“Shit.” She looks over her shoulder at me and I see the panic in her eyes as she starts to move. In her haste, she slams her head against the top of the desk. “Fuck,” she shouts.
I can’t help but smile at her when she eventually stands to full height and I get a proper look at her flushed face.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, Ginge, there’s no need to apologise. You just seriously improved my morning.” I wouldn’t have said it was possible but her cheeks brighten even more at my words.
She turns away from my stare, towards to the newly cleared desk. “I hope you don’t mind. It just seemed a waste and I don’t want to take over your space when I need to get paperwork done. Everything has been stacked over there.” She points over to the corner but I pay it no attention, instead preferring to keep my eyes on her. “I found these. I’m guessing they’re yours.”
Suddenly a bit of fabric comes flying towards my face. Thankfully I catch it just before it makes contact. Holding it out, I soon realise what I’m holding: a pink G-string.
“Nope, not my colour,” I say, dropping it into the bin. “I much prefer black lace.”
“Ugh, are you always this…irritating?” I don’t respond. I’m pretty sure it’s a rhetorical question, anyway. “I was thinking they more likely belonged to Georgia.” The way she spits her name gives too much away about her feelings for my regular fuck buddy. Surely she’s not jealous? I’m suddenly keen to keep pushing her to see if she likes me more than she’d willingly admit, like I do her.
Batting away images of Georgia surprising me after work one night not so long ago, wearing that scrap of fabric, I focus on what’s in front of me.
“Probably. She’s a dirty bitch.”
“Lovely. Anyway, totals of last night’s takings are on your desk as well as a list of our most popular drinks, just in case you wanted to know. I’ll monitor it over the next few days and then we can think about tweaking the menu to suit. Everything is ready to go, I just need to take Bailey home. I hope you don’t mind me bringing him, I just hate relying on Lilly. She’s already got enough on her plate.”
I lose concentration on her rambling way before she’s halfway through in favour of just watching her lips move. I wonder if they’re as soft as they look?
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Sure, last night’s takings are on my desk.”
“That’s all you got from that?”
“Yeah, that and I know what underwear you’re wearing. Does your bra match, and is it as see through?”
“You’re a pig.”
“I’ve been called worse,” I shout through to the bar after her. “He can stay here if he promises to be good.”
“Are you following me?” Nicole folds her arms across her chest but the only thing it achieves is to push her tits up. “Declan, for fuck’s sake.”
“No, I’m not following you. I own the place, in case you’d forgotten. And sorry, you have nice tits.”
“Good to know there’s one thing you like about me.”
“I’m starting to learn you’re not all that bad.”
“Really? How about you start acting like it then.” Her hands go to her hips this time as a memory from last night hits me.
“Fuck. I was a dick last night, wasn’t I?”
“You could say that.”
“Tequila and me don’t mix very well.”
“That’s not an apology, that’s an excuse.” Her eyebrows rise as she waits me out.
“Fine. I’m sorry. Better?”
With that, there’s a knock at the door, and Nicole rushes over to let the others in. “It’ll do for now. But I should warn you that if you keep it up I’m going to want a pay rise.” I run my palms down my face, wondering how the fuck I got myself in this situation.
* * *
The morning starts off pretty quiet. A few of the nosey locals appear with their free coffee voucher and spend as little as possible just so they can tell everyone they’d been and checked the place out. As it warms up outside and the beach starts to fill, more and more customers begin to flood in. I’m leaning against the doorway to the back room when Lilly attempts to manoeuvre her double buggy through the front door.
“A little help?” she calls over to me when she sees I’m watching her. “Looks like things are going well.”
“So far so good. Are you staying for lunch?”
“No, I need to get these two back. As soon as they wake up, they’re going to want food. I do need a favour, though.”
“The last favour you asked resulted in me employing Nicole. What is it this time? You want me to move her in with me?”
“Something like that.”
“What?”
“Calm down. It’s not quite like that.”
“Follow me, then.”
“Wow, what happened in here?” Lilly asks the second she steps into my office.
“Nicole happened.” As I glance over the room, all I can see is the image of her bent down under the desk. It’s like it’s burned onto my bloody eyeballs.
“Repeat after me, thank you Lilly for suggesting I employ Nicole. You were right, she’s perfect.”
“Hmm…perfect might be pushing it.”
“Whatever, listen—” I let out a huge breath as I lean against my desk, waiting for her to spit it out. “Nicole’s fallen in love with a house but it’s a bit out of her price range—”
“What the hell has this got to do with me? I’m not buying her a bloody house. Do you think I’m made of fucking money?”
“No, I don’t want you to buy her a house. It’s up with the estate agent Georgia works for. I was wondering if you could…”
“If I could convince her to let it go cheaper,” I finish for her.
“Yeah, something like that. You do her enough…favours,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Plus, the place is seriously run down, so it shouldn’t be hard to get some money off.”
