Beautiful Rose (Beautiful Rose 1)

covered a partial fingerprint and we were able to match it from within our system. Does the name Harmony Piper mean anything to you?”

Son of a bitch.

“Yes, that would be my ex-girlfriend,” I replied darkly.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jack

Three days later they confirmed that Harmony had been arrested for arson, and was being held without bail until her case was heard. It was a relief to finally have her out of my life.

I was headed back to the bar for the first time since the fire. I had the all clear to begin restoring the place, though both Mr. Jefferies and I were staying with Alex until the stairs were completely fixed.

Even though I’d already seen the damage, it felt different walking in there when it was empty and the smoke had settled. Most of the wreckage was around the bar itself, and it could have been much worse than what it was.

I grabbed the trashcan and began to sweep up the smashed glasses and bottles of alcohol. I’d arranged for the painters to come in the next day, which meant I had the rest of the today to scrub the soot of the walls, and clean up. Though the fire had only been around the bar, the smoke and soot had spread throughout the entire fucking place.

It was going to be a long day.

After all the mess had been cleared out, I filled a bucket with hot soapy water and began to wipe. The ash was thick and murky and, after five minutes, the water was black. This really was going to take all fucking day.

“Need a hand there, bro?”

I turned around, surprised. The last thing I’d been expecting was visitors.

Ash, Darcy and Benj walked toward the bar. I surveyed their faces as they took in the mess.

“Holy fucking shit. See, I told you that girl was crazy.” Ash shook his head.

“I guess I should take more love advice from you then,” I chuckled, my comment earning a snort from Darcy. “What are you guys doing here, anyway?

“We came to help,” Benj shrugged, as if it were that simple. “It’ll get done much faster if we all pitch in.”

“And Alex and Rose are coming in too,” Darcy piped up. I frowned.

Alex hadn’t mentioned that to me. Then again, he hadn’t mentioned anyone was coming—even him.

I hadn’t spoken to Rose since I’d left Alex’s house to see Harmony the other day. By the time I’d finished giving my statement at the police station, she’d gone back home. Maybe I should’ve called her or gone over to see her, but I’d needed to get my head clear before I spoke to her, which led to me hiding. Until today.

The funny thing was, I’d finally decided what I wanted. This whole thing had made me realize that I didn’t want to keep running from my own feelings.

I was in love with Rose. Everything about her made me want to feel, and deciding to admit that to myself had been a huge relief. Now my only problem was Alex. Without his blessing, I was stuck. He was my only family. If he couldn’t handle Rose and I being together, then there was no Rose and I.

The guys set to work with buckets and sponges. Pretty soon, the place was beginning to look much better. Once you cleaned the soot away, the damage really wasn’t that bad. It made me feel much more confident about having this place ready sooner rather than later.

I pretended not to hear the sound of the door opening; I counted back from ten before I turned around. When I did, Rose smiled at me, her hand closed over her still bandaged wrist. Just the sight of her made my heart race.

God, I needed to sit down.

“Guys, go grab a coffee, have a break.”

I turned to Rose. “How’s the wrist?” I asked softly. She shrugged and smiled. “Do you want to go get a coffee too? I need to talk to Alex about something.”

“Sure,” she nodded. I reached for my wallet and pulled out a twenty. “That should cover everyone. Do you want one?” I said, turning to Alex.

“Why not?”

Rose took the bill wordlessly and walked over to the others. I waited until they’d gone before I spoke. “How is she?”