Page 80 of Movers and Shakers

It was fine. I liked it that way.

I spent the day looking for something to do. There was a loose plank in the back floor, so I secured it. The menus, though they were rarely used since people normally knew what they wanted, needed cleaning, so I did that too. As the day gave way to the evening, I found myself running out of things to do.

Once upon a time, I would have never been able to stop, especially when the bar first opened, but now that it had been around for years, I was starting to think someone had fixed all of the problems.

“Evening, Barry,” Liam greeted as he walked in. “Are you working tonight?”

“Yes,” I grunted, looking back at the list of people approved to get in.

He raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”

“Yep.”

“It doesn’t seem like it is.”

“Your station could probably be sanitized. Can you go do that?”

Liam frowned but nodded. I felt bad sending him off, but I didn’t want to talk about what had happened today. None of it needed talking about. My family sucked. That was all there was to it. So my dad wasn’t my dad. It wasn’t a big deal. I’m sure the man who really was wouldn’t want anything to do with me anyway. He was living his life, wherever the fuck he was, not giving a shit about me.

But where? Where does he live?

The curiosity shook me to my core.

I didn’t need to know, though my heart begged me to.

Come on,it said.Look into it.

I refused to call up my siblings to ask more questions, just like I refused to think anything of the man who I didn’t know. I didn’t need any of this, so why was I focused on it?

I lingered at the front, not having anything of substance to do, trying to distract myself by watching who came through the door.

I heard a woman say to the bouncer, “I’ve been here before. Is there any way I could get in again?”

My eyes shot to her because her voice sounded so familiar.

Red hair. Freckles. It was the woman who ordered Lila’s drink. The one in the store who’d been looking at Lila’s tea.

It wasn’t fair to compare her to Lila. She was her own person, but the similarities kicked my heart into gear.

“Sorry,” the bouncer said. “We’re—‍”

“She can come in,” I said. “I know her.”

She blinked as if in shock. If I squinted, I could see the woman I desperately wanted.

Don’t be an ass, Barry.

Just because the woman of my dreams had walked out today didn’t mean I could see her in other ones who walked into my bar.

“Thank you,” she said as she sidestepped around the bouncer.

“You’re lucky I was here. Usually, we don’t let people in on short notice, even if they’ve been here before.”

“I’ve heard. You don’t have to treat me like I’m special, though.”

I smirked. “Too late. I already let you in, even though I never usually do that.”

Her cheeks heated. “Why me, then?”

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