Page 26 of Love and Other Lost Things

She breathed out a sigh. “Oh, thank you.” Thank God.

“You can work the party for the customer who requested the tequila tonight. That should earn you some big tips.”

“Great,” she murmured, hoping she sounded confident and not terrified.

Matteo smiled, half amused and half like he wanted to know what she had on under her tank top. “It looks like you’re my lucky charm.”

Jane forced a smile. She hoped so. She hoped she could pull this off, and earn enough that this would be the start of her new life in LA.

She hoped Matteo, this bar, and this new job would be her lucky charm, too.

Jane was a much better server than she’d expected. It wasn’t that hard, really. Since Matteo had assigned her to a private table, she didn’t have to worry about wading through the crowd on the dance floor. All she had to do was put in the drink orders with a red-haired bartender named Yolanda and carry them on a tray to the table.

Matteo roamed the club, slapping people on the back, laughing, charming everyone sitting at the private tables. Jane was drawn to him every time he walked by. He’d ditched the Dodgers hat and changed from his jeans and T-shirt into a pair of black pants and a fitted button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. If she’d thought he was attractive before, he could pass for a movie star now. She expected him to ignore her while they worked—he was the manager of the club, and she was just a small-town server after all—but when she passed near him, he met her eye, gave her arm a squeeze, held her gaze for an extra beat.

The club cleared out around 2 a.m., and Jane was finally able to get a minute to run to the bathroom. When she returned, she found Matteo alone behind the bar.

“Where is everyone?” Jane asked, as she piled glasses on a tray.

“The DJ had an after-party to work, and I sent Yolanda and the servers home.” Matteo wiped the counter with a rag. “They have to get up early to get their kids to school.”

“That’s nice of you.”

Matteo shrugged. “It means it’s just you and me cleaning up, though. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t have anywhere to be.” She set the tray on the bar and unloaded the glasses so Matteo could wash them.

“No?” He reached for a glass, his hand brushing hers. “No boyfriend waiting for you at home? Or back in East Bumfuck?”

Jane shook her head, shoving all thoughts of Nik out of her head. She couldn’t think of him now. This was her new life, and today had gone better than she could have hoped. Maybe everything would turn out okay.

They finished cleaning up, and Matteo handed her a roll of cash. “Great work tonight.”

Jane clutched the bills in her hand. She didn’t want to count it in front of him, but it looked like it was all twenties, and there were at least ten or fifteen of them. Had she really made over two hundred dollars? She stuffed it in her purse, a wave of relief washing over her.

Matteo put two shot glasses on the bar and poured in a pale gold liquid, sliding one in her direction. “Our lucky tequila.”

Jane had never had a drink before. Sometimes Nik, Ali, and Hannah would steal bottles of wine from their parents’ stash and drink it by the lake in Randall Park, but Jane stayed away from it. She couldn’t take the chance that Dad would catch her sneaking home smelling like alcohol. She’d always been a rule follower, had always done everything she could to keep Dad happy, to keep the peace in her house.

But look where it got her.

Jane picked up the glass. Matteo held out his in a toast and then tossed the liquid back. She mirrored his motion. Immediately, her throat ignited, and her chest felt like she’d swallowed acid. She gagged and tried not to choke. Thankfully, she managed to breathe through the pain and gulp down the drink without humiliating herself. A moment later, a warmth began to spread over her.

Matteo poured another shot, and this time she drank it without flinching. By the third, Jane felt positively giddy. She slid onto the bar stool, patting the pocket of her purse that held the money she’d earned. Hundreds of dollars in a single shift. That money would pay for at least a couple of nights in the motel, plus some real food. And if this kept up, maybe she could find her own little apartment somewhere.

Her attention turned to Matteo. God, he’s beautiful. Does he really think I’m pretty? Her head spun.

Matteo caught her watching him, and he set his shot glass down on the counter. A moment later, he’d rounded the bar and was standing in front of her. “You’re adorable, Jane from East Bumfuck.”

Jane flushed at that. She didn’t want to be adorable. She wanted to be sexy. Like the women who came into the club.

But then Matteo took a step closer, sliding his thigh in between her knees to spread them apart. Her skirt was so short it gave little resistance, and he settled there between her legs, staring into her eyes, mouth inches away. “The women who come in here are usually so jaded. But you… my lucky charm…” He leaned closer. “You’re so refreshing.”

And then he was kissing her, tangling his hands in her hair, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Jane had never kissed someone who wasn’t Nik before. Matteo’s thick razor stubble scraped her face, and his arms felt like tree trunks wrapped around her. He tasted like alcohol and a hint of tobacco. She kissed him back, lightheaded, holding on partly so she didn’t fall off the stool and onto the floor in a puddle of tequila and exhaustion.

“Come up to my place.” Matteo’s lips slid to her neck, and she felt herself melting. “I live upstairs.”

It was so appealing. Her feet were absolutely killing her in these heels. If she left the bar now, she’d be alone on the streets of LA at three in the morning. And when she got back to the motel, there would be the noise, the fights, the police cars zooming by with their sirens on.

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