"Oh." She followed his gaze to the location of the pitchers, which she already knew, then called back her thanks. Then she went about pulling the ingredients for what was one of her favorite drinks served at The Fix. She was concentrating on measuring out the orange juice when Eric came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.
She squeaked, dropped the OJ carton, and spun around.
"Oh, shit," she said, glancing between him and the rapidly spreading pool of juice. "I'm so sorry."
"I didn't mean to startle you. Just the opposite. I was going to pass behind you, so I was giving you a silent warning. Sorry."
"It's okay. Really." She dove beneath the counter for a box of rags and started to mop up the mess.
"Go on," he said. "I'll make the drink and bring it to you."
"I can't ask you to--"
"You're not." This time, she was expecting it when he reached out and lightly put his hand on her upper arm as if to steady her. A place that she was now hyper aware of. "I'm offering," he said, and once again she saw that heat in his eyes.
"I--oh. If you're sure?"
"Just pop your head in the back and tell Mike I need him," he added, referring to the part-time bar back.
"Sure. Thanks." They were close now, and suddenly she had the completely unreasonable impression that he was going to kiss her. Which couldn't possibly be true, but she eased out of his grip, anyway.
He stood up straighter, and she slipped under the bar. "Thanks again," she said, then hurried to sit with Mina and Cam, taking a seat with her back to the bar so she wouldn't be tempted to stare.
"What was that all about?" Cam asked.
"I'll never manage to ask him out. I'm acting like a teenager with a crush. When it's perfectly obvious that I'm a twenty-four-year-old with a crush. It's absurd. I'm absurd."
"Wait," Mina said. The food had b
een delivered, and she used the slider she held in one hand as a pointer. "You have a crush on Eric?"
Tiffany turned her attention to Cam. "You didn't tell her?"
Cam's shoulders rose. "You told me not to."
Tiffany and Mina exchanged glances, then both started laughing.
"What?" Cam asked.
Mina shook her head, then took his hand. "You're a really good guy. You know that, right?"
"I just thought--"
"Maybe a movie?" Mina said, her voice pitched a bit too loud.
He's there? Tiffany mouthed to Cam, who lifted his brows in acknowledgment and sipped his water.
Tiffany's pulse, which had calmed down, kicked up again.
"Looks good," Eric said, eyeing the food as he put the pitcher of Pinot Punch--a mix of pinot grigio, orange juice, peach schnapps, frozen peach slices, and Sprite--on the table.
"Thanks for doing that," Tiffany said. "And sorry again for being such a klutz."
"Yeah, well, at least you're a pretty klutz." He held her eyes for a heartbeat, then looked away, almost as if he'd startled himself with his own bravado.
As if sensing the need for intervention, Mina asked Eric what he was doing later. Spring Break officially started the next day. "You don't usually have a day off after a shift, do you?"
"Nope," Eric said. "But I also usually work until closing. I'm only on the clock for five hours tonight. Off at nine. Reece said he'd come in and cover for me."