Page 109 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“Please don’t finish that sentence,” Seb says with his nostrils flared. “I knew this was going to happen one day. I told Shauna several times that we need to keep some exclusive bottles back here, just in case.”

“We’ve got lots of expensive stuff.”

“Yes, but we needunique, Lainey. We need the stuff that makes the headlines.”

“It’s a huge outlay if no one… Why are we arguing about this? We don’t have it, and Courtney needs us to get it.”

“Us?” He smiles.

“You.She needsyouto get it. I obviously can’t go. Plus, I’m needed out there.” I point over my shoulder as I back away, but when I catch sight of my locker, I momentarily pause. I’m so close. My phone issoclose.

“Aren’t you‘neededout there’?” Seb says when he sees my hesitation, making me sigh.

“Yeah. I am. I just wanted a second away from the madness.”

And a second to check if Thomas has messaged me because I’m almost certain that by now, he probably has. It’s approaching ten p.m. and he met Summer at six. They may very well still be catching up, but the sinking feeling deep in my chest tells me they’re not. And I have no idea how he’s going to be dealing with it, happy ending or otherwise.

Shaking off my thoughts, I turn to walk away just as Seb mumbles, “I’d rather be you,” and I have to admit, I agree with him. It’s not going to be easy to find that drink, and he has to do it faster than light. I wouldn’t want to be him either. Although, at least he doesn’t have to face the inevitable complaints.

An hour later, Seb comes through with the goods, but it’s an hour too late. The guys aren’t happy. We’ve had sixty minutes of hell trying to placate our guests, and with the added stress of Thomas, I’m at breaking point. “Did anyone call Shauna and beg her to come down here?” one of the new girls asks, not even bothering to hide her panic from the clients.

“We don’t need Shauna,” Courtney says through a forced smile. “It’s her wedding anniversary. We’ve got this.”

I nod, because no matter how hard tonight is, she’s right. We can do it. We’ve had tough nights before, and we’ll have themagain. It’s the nature of the job. But right now, my heart’s not in it.

It’s not until eleven twenty-six—to be exact—that I finally get a break, and I can’t remember a time I’ve ever run to my phone so fast.

Only to be disappointed when I find the notifications empty.

I know that should be a good thing, that maybe it means Thomas and Summer lost track of time and they’re finally reconnecting properly. But it could also mean the opposite, and it’s that part that worries me.

Bringing up Thomas’s contact, I hover over the call button, deciding what to do. On one hand, he could be leaving me alone because he knows I’m at work, but on the other, if he’s still with Summer, my call could raise a lot of questions that he shouldn’t have to answer right now.

“Ugh. What do I do?” I whisper as I drop onto the couch in our break room.

“Call him?” Seb says, popping up out of nowhere, falling onto the couch beside me. “Nothing out there”—he waves his hands in the direction of the bar—“will ever be worth the sad look you have going on in here.” He waves the same hands in front of my face.

“I’m not sad.”

“Oh, you definitely are. I’ve been with my woman for long enough to recognize emotions.”

“Yourwoman?”

“She loves it when I call her that.”

“Okay.” I laugh.

“Anyway. This wasn’t about that. It was about you and the way you’re desperate to call some guy who probably doesn’t deserve you.”

“What?” My laugh turns awkward. “Why wouldn’t he deserve me.”

“I’m a guy. I’m willing to admit most of my kind would fall into that category.”

“Wow. Does talking like that lead to the loss of many friendships?”

“Friendships? Who has time for friends between this place and my girl?”

“She’s a lucky woman.”

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