “Can’t you at least stay for dessert?”

  He cringed. “You have no idea how much I wish I could, but I’ve got to get back.” He pulled out his wallet and placed a couple of fifties on the table.

  Bailey gaped at the money. “That’s about double what the bill will be. You don’t have to leave that much.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Have dessert on me. Maybe you could call one of your friends to meet you for drinks? I hate the thought of leaving you here, but if I don’t get back to the office, my butt’s in a sling. I’m so sorry.”

  Bailey stared at the money. Even that didn’t bother her as much as the realization that poor Riley wasn’t ready, willing, or able to start dating anyone. He was married to his job and his law studies at the moment. “Don’t worry about it. Work is work, and this sounds important.”

  “I’m glad you’re not angry. A lot of girls would be throwing their drink at me for cutting out in the middle of dinner. Maybe a doctor can get away with it, but usually a paralegal can’t.”

  “I totally understand. It was still nice to meet you.”

  Riley rounded the table and leaned over to kiss Bailey on the cheek. He handed her a business card with his name and cell phone number on it. “I’d love a chance to make this up to you. Call me, and we can make plans I promise I won’t break.”

  Bailey took the card. “I will. Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

  Riley left, his disappointed expression replaced by one of determination by the time he reached the door. Bailey sighed as she watched him go. She really should have been more upset, but clearly this was no match made in heaven. He was too busy for a girlfriend, poor guy. She thought about calling Evie or Audrey as Riley had suggested, but they’d likely both be out with their guys.

  She was about to dial her brother Aiden’s number when Matt appeared at her table again. His expression was serious as he slid into Riley’s vacant seat. “What’s up with Sparkles?”

  “Huh?” Bailey put her phone down. Her pulse quickened a bit, but she wasn’t sure why. “What are you talking about?”

  “The pale guy…I was waiting for him to start sparkling, you know, like the movie vampires. The guy doesn’t get out much, does he?”

  Bailey rolled her eyes. “He’s not a vampire. He’s a law student.”

  “Ah, a bloodsucker in training.” His blue eyes widened, and he feigned indignation at his own comment. “Did I say that out loud? Sorry, but first he shows up late, then he cuts out early. I can’t feel sorry for the guy.”

  “He had a work emergency.”

  “There’s no emergency I can imagine that would tear me away from a girl who looks like you.”

  “Oh stop…” Bailey’s face heated again, and she held up a hand to ward off his blatant flattery. He was laying the charm on thick now. Unfortunately, she couldn’t force herself not to enjoy it just a little.

  He flattened a hand to the center of his chest. “I’m not kidding. In fact, I’m a little bit glad he’s gone. I’ll get someone to clean off this table, and you can come sit at the bar and keep me company for a while.”

  Bailey glanced over her shoulder. There were a couple of empty seats at the bar, but most were filled with single women. “Doesn’t look like you need any more company.”

  Matt dismissed her comment with a wave. “They’re customers. You’re a guest. Come on.” He inclined his head toward the bar. “Hang out for a bit. It’s too early to call it a night.”

  Some part of Bailey wanted to protest. She wasn’t really in the mood to flirt aimlessly with a stranger…but he was gorgeous. His blue gaze, a deeper, more intense shade than Riley’s, held hers in an iron grip. His blond hair had that professionally mussed style that gave him a casual, sexy charm, and his smile could stop hearts. Bailey had no doubt he’d caused more than a couple of mild coronaries among the female patrons of Colette’s. Before the angel on her shoulder could get her out the door and home to curl up with a good book, she found herself following him through the crowded pub.

  She slid onto a stool and watched him glide effortlessly through the narrow space behind the bar. He took a couple of orders, served some drinks, and cracked a few jokes before he made his way back to her with a tall, frothy drink. He placed the tropical concoction in front of her and topped it off with a plump cherry.

  “Try this.”

  “Are you planning on getting me drunk?�
�

  “Absolutely not. I want your opinion on my invention. I call it ‘Oh My God.’”

  Bailey eyed the drink. It looked like a salmon-colored version of a piña colada, and it smelled sweet and melony. “Why do you call it that?”

  “Taste it.”

  She wrapped her lips around the thin swizzly straw he’d dropped into the drink and took a dainty taste. “Oh my God!”

