Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

Jon wasn’t there for the retirement party. He walked straight to the bar, sat down, and ordered a drink. A familiar scowl was on his face, but he looked angrier than he did when I saw him at the engagement party—and just like that night—I was scared to approach him. It was only a matter of time before he looked my way, so I decided to avoid the awkwardness of that, and just say hello. I made sure Lollipop could handle the serving line if necessary and made a quick trip to the bathroom so I could freshen up before I walked to the bar. I was pretty sure there was no amount of makeup to make me presentable in my work uniform, but it wasn’t lik

e I could change. I did the best I could and headed to the bar.

He hasn’t even looked at me, and my knees are getting weak… Why does my new boss have to be the guy that checks every box for the hottest man on the planet?

“Hey…” I leaned against the bar and smiled. “What brings a guy like you to a place like this?”

Well that just sounded cheesy as hell…

“Melanie!” His scowl disappeared, and his face lit up. “Wait, what are you doing at Chateau Prime.”

That’s not his first drink today—he’s a little drunk right now.

“My boss is catering an event.” I motioned to the group that was fathered to celebrate Gordon Sinn’s retirement.

“Ah yeah, I heard Mr. Sinn was finally turning over the family business to his son.” Jon looked over his shoulder and nodded. “He’s a good man—I went to school with his kids.”

“What are you doing here?” I narrowed my eyes. “Are you drowning some sorrows or celebrating something?”

“Right now?” He lifted the glass to his lips. “I’m just having a drink next to the prettiest girl in Carson Cove—it’s a good thing she’s my date for my best friend’s wedding.”

He’s more than just a little drunk—wait, did he really call me the prettiest girl in Carson Cove?

“You might need to slow down.” I tensed up with concern. “Did you drive here?”

“Nah.” He shook his head back and forth. “I had a car pick me up—I’m too drunk to drive.”

At least he knows that…

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I tilted my head to the side.

“You know what sucks?” He didn’t respond to my question; he just asked one of his own.

“I’m—not sure?” I tilted my head in the opposite direction.

“Life,” he sighed. “Life is just a cruel fucking joke…”

Something must have happened—but Mr. Moretti is glaring at me.

“I need to get back to work.” I leaned forward. “Let me go smooth things over with Mr. Moretti. I’ll be back in a few minutes…”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” He nodded.

I went back to the catering line, served a couple of plates to people that were making their way through the line for the second or third time, and then pulled Mr. Moretti to the side. He wasn’t happy when I told him that I wanted to make sure Jon was okay, but he didn’t give me a hard time about it. There really wasn’t that much to do. It would take Lola two extra trips to get the empty pans to the catering van, but the majority of the work was over. He probably wouldn’t pay me for the rest of the night—I couldn’t do much about that. As soon as things were smoothed over, I returned to the bar and saw Jon motioning for another drink.

“Maybe you should just call it a night.” I put my hand on his arm.

“I got plenty of reasons to keep going…” He sighed and shook his head.

“Do you want to talk about it—maybe over coffee instead of whiskey?” I tilted my head to the side.

“Are you asking me on a date?” He raised an eyebrow.

“If you want to call it that.” I nodded quickly.

“Okay, I’ll go…” He put his glass down and pushed it towards the back of the bar.

I don’t know what compelled me to try and get Jon out of Chateau Prime. If he wanted to get drunk, that was his business—but I felt like there had to be a reason. For all I knew, he was mourning his divorce, or something else, but he was leaving with me—I took that as a good sign. He had a car waiting, and the driver held the door as we approached. We climbed in the back seat, and I told the driver where my favorite coffee shop was—they also had bagels and muffins—Jon probably needed some food.