Accidental Baby (Fake Marriage Romance 2)

“Take a break, Sam,” I said to the other bartender. She’d be on for the rest of the evening as I’d cleverly redone the schedule these last few weeks to spend more time at home in the evenings. Sam and our other bartender didn’t mind working late as tips tended to be better at night.

“Sure thing, Ry.” She headed off toward the kitchen.

I checked in on a couple of our regulars that liked to sneak a drink in before heading home.

“How are you doing, Earl?” I asked Mr. Nesbit.

“All right. Where’s Kelly?” he asked of one of our waitresses he liked to flirt with.

“Off today. Does Mrs. Nesbit know of your crush?”

He waved a hand. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”

I shook my head. I never understood why men got married if they weren’t going to stay faithful. If I won Trina’s heart, I’d have no need to look any further. She was the whole package. Smart. Funny. Driven. Sure, she had a short fuse, but I liked to live a little on the edge. She also had a vulnerability that made me want to protect and shelter her.

I poured myself some water to have during my shift. The door opened and in walked Simon Stark. He had some nerve showing his face in Salvation, much less this place. He looked around the restaurant and then headed toward the bar.

One of the things that made me a good bartender and manager was my ability to get along with everyone. That talent would be tested with Simon. That fucker not only tried to bully local farmers out of their land, but also he’d crashed my sister’s wedding and tried to discredit her in front of our friends and family. Who did shit like that? Simon Stark did, that’s who.

He took a seat at the bar.

“What can I get you?” I asked.

“Do you have Yamazaki whiskey?”

I smirked at his assholishness. Sure, Salvation was a tiny, nowheresville town, but we had access to top-shelf whiskey, although not Yamazaki. My boss felt the only good whiskey came from the south, or Scotland and Ireland.

“I’ve got Laphroaig Lore.” It was from Glasgow and had a similar price tag as Yamazaki.

He smiled. “I’ll take a double.”

I reached up to the top shelf and grabbed the bottle that most people in Salvation couldn’t afford. I poured him a drink and handed it to him.

“Things slow this afternoon?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Lull before the storm.”

He took a sip, nodded in a way that suggested he enjoyed it, and then looked around the place again. Was he casing the joint?

Finally, he turned back to me. “I understand you have a band.”

I rolled my shoulders, not sure I liked that he knew who I was. “I do.”

“I’m having an event in a few days and need a band to play a short set. Thirty minutes or so.”

“A few days. Something like that is usually booked months in advance.” Not that my band’s calendar was filled, but he didn’t need to know that.

“I know. I thought my secretary took care of it. Unfortunately, she thought I did. I really need a new assistant.”

I remembered what Sinclair said about Stark offering Trina a job. Is that why he was here? Did he know about me and Trina? Deciding I was being paranoid, I pushed that thought away.

“Anyway, if you’re not already booked, I’d like to hire you. I really want someone local.”

“You do know that you’re persona-non-grata after what you did at my sister’s wedding.” If he knew who I was, he also knew Sinclair was my sister.

He gave a chagrined smile. “Yes. I was upset and behaved badly. I’m trying to improve my image. Salvation is my home now and I want to show people that I’m not their enemy.”

Right. Stark was a good looking guy, but there was a fakeness to it. Like he was over-polished, not just from his expensive haircut and manicured hands, but also in his demeanor. I wondered what he was like at home when no one was watching. Did his hair get out of place? Did he drink beer and burp?