I was planning on cutting things off with Georgia. She was getting too clingy as it was, and then Nicole appeared and fucked up my head. The last thing I want to do right now is hook up with her, but Lilly’s pleading face pulls at my heartstrings.
“Which one? I’m not promising I can do anything.”
“Oh, come on. I may be your sister, but I’m not immune to hearing the gossip. The girls around here would do just about anything if they get the chance to be on the right end of your tongue.”
My mouth drops open as I stare at her. Lucas has done wonders for my shy little sister, although I really don’t need details about what that might have involved. “Jesus, Lills.”
“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what the girls say,” I say, trying to sound innocent. In reality, I know exactly what they say about me, and usually I’d be proud of it but suddenly it seems nothing but sleazy.
“Whatever. But you’ll try?”
“Yes, I’ll try.”
“Here, it’s this one,” she says, handing me a folded piece of paper. “I need to get going before these two scream bloody murder. We’ll be down this evening—save us a good table.”
“You got it.”
When we emerge from the office, the place is packed. There are waitresses flitting around either delivering lunch to customers or clearing tables as fast as they can so more people can sit down. I glance over at Nicole, who’s stood by the entrance welcoming people, and the second our eyes connect, I can’t help a wide smile spreading across my face. I’d hate to admit it to Lilly, but I think she was right making me employ Nicole.
Reluctantly, I pull my phone from my pocket and shoot Georgia a message about meeting up this afternoon before what I’m hoping is going to be the evening rush.
Her reply comes almost instantly, and I can only presume the two emojis that suggest sex is her agreeing to meet. My eyes meet the stunning green of Nicole’s again, and the thought of even seeing Georgia feels wrong. I’ll see if I can get her to do me
this favour, and then it’s over between us.
The shack gets busier than I could have ever imagined as the sun continues to shine that afternoon. With everyone run off their feet, I end up bussing tables and completely forget about meeting Georgia until she turns up, clearly fresh from the beach if her tiny bikini is anything to go by.
I watch the interaction between her and Nicole, and I can sense the tension radiating off Nicole from here. When she turns to point me out across the bar, her eyes are hard and her face is set in a scowl. She’s really not happy.
Georgia immediately saunters towards me, turning every male head in the place as she moves. I get it, she’s hot, but unfortunately her allure has worn off for me.
“You wanted to see me?” she purrs.
“Let’s go to the office.” She smiles at me before looking back over her shoulder. I follow her gaze and see Nicole giving us both a death stare. If only she knew I was doing this for her.
Chapter Six
Nicole
I can’t explain why I feel sick as I watch Declan disappear off into his office with her, but I do. I’ve no reason not to like her. I’m sure she’s lovely, but I hate everything about her. Her perfect hair, her slim body, her teeny bikini, and the fact that she turned every guy’s head when she walked in. Then, there’s also the fact that she has him.
“You guys okay if I go on my break?” I ask Freya and Will, who’re currently serving behind the bar. They both wave me off and I rush through the front door as fast as I can, forgetting that both my stuff and my dog are currently locked in the office witnessing fuck only knows what. It wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t found her used underwear in there this morning. Ugh, I had the urge to bleach the entire place.
The beach is packed with sun worshippers and the sea is full of people having fun. Dec must be making a killing today—not just with the shack, but also with his surf hire and lessons. I can see all his guys out in the water trying to show people how to stay on the board.
As I continue walking, I feel some of my frustration start to leave me and the ball of anger that had formed in my stomach begins to unravel. I have no right to be angry about whatever it is he’s doing with her in that office, and I certainly have no right to be jealous.
I find a somewhat quiet spot and sit down on the hot sand. Pulling my iPhone from my pocket, I scroll through iTunes until I find the playlist I want. Popping my ear buds in, I lie back and try to relax. I was up and working way too early this morning in my desire for today to go as well as possible. I was glad I decided to when I arrived to find the remains of the guys’ drinking session still scattered around the place. Ugh, there he is again. I turn the music up and do my best to drown out the world.
When The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding starts playing, tears sting my eyes. Mum could never afford for us to have fancy holidays—not that I cared. We always had such fun together, so it wasn’t an issue that we didn’t go abroad. One of my favourite memories from our holidays was one year—I’ve no idea where we were—we were sat on a harbour wall and it was drizzling with rain. We’d just polished off a portion of fish and chips between us when she started singing. I don’t remember ever having heard that song before then, but it wasn’t long before I knew all the words. From then on, it became a kind of tradition for us. Reaching up, I wipe the tears from my face as I continue recalling some of my most treasured memories with her.
I suddenly sit up in a panic. Everything around me is the same, only the beach is slightly quieter than it was when I laid down. “Shit.” I rush to pull my phone from my pocket and look at the time. “Fuck.” I’ve been gone for over two hours. I jump to my feet and run back to the shack.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dec demands to know the second I step foot in the place. Looking over his shoulder, I see that it’s quietened down some but it’s still busy, too busy for me to disappear like that. It seems that his time spent with Georgia hasn’t helped relax him.
