Behind the bar, Cam laughed. "She has you there."

"Seriously, I'm only tasting. Everything's great."

"Tiffany's in the back putting together a sampler tray of appetizers, too," Jenna added. "We figured Elena was right. If she's going to work here, she needs to know the score. Oh! And a T-shirt." She cocked her head, silently urging Elena to follow. "Let's go get you one from the back while we wait for the food."

Elena flashed a brilliant smile at Tyree, then followed. As soon as she was out of earshot, he turned to Reece. "So it's settled? She's working here?"

"For the summer, anyway."

"Good," Tyree said.

"Guess that makes her one of the family." Reece's eyes were on Tyree. Not hard, but knowing.

Tyree felt a quick twinge of guilt. Everything had happened so quickly he hadn't told his friends about Eva or Elena. Clearly, though, they'd found out.

"Sorry, man," he said, and got an answering smile from Reece.

"We're all good. She's great, and just so you know, she's not the one who told us. Brent flat-out asked her. I guess he caught part of your discussion with her mother yesterday."

"If by discussion you mean my off-the-rails rant, yeah, he did."

"Well, Elena's great," Reece said. "And she seems happy to be working here." He frowned. "Listen, it's okay with you, isn't it? Honestly, I should have asked you first, but that girl's a force of nature."

He rubbed his hand over his shaved head, looking more than a little overwhelmed. "She came in, we started chatting, and the next thing I knew, I'd put her on payroll."

Tyree chuckled. "She takes after her mom."

"That so? And how does Mom fit into this new picture?"

Tyree drew in a breath. Of everyone at The Fix, Reece knew him the best. Reece's dad had looked after Tyree when he was green and in combat. And years later, Tyree had held Reece's uncle in his arms as he'd bled out, trying to offer some comfort to the mortally wounded man.

So yeah, he and Reece had a bond. And maybe it was that bond that made him tell the truth. Or maybe it was just the need to talk to another man. To say it out loud. "I don't know," he admitted. "I want her here, Reece. I want to get to know her again. But--" He shook his head. "I thought about her last night. She was right there in my head as I lay in my bed. Our bed." He drew in a breath. "I had to move to the goddamn couch."

Reece nodded thoughtfully. "It's hard to move on."

The words were obvious, but they helped. Just acknowledging that it was hard helped, and Tyree sighed. "Hell, yeah, it is."

"Take it slow. See what happens. Maybe nothing will. Or who knows? Either way, you're not cheating. And you're not staining her memory."

"I know," Tyree said. But those were just words. In his heart, he didn't really know at all.

Behind them, he heard Jenna's bright, "Ta-da!"

He turned to see his baby girl filling out one of the black The Fix on Sixth T-shirts.

"Looks good, huh?" Elena said.

"Looks great," Tyree told her, as she came back over, then twirled in front of the bar. She grabbed one of the drinks, then handed another to Jenna for a toast. Jenna, he noticed, didn't drink hers, and after a few moments surreptitiously traded it for a sparkling water.

"I did a little bartending in San Diego," Elena said. "Reece said you're short on servers and bartenders. So I can do whichever you need." She grinned, then batted her eyes. "I'm so much more than just the boss's daughter."

They all laughed, but then Jenna said, "Too bad you're not a photographer, too."

"Oh." Elena's mouth curved down. "I'm not bad. Mom's had me behind a camera since I was six. Why?"

"What's Eva got to do with it?" Tyree asked.

"That's what she does. You didn't know?"

Tags: J. Kenner Man of the Month Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net