  “And that’s why.”

  She laughed. “I walked into that one. It’s delicious. What’s in it?”

  “It’s half piña colada, half tequila sunrise and half melontini.”

  “That’s three halves.”

  “If you can still do the math, you haven’t had enough.”

  “You are trying to get me drunk.”

  He leaned close, one corner of his mouth lifting in a sly grin. “Can you blame me? You’re clearly out of my league, so the more you drink, the better looking I get.”

  Bailey giggled around her straw. “Now you’re going too far. I don’t need alcohol to make you cuter.”

  He leaned back while polishing a tall glass with a towel. “Now who’s flattering who? So tell me, before I go make my rounds, that guy wasn’t your boyfriend.”

  Bailey took another sip of the heavenly drink. “Blind date.”

  “He must be blind if he could walk away from you.”

  Chapter Three

  Buck cornered Matt in the small alcove beside the kitchen. “Hey, Kelz, what’s up with the girl at the bar?”

  Matt shrugged innocently. “Which one? There’re five girls at the bar.”

  “The one you’re drooling over. Look, I don’t care if you schmooze, but don’t neglect the other customers. The ladies come here on the weekends to chat you up, and they’re not going to be happy if you’re mooning over one chick and ignoring everybody else.”

  “I’m not mooning over her.” Well, he was … a little. Bailey was dazzling. He didn’t even know her last name yet, but he planned to before the night was over. He never picked up customers…at least not very often, but tonight he was going to break a couple of his hard and fast rules.

  “Come on. If the bar wasn’t between you and her, you’d be humping her.”

  “Buck. Seriously. Gross.”

  The other man grinned. “I don’t care; just keep the other ladies happy. They tip nice when they think you’re into them, and they drink more.”

  “Fine, whatever. Can you get someone to bus table two? I’ve got to get back to flirting.”

  “Sure thing, as long as you spread it around. I don’t want any of those chicks leaving because they’re jealous.”

  Matt waved Buck off and headed back to the bar. Knowing the manager was probably watching him, he made his rounds with a smile, stopping to schmooze each of his female customers—except those with dates of course. By the time he got back to Bailey, she was almost finished with her drink and looking a little bored. “Sorry I was gone so long. We’re slammed. The manager thinks I have ten hands.”

  “You don’t have to entertain me. I should be going anyway.”

  “Don’t leave yet. The band’s gonna start up at ten. They’re pretty good.”

  “All right, maybe just one song.”

  “And one dance?”

  “There’s dancing too?”

  “After the first set, people usually get up and dance. It’s a new thing.” He nodded to where his friend Owen’s band was just starting to set up in the far corner of the dining area. The trio, a keyboardist named Taylor, Owen on guitar, and Owen’s friend Claudia singing lead, were all talented amateurs. They’d auditioned last month, and Buck told them if customers liked their debut he’d pay them to do a couple of sets every weekend. “Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Matt offered, but Bailey was already sliding off her stool. She made her way across the room and threw herself into the arms of the keyboardist. “I guess you don’t need an introduction,” Matt said to no one and went back to the women who were actually interested in his flirting.

  * * * *

  For the first time all evening, Bailey didn’t feel completely out of place. She crossed the room to where Taylor Croft and his band mates were setting up their equipment on a raised platform that served as a makeshift stage.

  “Hey, doc. Can you tell me where I can get some hair of the dog?” she asked nonchalantly.

  The tall, charming veterinarian, who moonlighted as a keyboardist, turned around, and his face split in a big grin. “Hey, Bailey!” Taylor scooped her up in a bear hug. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was on a date, but he had to leave, so I’m hanging out at the bar. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight. Evie never told me you guys won the battle of the bands.”

  Taylor shrugged. “I guess you could say we won, though right now we only get paid in steak and French fries. It’s all just for fun. Hey, let me introduce you. Bailey Cole, this is Owen DeWitt, our lead singer.”

  Bailey remembered the handsome guitarist from the night she’d come here with Evie to watch their band audition. Owen was about Taylor’s age, with wavy brown hair and deep blue eyes. He shifted his guitar aside and shook Bailey’s hand. “Hey.”

  Next to him, a pretty brunette stood untangling a microphone cord. She looked up when Taylor introduced her and smiled at Bailey. “This is Claudia Galvin, our voice.”

