“That’s not what I asked,” Beau said. “How you feel about him is one thing. Whether you’re attracted to me is another.”
“I’m not,” Lola said firmly. She could’ve admitted the truth to any other man, because she was confident in her love for Johnny, but Beau wasn’t any other man by a mile. Her gut told her the truth was a risk she couldn’t afford to take.
Lola went to leave but stopped when she opened the bill holder. There was a stack of twenties. She counted three hundred dollars, but his total was ninety-seven.
She stuck only enough in her apron pocket to cover the bill. “This is too much,” she said, turning back to Beau. “I can’t accept this.”
He hadn’t moved. He raised his eyebrows slowly. “It’s called a tip.”
“No, I know, but it’s too much. The tip is double the bill, and I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.”
“So, let me get this straight,” he said levelly. “You won’t even accept a generous tip?”
He almost seemed angry. She almost felt angry. That much money wasn’t a tip—it was suggestive. It turned their harmless, flirtatious exchange into something sordid and cheap.
She took the cash out and thrust it at him. “Please. I’m not comfortable taking this.”
His mouth was closed, but his jaw worked back and forth. She didn’t recognize the look in his eyes, but it cooled any warmth that’d been growing between them. “Fine,” he said, taking the money from her. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had a tip returned to me, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
“Thank you,” she said. She walked away with her fingers gripping the empty folder.
“Well?” Johnny asked as she approached the bar. “How’d it go?”
She shot him a look. She was too annoyed to answer, but she couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to because Beau was right behind her.
“This scene has been a nice change from what I’m used to,” Beau said. “You’ve really got a good thing going here.”
“Like Lola said, I hope you’ll tell your friends,” Johnny said. “We could use the business.”
Beau looked pointedly at Lola. She hadn’t mentioned telling his friends. “I will,” Beau said. “Even though I kind of like having it as my secret.”
Lola held his gaze, willing herself to think of anything but attraction. She was failing.
Nobody spoke for a few moments and Vero, who’d been busy closing out the register, chimed in. “Can I get you some water or something before you go?” she asked Beau.
“You mentioned the owner’s looking to sell,” he responded, glancing between the three of them.
“That’s right,” Johnny answered. He leaned back against the bar and crossed his arms. “Why? You know someone who might be interested? We’d really like to find an owner who wants to keep Hey Joe as it is.”
“Every struggling business wants that,” Beau said. “They want to keep doing what they’re doing without sacrificing a single thing, but they want it to magically become profitable.”
“This place has the history to back it up,” Lola said defensively. “We believe in it.”
“And I admire that.” Beau turned to Vero. “Veronica, is it? Would you give the three of us a moment?”
Vero winked. “Sure thing, baby.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lola said. “Give the boys a chance to talk.”
“I wouldn’t,” Beau said. The warning in his voice kept Lola’s feet glued where they were. “This concerns you.”
Vero left, swaying her hips especially wide on her way to the backroom.
“Have you thought about buying this place?” Beau asked them.
“Have I?” Johnny set his palms on the edge behind him and sighed. “Owning a bar is the idea one day, but not this one. Even if it is on the decline—well, you’re a businessman, you know. The brand has a solid reputation. It’s already got the foundation for success, just needs the right owner.”
“You’re worried about the price.”
“Nope,” Johnny said. “If I were worried about it, that’d mean I had a chance in hell of getting the money.”
“I have the money to buy it.” Beau paused. “I can give you the money to buy it.”
Lola’s heart had already gotten a workout that night thanks to Beau, but right then it thudded once and painfully hard—as if it’d been running, come to a screeching halt and smacked into her ribcage. Everything clicked for her. This was their answer. This was why Beau had been so interested in her and the bar. He saw an opportunity, but she saw their first glimmer of hope in a while.
“You mean like an investor?” Johnny asked.
“No,” he said. “I’m talking about a one-time payment to buy the business and the liquor license outright. You wouldn’t owe me a dime of your profits.”
Johnny pushed off the bar and stood up straight. “I’m listening.”
Beau squinted at Johnny for a few seconds, but it looked to Lola as if he was somewhere else. “There’s a catch, of course—”
“I think you got the wrong idea about us,” Lola said suddenly. At first glimpse it’d sounded like an answer, but as Beau’s eyes darkened and his tone dropped, she didn’t want to hear the next thing out of his mouth. “We may not have much, but we’re honest people. We do things by the book around here.”
“Let the man talk, Lo,” Johnny said.
She was too surprised by that to utter anything else. She and Johnny did do things by the book, especially Johnny—there was no reason to dismiss her.