Page 169 of Unforgettable

“Stop smiling so I can kiss you,” I mumbled, and he dragged one of his hands up my side until his fingers were tangled in my hair. The other pressed against my lower back, and I willingly moved where he wanted me.

“I can’t help it. I’ve been dying to hear those words come out of your mouth. Talk about heaven.”

And then he finally did kiss me. And like Josh’s kiss, Reed’s kiss filled all the parts of me that I didn’t realize were empty.

Behind me, the driver’s side door opened and quickly closed. “How did I know this is exactly how I’d find the two of you?”

I glanced backward and, in the rearview mirror, noticed the smile in Josh’s eyes.

Reed slid me off his lap and handed me the seat belt. “Let’s get our girl home so we can both participate,” he said with a wink.

FIFTY-SIX

Josh

Standingin the middle of Murphy’s, waiting to meet the new owner, I felt just as shitty as I did when Rhonda told me she was selling the place. My stomach was in knots, and I couldn’t stand still, let alone sit. I needed a way to burn off the nervous energy, and pacing seemed like the easiest way to do so.

Rhonda giving me first dibs was a kind gesture, but I knew I’d never come up with the money. I’d only told her a few months ago that I wasn’t going to be able to swing it and it would be better to start searching for an actual buyer.

I didn’t realize that meant I’d be standing in the bar the first weekend of May, waiting to meet my new boss.

It was several hours until open, and the smell of the disinfectant from the night before was still in the air.

Amanda and Reed had invited themselves along, and the entire ride to the bar consisted of Amanda trying to lighten my mood one way or another. She’d almost been successful, but the moment we pulled into the parking lot, it soured once again.

Everything was going to change. Whether Rhonda believed it or not, nothing would be the same. She swore up and down that the new owner—one with decently deep pockets and a personal tie to the area—had no intention of changing much. He’d even promised to keep most of the staff the same.

He wanted to keep me on as the manager, but with my shitty-ass mood, I wasn’t sure I was going to make the best impression.

For all that had happened in Murphy’s Law—the good, the bad, and the horribly ugly—it was more of a home to me than anywhere else had been. Reed’s apartment had become a close second, especially since Amanda practically moved in with us after her apartment was destroyed and CJ was arrested. But nothing would change the comfort the four walls around me provided.

“Babe, why don’t you sit down? You’re making me dizzy just watching you,” Amanda said.

I’d been pacing next to the main bar for at least ten minutes, lost in my own thoughts, while we waited for Rhonda and the new guy.

“I can’t sit.”

“You’re going to make yourself crazy. It’s going to be okay,” Reed chimed in. He was the epitome of calm, seated on a barstool and leaning back against the bar top. He was extra tan after our recent trip to the lake, and if I wasn’t in the middle of an existential crisis, I’d want to make sure my lips touched every part of him.

“Easy for you to say,” I snapped. “You haven’t been working here for the past ten years, working your way up from barback. This place holds so much of my life—the good and the fucking bad.”

Amanda slid from her stool only a few feet away and was about to cross to me when Rhonda finally appeared from down the hallway leading to the office upstairs.

“Oh, great, you’re both here. I thought I’d be a little more sad, but honestly, I’m just excited to turn this place over. My oldest granddaughter is going to be ten next month, and I promised her I’d be there for her birthday.”

In her hands was a manila folder and what I assumed were the keys to the bar. And in the years I’d known Rhonda, she’d never looked more at ease or relaxed. If anything, I knew selling the place was the best move for her.

“In this envelope is everything that wasn’t in the closing documents. We’ve got the information for the security system, the cleaning service we use, and a couple of the handymen that haven’t tried to price gouge me. Anything that’s not in here is on my computer that I’m leaving.”

Reed stood from his seat at the bar as Rhonda crossed to him. He willingly took the manila folder she offered. “Otherwise, here are the keys, and Murphy’s Law is officially yours.”

She dropped the keys to the bar in Reed’s outstretched hand. Then they hugged, which was awkward since he was nearly a foot taller than her.

“Couldn’t imagine leaving her in better hands.” Rhonda patted Reed’s arm and turned to me.

The world stopped for a moment. My attention darted between Reed and Rhonda—Rhonda was excited and hopeful, while Reed appeared apprehensive and maybe apologetic? To my right, Amanda stood with her mouth agape and her eyes wide.

Reed bought the bar. He’d purchased Murphy’s Law. He was my new boss, and I’d had no idea.

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