“I’m so sorry, I fell asleep on the beach.”
“I can see that, you’re fucking beetroot. Isn’t that the first rule about being a ginger? No sitting in the sun too long?” I’m not sure if he’s trying to be funny or not, because his face is deadly serious.
“Something like that,” I mutter before rushing past him and getting back to work.
The morning staff have gone, replaced by those covering our first night. I’m grateful they’re all totally competent and could cope without me. I grab myself a glass of water and down it in one before turning to serve the next person at the bar.
Dec disappears out the back after watching me for a few minutes with an unreadable expression on his face. It irritates the fuck out of me that he’s pissed off I fell asleep after being in here at the crack of dawn, but he thinks it’s okay to sneak off in the office with his ‘friend’.
Before I know it, tonight’s band has arrived and they’re busy setting up for their performance while we all go about getting the place ready. Fairy lights are turned on and candles are lit while I excuse myself to the bathroom to freshen up and get changed. Unfortunately, that means I have to go into the office to grab my stuff. Bailey notices my entrance and comes rushing over.
“I took him out for a short walk while you were gone,” Dec says without looking up from his desk.
“Thank you. Do I need to wash his eyes out after what he might have witnessed in here earlier?” Why those words fall from my lips, I’ve no idea, and I regret them instantly when Dec’s head snaps up and his eyes harden in my direction.
“Georgia was doing me a favour.”
“Yeah, I bet she was.”
I grab my bag and disappear from the room before he can reply. I don’t need to know any more about what he was up to.
Getting washed and changed in the little staff toilet is a challenge, and as soon as I’ve pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I head back to the office to finish the job. Thankfully, Dec is nowhere to be seen when I let myself back in. Pulling out my compact mirror, I get about fixing my hair and make up in peace.
Just like last night, the place is full in the space of thirty minutes. We make drink after drink while the chefs man the barbeques outside, the smell no doubt drawing any hungry passersby inside.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Lilly asks as she walks towards the bar with Lucas in tow. “Whoa, what happened to your face?”
I groan before explaining. I thought I’d done an okay job of covering my sunburn with foundation, but apparently not.
“If he gives you too much of a hard time, you send him to me, I’ll sort him right out,” Lilly offers.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t had Georgia back there doing god knows what earlier. Fucking hypocrite.” Lilly looks strangely happy about what I just said, which I find strange because she’s not Georgia’s biggest fan either, but loads of customers descend on the bar and she excuses herself so I can get to work.
I’m desperately trying to reach a box of napkins without having to faff around getting the steps when his scent surrounds me. Rolling my eyes because I know he’s about to get them for me, I turn towards him. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen. His hair’s still wet at the edges from his shower, and he’s wearing a pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt.
His eyes drop from my face and run the length of me. “I like the jeans, don’t get me wrong, but the skirt was so much better.”
My previous irritation reignites. Folding my arms over my chest, I glance at the box I was trying to retrieve. “Are you going to help me or just harass me?”
“It’s not harassment if my words rile you up…in a good way.”
His long strides eat up the space between us, and in no time he’s pressed against my side as he easily lifts the box down. Snatching it out of his hands, I march from the room before he can say anything more to piss me off, although I don’t escape the sounds of his evil laugh just before the door shuts. Wanker.
The night is manic. At no point do we hav
e an empty table, and when the band starts the place is packed out as everyone comes in from the decking to enjoy the music.
Dec pops out to talk to the customers and introduce himself and his business a few times, but mostly he stands in the doorway to the office, watching everything happen around him. It pisses me off that he feels the need to watch over us. If he cared that much, he could bloody well help.
By the time I lock the door after all the customers and the staff have left, the bottoms of my feet are throbbing. It’s been a long time since I was on my feet this many hours in a day. Wanting some peace after such a hectic day, I sent the others home. There’s still loads to be done, but I need the quiet.
Grabbing the few remaining dirty glasses from the bar, I head out to the kitchen to fill the dishwasher and grab a cloth to start cleaning down the tables. When I get back out to the bar, the first thing I do is put some calming music on. The band tonight was incredible, but I’m in need of something a little more mellow.
I must have sung along to at least five songs when I feel his presence behind me. He’s been gone so long I wondered if he’d snuck out through the shop, which might have been wishful thinking.
I feel his heat against my back, and knowing he’s so close makes my heart start to pound. I blow out a slow stream of air as I fight to keep my body under control. I don’t want him to know he has any effect on me, although I’m fairly sure I’ve already failed if his earlier words are anything to go by.
When he speaks, he’s so close that his breath tickles down my neck and causes goosebumps to race across my skin. “You need to be up on that stage, Gingernut.”
I have to clear my throat before I can reply. It’s thick with the emotion the thought of performing again drags up. “No, I’m okay.”
Falling For Declan (Falling Book 8) Page 7