  “Hi, Claudia.” Bailey shook hands with the singer whose voice blended so beautifully with Owen’s. Up close she looked vaguely familiar. “Have we met somewhere?”

  “Have you taken my class? I teach yoga at the Green Solutions Spa on Downing.”

  “Oh! I haven’t yet…I’ve been meaning to. I think you might have taken my brother’s class. Aiden Cole, he teaches karate.”

  “That’s right! I took his class last spring. I thought you looked familiar. Tell Aiden I said hi.”

  “Of course.” Bailey caught a strange look from Owen when Claudia mentioned her brother, but it passed quickly enough. She wondered if the guitar player knew her brother too, or might have been a little jealous that his band mate remembered him so fondly. “It was nice meeting you all. I’m going to go back to the bar before someone takes my seat. I can’t wait to hear you play.”

  Taylor dropped a quick kiss on Bailey’s forehead and nodded toward the bar. “Looks like you have an admirer. The bartender hasn’t taken his eyes off you since you came over here.”

  Bailey chanced a quick look over her shoulder. Matt was busy at the moment, mixing a drink in front of a young woman who looked utterly entranced by his every move. “Oh, you think?”

  “He caught me looking, and he looked away. Want me to kiss you again, get him fired up?”

  “No!” Bailey pushed Taylor back a step, and he laughed. “I don’t need anyone fired up at the moment.”

  “Too bad.” Taylor winked and took a seat at his keyboard. Bailey dismissed his good-natured flirting and headed back to her seat as Claudia switched on her microphone and addressed the crowd.

  She slid onto her fortunately still-vacant stool just as Taylor played the first few bars of a popular ballad. Someone dimmed the lights in the dining room, and Claudia started to sing about unrequited love.

  When Owen joined her on the chorus, Bailey’s skin tingled. The two singers looked into each other’s eyes and sang the romantic words with such passion that tears came to her eyes. They were either incredible actors or those two had some kind of a thing going.

  Bailey tried not to take the sad song to heart. She didn’t want to dwell on her past with Dan and start to feel sorry for herself all over again.

  “They’re good, aren’t they?” Matt’s voice jolted her out of her reverie. The fine hairs on her nape stood up when his breath caressed her ear. “Owen’s hot for her. Know how I can tell?”

  Bailey shook her head, afraid her voice might crack if she spoke right now. “He always tries to stand between her and Taylor, like he’s trying to keep them apart.”

  Bailey hadn’t really noticed, bu
t now that Matt mentioned it, Owen had seemed to relax a bit when Taylor hugged her, but his expression had changed just slightly when she’d told Taylor she was here on a date. “You may be right.”

  “So what’s with you and him? I hear he’s a vet.”

  Speaking of subtle signals, Bailey had to wonder if she was imagining the change in timbre of Matt’s voice when he spoke about Taylor. “He is. My best friend Evie just started dating his brother, Tanner. We went on a couple of double dates with them, but he’s not my type.”

  Matt laughed a little too loudly. “So tall, dark, and linebacker isn’t your type? Come on. There’s not a woman in here who isn’t trying to figure out how to slip him her phone number, and you just walked up to him and he kissed you. You know how much you’re hated right now?”

  Bailey shrugged. “Taylor is a great guy, but he’s looking for a serious commitment. He wants to settle down and have kids with someone, and that’s not me…not right now anyway.”

  Matt was silent for a moment. He stood behind her, with the bar between them, and Bailey couldn’t see his face, but she got the impression he was processing what she’d just said. “Wow. The ladies find that out, he’ll have to beat them off with a stick.”

  “You’d think.”

  “Not me.”

  “He wouldn’t have to beat you off with a stick?” Bailey swiveled around in her chair and caught Matt’s shocked expression. She gulped. “Oh, God, that did not come out right.”

  He guffawed. “It was priceless, and no, that’s not what I meant. I’m like you. I’m not ready to settle down. At least not until I finish my degree and get my own architecture firm up and running.”

  Bailey raised a brow. “Architecture?”

  “Yep. I’m working as an apprentice right now for a firm in Bakersfield three days a week, and I take classes the other two, work here on the weekends and in my spare time I do the occasional sketch for someone. Just small things right now, like decks and minor additions.”