Page 27 of Roar & Lizzy: A Forever Kind of Love

Chapter 10

Roar, Elling, and Peertalked behind the counter. Libby stood with the other servers, trying to pay attention to the conversation between the women about ombre hairstyles being out of fashion. But she was more interested in what the men were talking about out of earshot.

It was a slow night. An hour before closing and all the customers had already left.

"I heard one of the customers mention Rose Festival is going on downtown. I bet that's why nobody is here." Heather stood from the bar stool. "I'm going to ask and see if we can close early. Peach has already shut down the grill for the night. If anyone walks in, all they can do is order a drink."

The other women stopped talking. Coco looked at Lizzy. "What's going on?"

"Heather is going to see if we can close early." She tucked in the bar stool.

Since working at The Fire Ring, her money problems had gone away. She wasn't rolling in dough, but she was comfortable. An hour of lost wages wouldn't hurt her for one night.

Heather shimmied in front of the men and turned, grinning. "We can leave."

"I'm going to go spend the time with my man." Monica walked toward the breakroom with Kelli.

Coco stepped over to Libby. "Maybe we'll be able to stay awake long enough to watch the next episode of True Blood."

She raised her brows. "Ice cream?"

"Sounds good to me." Coco linked her arm through Libby's. "Let's go."

At the kitchen door, Roar called Lizzy's name. She motioned for Coco to go on without her and walked back into the bar.

"Yes?" She found him alone, the other guys over by the front door.

"Do you have time to talk with me?" He lifted his chin. "Peer can walk Coco home."

"Oh." She looked over her shoulder, though Coco hadn't come out of the breakroom yet. "Sure. That's fine."

"How about a drink while we wait for everyone to leave?" He stepped back toward the shelves of liquor bottles. "What's your pleasure?"

"Um..." She wrinkled her nose and sat down on the stool. "Are you trying to soften bad news? Are you going to fire me?"

"No." His gaze softened. "I'm not firing you."

His assurance only made her more nervous. He'd never asked her to stay after work alone. Whatever he wanted to talk to her about was bad enough Coco wasn't invited to join the conversation.

Coco called her name. She swiveled on the bar stool to tell her there was a change of plans and Roar beat her to it.

"She's going to stay for a bit. Peer will walk you home." Roar lifted his chin at Peer, who'd turned at the mention of his name. "Can you walk Coco home?"

"No problem." Peer opened the door.

Coco looked between Lizzy and Peer. She nodded, letting her know she'd agreed to stay after work with Roar.

When everyone had left, she turned back around. Roar had poured himself a whiskey.

"So, what do you want to drink?" he asked.

She swallowed. "Kahlua mocha."

At his brows lowering in confusion, she pointed to the shelf. He reached over and poured the liquid in her glass. She took a sip and waited for him to tell her what the meeting was all about.

He leaned and braced his elbows on the counter across from her. His forearms were solid, and his prominent arm veins grabbed her attention. She folded her hands on her lap, wanting to run her finger along the length of one.

"I wanted to find out how you think all the women are working out." He slid his glass back and forth between his hands. "Do you have trouble with any of them doing their job or any customers complaining about service?"

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