My name being called brought reality crashing down. I was standing in the bar, far too close to a man who drove me crazy. A customer. I wasn’t supposed to get close to customers. I wasn’t supposed to get close to anyone.

I stepped back, gazing in shock at Stefano, shocked by how I could have forgotten where I was. Why I was there.

“I’ll check on you later,” I said and turned, hurrying from him.

“I look forward to it,” he called.

I sped up, trying to get away.

Stefano was suddenly far more dangerous than I had expected.

I felt his stare the rest of the night. He sipped tonic, played pool with a couple of regulars, and chatted with Ziggy.

Lara kept fluttering around him, driving me insane. She was the moth to his flame, and she wanted to get burned. Badly. He was unfailingly polite, always listening to what she had to say but refusing to let her get too close. He was a master at dodging her wandering hands, easing away when she stepped too far into his personal space. Often as she stood in front of him talking, I found his eyes directed toward me. He threw me a wink at one point as I was polishing glasses, covertly lifting his eyebrows in amusement.

I tried not to laugh at his drollness, but I failed.

I came from the kitchen carrying the last tray of glasses, surprised to find him gone. I glanced at my watch, realizing last call had happened and we’d be closing in twenty minutes. I quickly finished the glasses, cashed out, and gathered my coat.

“See you tomorrow, Ziggy.”

“You get to leave first next shift you work with Lara.”

I frowned. “Why?”

He snorted. “You don’t think I didn’t see you doing all the work while Lara was busy trying to get noticed? She can close tomorrow and do all the things you did tonight she shoulda been helping you with.”

“Thanks.” I glanced around the bar. “I assume she left?”

“Yeah, the big guy finally succumbed.” He sounded bitter.

My stomach clenched and my throat tightened. Stefano had left with Lara? The room seemed to shift, and I reached out, clutching the edge of the bar, holding it so tight my knuckles were white.

“Oh,” I breathed out.

“He seemed like a decent guy. I hope he knows what he’s doing. She’s a lot to take on,” Ziggy huffed, then snapped off the overhead light on the bar. “I should know.”

He walked away, mumbling. He and Lara had an on-again, off-again relationship. Both of them were stubborn, and Lara liked to flirt, which caused them a lot of problems. At times, it was amusing to watch. But this wasn’t one of those times.

I stepped outside, the door closing behind me. My legs felt heavy and my chest ached.

I shouldn’t care who Lara went home with. Who Stefano chose to sleep with. It didn’t matter—it was none of my business. Obviously, he was as big a flirt as Lara, which shouldn’t surprise me, given his actions during our brief encounters. The two of them deserved each other, and I was better off out of it, I assured myself.

The bar lights shut off behind me, leaving just the one overhead light in the parking lot. The other one was burned out, occasionally flickering as if to remind Ziggy to fix it, but it did little good.

Five vehicles were left in the lot. Ziggy’s van, the two cars belonging to the kitchen staff were parked on one side, and my SUV and a truck were farther down, parked on the other side under the burned-out light. I sighed and trudged toward my car, my steps lumbering and slow.

I was being ridiculous. I had no idea why the thought of Stefano leaving with Lara was upsetting me so much, yet it was. I grabbed the clip from my hair, letting the curls loose, and tossed the clip into my bag in anger. I refused to let the actions of a man upset me anymore. I had done that long enough. I tossed my head in defiance.

The sight of a tall, large body coming around the side of the truck parked beside mine startled me, and my steps faltered, my breathing suddenly fast with panic. Until I heard the voice breaking the silence of the night.

“You walk out to your vehicle alone every night?” Stefano crossed his arms. “I would think Ziggy would at least walk you out. Make sure you were safe.”

I stopped in my tracks at his words—why would he care?

Why was he here?

“Not your concern,” I snapped.

He glanced around. “He needs to fix these lights. You shouldn’t be parked in the dark.”

I walked past him. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

“I’ll speak to him about it. It’s not safe.”

“Don’t bother.” I opened the passenger door and flung in my bag.

Tags: Melanie Moreland Reynold's Restorations Suspense
Source: readsnovelonline.net