Second Chance Baby

“Not for the whole thing. And it was so crushed in there, I barely even got a chance to see you. I want to know how it worked out. Did people like it? Did they have fun? Did the guys say it was a good idea? What did Mason think?”

All the words tumbled out of Stephanie’s mouth like they were a single sentence, and it took me a few moments to break it all up into the individual questions.

“The party was really great. People seemed to enjoy it a lot and think it was fun. They wanted to know when the next theme night is going to be, what the theme is. The guys were ecstatic about it. They couldn’t stop talking about how many people were there, and how effective the theme idea was.”

“And Mason?” Stephanie asked, sipping her water through a straw.

“Why are you so interested in Mason?” I asked.

She gave me a withering look. “Maybe because I saw how the two of you were kind of flirty, and how you were talking a lot. It seems like you’re working together really well.”

“Okay, you can stop right there. Yes, we were talking. Of course we were. I work at the bar he owns. And, yes, we work really well together. That’s because we know each other and can cooperate effectively. But that’s it. Mason and I are just coworkers now. That’s it. It is all it’s going to be. Everything else that might have been between us is in the past now.”

“But, when I was watching you…” she started, and I held up my hand.

“That’s it,” I said. “Coworkers. And I wish you would just quit asking all these questions. I’m perfectly fine with the two of us working together, so I think everybody else should be, too.”

“But you don’t know how Mason feels,” Stephanie said.

The girl just didn’t know when to stop. Granted, I told her I didn’t want her asking all those questions anymore, and technically she didn’t ask a question. She made a statement. At least, part of a statement. I couldn’t really get mad at her for that. But I could stop her in her tracks.

“Actually, I do,” I said. “I heard him talking to his brothers, and he said there will be nothing more going on between us. Obviously, we’re on the same page. It’s just everybody else who keeps skipping ahead a few chapters.”

A waiter started toward the table, and we snatched up our menus, burying our faces in them so we looked like we didn’t forget we were in a restaurant and supposed to be eating.

“You’re just going to accept it?” Stephanie asked when the waiter walked away, and she lowered her menu to look at me.

“I not only accept it, but I agree with it,” I said. “Okay?”

Stephanie held up her hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll drop it.” She picked her menu back up. “Have you been thinking about the next theme night?”

“Yes,” I said. “Everybody was so pumped about it, I think the best thing to do would be to just jump right into another one. It’s going to keep that energy up and draw in more people. So, I’ve got to figure out which theme to do next. We came up with a lot of ideas, but I want to do something that’s different than the black-light theme. Something that will be appealing but might attract a different group of people, too. The more people we can make feel comfortable and at home at the bar, the more popular it can get.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking either country night, and we could do line dancing and have barbecue and stuff. Or a classic-car night where people could bring in their old cars and show them off in the parking lot. Then the inside could be more ’50s themed,” I said.

We kept talking about the theme nights for the rest of lunch, then made plans to hang out again soon. As we were walking out of the restaurant, my phone rang.

“Hey, Mason,” I answered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stephanie give me a look. She might have been trying hard to stay out of it while we ate, but just hearing his name come out of my mouth brought her right back into her nosiness and insistence.

“You still haven’t given us any of your direct deposit details, so your paycheck is ready for you to pick up,” he said.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I keep meaning to do that. Sorry. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll grab it while I’m at work tonight.”

“Sure, see you soon,” he said.

I hung up and looked over at Stephanie. She was looking at me with hopeful anticipation in her eyes.

“He was just letting me know my paycheck is ready,” I said. “So much romance and seduction I don’t think I can handle it.”