Page 77 of Bad Luck Club

“How about I get everyone a beer?” Lee said. “On the house.” Surely Blue would see he was making an effort.

But she stared out the window, looking like this was the last place she wanted to be.

He made some suggestions, putting on his sales persona, and he noticed that Blue had swung her attention to him. Was that admiration in her eyes? If it was, it quickly turned to disinterest.

When he took the order to the counter, Dottie was there, chatting with one of the bartenders. They both stopped talking so he could place his order, and as soon as the bartender started to pour the beers, Dottie lowered her voice. “I take it that’s the infamous Bad Luck Club.”

Lee grimaced. “Don’t tell Addy, or she’ll race up here to check them all out.”

“They seem like an interesting bunch,” Dottie said with approval.

“That they are.”

“Did I sense tension between you and Blue?”

He grimaced again, feeling like a butterfly pinned to a board. He was stuck here until the drinks were filled. “We had a disagreement in the car on the way over.”

“Far be it from me to interfere,” she said with a hand on her chest.

Lee tried to swallow a snort but ended up choking on spit.

“Oh, dear,” Dottie said with a frown and walked around the counter and filled a glass from the water pitcher. “Here you go, my dear. Swallowing one’s pride often goes down much easier with water.”

Lee had started to take a drink and almost spat it out onto the counter. “What?”

Dottie gave him a look that suggested he was a fool. “If you and Blue had a disagreement, then you were obviously in the wrong.”

“What makes you think that?” he demanded.

“It’s obvious, my dear Lee.Sheis miserable whileyou’re basking in your arrogance because you think you won.”

She was wrong. About all of it. He didn’t think he’d won. He’d lost, and he sure wasn’t being arrogant about it. This was how he’d been taught to handle things. Pretend like it had never happened and move on, offering small concessions, like the round of beers, but no apology.

Well, shit…

His shoulders slumped. “I don’t know how to fix this, Dottie.”

“Not knowing the details, I’m not sure either,” she said, “but Idoknow a good place to start.”

“And where’s that?”

“By telling her you’re sorry and meaning it.”

She graced him with a knowing smile, then headed back to the event room. Lee had a feeling she’d been waiting to ambush him, and now that her mission was accomplished she was off to talk crystals. Actually, he was surprised she hadn’t handed him one just now.

But he had to admit she was right. He needed to apologize. He wanted to draw the least amount of attention from the rest of the group, which meant waiting until everyone else was gone or left or pulling her aside as she left. No, he had to do it sooner, if for no other reason than the tight feeling in his chest made it hard to breathe.

He carried the tray over to the table and set it down, passing out the drinks while Nicole and Dee teased him that he made a pretty server and they’d be sure to leave him a tip. Everyone laughed…everyone except for Blue and Harry. Their smiles looked fake and strained.

“Blue,” he said quietly as he placed her water in front of her. “Could I have a word?”

She glanced up at him, and he was sure she was going to turn him down, but then she got up. “Sure.”

He could have taken it as a victory—she’d agreed to at least talk—but he couldn’t ignore how guarded she appeared as he led her to the back offices. “I thought we could talk in my office.”

“That’s fine.” She sounded so detached, so different from the unbound Blue he’d sat back-to-back with, the Blue from the car who’d straddled him, the angry Blue from the other day and their argument in the car. He felt a moment of panic, but if he hadn’t known what to do with his emotions earlier, it was no clearer now.

The walk took place in complete silence, which further unnerved him.

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