Page 22 of Don't You Want Me, Baby?

Amber couldn’t help but grin, checking herself out again in the mirror. ‘Not miserable, just thinking. I do look good. It actually suits me. And the dress.’

Sharon grinned. ‘You look good, right? I’ve wanted to give you a make-over for a while. Your bone structure is killer.’

‘What’s killer?’ Tyler appeared behind them, a whiff of his aftershave enveloping them. ‘The food’s all out, everything’s off. I thought I’d come for a drink. The clean down can wait ’til tomorrow.’ His eyes narrowed when he looked at her. ‘What’s up with your face? Hey! Don’t slap me!’ Sharon had swiped him on his tattooed arm. Amber could make out the peep of dark ink under his shirt cuff.

Sharon pulled a face. ‘Don’t be a dick, then! I gave her a little make-over! She looks good! Sexy!’

‘Yeah,’ Amber agreed, dropping her voice to sound sultry. ‘Sexy.’

Tyler’s brown eyes bored into her. She tried to focus on them, but it was a bit too much effort.

‘I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I was referring to your Eeyore expression.’ His features hardened. ‘You’re drunk.’

‘Nope,’ Amber refuted, selecting a blue shot and beckoning Sharon to do the same. ‘But I will be soon!’

Tyler turned to Sharon. ‘What the hell happened? You were supposed to be watching her while I got the food done!’

Sharon shrugged, and Amber stuck out a rather blue-tinged tongue at him. ‘She was looking after the place. I don’t need a babysitter. Fine on my own, remember?’Oops. Her nerves were mixing with the tequila and making her snarky.

She was pretty sure she heard Tyler curse under his breath but couldn’t be sure over the now pulsing dance music. His hand snaked out to grab the next shot before Amber necked it, but she was quicker.

‘Eugh, cinnamon!’ She gagged at the taste. Tyler appeared bar side and swept the rest of the shots out of the way. Ben and Shayla wisely kept their distance, shepherding the customers to the other end of the bar to be served. Tyler gave Ben a nod.God, he was annoyingly hot when he was being all protective. Always looking after things. Bleurgh. That shot was rank.‘Tyler! Gimmethoseback!’

‘Nope.’ He placed a large glass of ice water in front of her. ‘Drink that. Sharon, don’t let her drink any more.’ He was looking over Amber’s head at something, and she turned her head to try to see what he was looking at. She could make out a couple of men-shaped blobs, both puffing their chests out at each other in an unmistakable ‘fight me’ way. ‘I won’t be a minute.’

‘And where is he going?’ Amber looked at Sharon, but she could see two of her. ‘I’m drunk,’ she stated unnecessarily. ‘Not a fun drunk, either.’ She rested her head on the bar top. ‘I just bit hishead off, not a great start, eh? God, why is it so hard to tell someone you fancy them?’

Sharon wasn’t listening. She’d already wandered off. She thought she saw Tyler out of the corner of her eye.Shit. Did he hear that?Deciding that the water might not be a bad idea, Amber turned on her stool, watching everyone have fun around her. ‘Oh, that’s where you went.’ Sharon was sucking face with construction guy. She made a mental note to quiz her about him later. Sharon didn’t do relationships, but she seemed to be gravitating to this guy. The fact she hadn’t talked about him spoke volumes about it being something different. She looked away, feeling like a creep on a private moment. She people watched for a while, and when no-one seemed to notice her there, she headed upstairs. Tyler was nowhere to be seen and given that she was finding it hard to string a sentence together, perhaps that ‘talk’ would have to wait. The lack of food she’d eaten had mixed with the alcohol pretty quickly, and she needed a minute on her own. She had snacks upstairs, and a bottle of cheap Champagne she’d been saving for a special occasion in her fridge. Since it wasn’t her actual birthday for a few more hours, and her whole life seemed banal, she figured it was time to open the sucker. The new year, new me stuff could wait just a little longer.

10

‘So that’s where you got to.’ Tyler found her a few hours later, laptop and half empty bottle of Champagne open on the coffee table. He nudged her legs, which were currently hanging over the end of the couch. ‘Shift up.’

She groaned, turning to sit properly as he flumped down next to her. ‘How’s the party going? It’s been pretty quiet.’

Tyler nodded to her stereo, which was currently playing her favourite best of the nineties playlist. ‘Well, I’m surprised you could hear it over the blasts from the pasts you’ve been playing.’

She poked him in the ribs. ‘Hey, you love this playlist! Don’t think I don’t hear you using it in the kitchen.’

‘Damn you, shared Spotify account!’ He shook a fist dramatically. ‘Everyone went home. Sharon says she’ll come give you a hand in the morning. Just give her a ring.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘Hey, I think she took that building-site guy home, you know?’

‘Never!’ Amber gasped. ‘Back to hers? She never does that!’

‘I know. I think she might actually like this guy.’

‘Wow,’ Amber breathed, sitting back against the cushions. ‘Even Sharon’s moving on with her life. Nice.’

She felt Tyler’s arm come around her, and she leaned into him automatically.

‘You’ve had a bad couple of months. That doesn’t mean your life’s crappy, Amber.’

‘Doesn’t it? I mean, what else is going right exactly? I don’t have the pub; I still live and work here?—’

‘Hey! It’s not so bad here, right?’ He turned her to look at him. ‘It’s just a bad day, Ambs, not a bad life. You make this place. The regulars come here because of you, the atmosphere. The brewery know that, deep down. You’re only young still, plenty of time for your five-year plan.’

‘Not all of it,’ she muttered. ‘I might not have many eggs left to put in my basket.’

‘What?’

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