Page 18 of Melody

Tommy was out and he was looking for her.

Aside from actually finding her, that was the worst-case scenario.

He’d always been possessive, claiming her as his woman shortly after they’d started dating, making it impossible for her to even maintain male friendships. In fact, she couldn’t even talk with the men she worked with if Tommy was around for fear he’d beat them up out of unwarranted jealousy. A couple ofwomen she worked with thought it was sweet and endearing, but Scarlett had found it stifling and annoying from the start.

For some reason, she’d thought he would change…that if he saw continually that she was faithful and loved him, he would relax.

But that never happened. She got the feeling that he would be even worse if he found her now.

Dangerous and relentless.

As she walked into the bar, the warmth from the heater vent above the door blasted down, as if trying to push the cold back outside. Tonight, she’d worn thicker socks, hoping to keep her toes warm, and two t-shirts, the Intent to Murder shirt underneath her Tequilaville one. If Kyle asked, she could lift up a corner to show him that she had it on, but she also hoped it would help her retain a little body heat.

Once they got busy, she might regret the extra shirt but not at the moment.

“Hey there,” Denise said as Scarlett walked through the bar. Things were picking up as they always did around five o’clock on Fridays but not so bad that Denise couldn’t handle it.

Scarlett said “Hey” back, hoping she’d gotten her tone of voice right. She didn’t need to share her anxiousness with the world. Quickly, she made her way to the back, hanging her jacket up in the office, and then she headed back to the bar. By the time she got there, Denise was busy pouring a couple of beers and chatting with a couple at the bar. Although Denise was always good at prepping what they needed, Scarlett wanted something to do and began cutting a few extra lemons, limes, and oranges for the night ahead. Before she could finish, she had thirsty customers.

It seemed like hardly any time had passed by the time Intent to Murder began setting up their instruments on the stage. She’d been surprisingly busy. Even though it was Friday night, itwasDecember and it was cold outdoors after snowing most of the day. She’d expected people to stay home on this wintry night.

Instead, they were arriving in droves. That was good, because it pulled her focus from her problems and allowed her to lose her mind in her work.

She hadn’t expected Kyle to approach the bar until after the band’s show, because that was what he usually did. When he got close, she teased, “Oh, this can’t be good. You need a beerbeforeperforming?”

His laugh was contagious. Just the sound and the way his eyes crinkled lightened her heart and her mood, making her smile back. “Actually, I needed to talk toyoubefore performing.”

“Why?”

Although his smile softened, his voice sounded sweet. “Your vibes are always positive…so I’m here to bask in the glow.”

He was joking, right? “Get out of here.”

“I’m serious. But…that’s not why I’m here. I think I might have warned you that I’m persistent. And if I didn’t, I guess you need to know. This isn’t an ultimatum, okay? But until you give me my marching orders, I’m going to keep asking if you want to go out on a date with me.”

She shook her head, her smile wide, because he was right about being persistent. For some reason, though, it didn’t bother her.

Maybe because she’d been considering sayingyesall along.

“You can ask all you want, but you know what they say about insanity.”

“Insanity?”

“Yeah. You know, if you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results? That’s insanity.”

Melodramatically, Kyle clutched at his chest as if his heart were imploding. “Oh, that hurts, Tink.”

“I’m sure it does. Get your ass up there and entertain the customers, will ya?”

Taking her playfulness in stride, he winked. “Iwillbe back.”

“I expect nothing less.”

Despite the busyness of the evening, Scarlett’s mind stayed on Kyle. It didn’t hurt that she could steal glances at him up on the stage. He definitelywassexy as hell and as sweet as chocolate. As she poured glasses of beer and shots and made all manner of mixed drinks, her mind compared Tommy and Kyle and she realized something important.

Kyle was as different from Tommy as night was from day.

What would it hurt to take a chance?

---