Page 52 of Flirting with the Scrooge

I genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. In and out of the bedroom. Ugh! Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at him. He was only trying to protect himself, but at the same time it was at my expense. Why does this have to be so complicated? It would have been better if he had never come to town, then I could have stewed and moped to myself about Adam and being alone. Instead, Connor stormed into my life like a blizzard, disrupting every facet. And dammit, I miss him.

“Oh my God! What are you doing!” Olivia screeches from beside me.

I startle from her outburst and frantically glance in front of me in a panic. “What? What’s wrong?”

She shoves me out of the way. “You’ve been putting the name plates in all the wrong piles. We need to redo all of them.” She rips the stack of nameplates from my hand and sets them to the side.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it.”

She picks up all the piles I’ve started and reorganizes them. “What has gotten into you today? You seem distracted.”

I blow out a heavy sigh.

She stops what she’s doing, and twists to face me, leaning her elbow on the counter. “Let me guess. A certain grumpy rock star living across the street?”

I tap my nose. “What he did sucked, and I can understand why he did it, but I still wish he didn’t.”

“Alright, you know what? Your head’s not in the work, so we’ll do this later. Let’s go to Porter’s and be productive at drinking margaritas.”

“I’m not one to turn down a margarita.”

A short while later we’re sitting at the bar instead of our usual table at Porter’s since it’s a relatively quiet night. Quiet as in there’s actual stools available at the bar. Rylee, the bartender, sets two perfectly poured margaritas in front of us. Without hesitation, I lift the glass and bring it to my lips. The salty rim hits my lips first, but soon the tart lime takes over followed by the bite of the tequila. This is exactly what I need.

“Where’s the rest of the crew?” Rylee’s gaze flits between me and Olivia. “Usually when there’s one or two of you, several more follow shortly after.” She rests her palms on the bar. She’s worked here long enough to know we’re regulars and for the most part she’s not wrong, but not tonight.

“We’re just doing some sisterly bonding. And that bonding involves margaritas.” Olivia wraps her arms around my shoulders and gives me a big squeeze. “Plus, she was distracted and fucking up our work, so it was best we leave the house.” Olivia flashes me a bright smile while I push her away.

“I wasn’t distracted.” Who am I kidding? I was totally distracted. I saw it. She saw it. I’m sure anyone looking in the window, could have seen it too.

“Connor has you tied up in so many knots, it’s like a bondage party.”

“Lay it on me. This is kinda what I do.” She pours herself a lemon water as she prepares to dole out her advice.

Rylee has become our resident bartender therapist. She gave Bennett advice to win Charlie back. She helped Van when he didn’t know what to do about Hollyn. Maybe it’s a rite of passage to get advice from Rylee. It’s more of an unconventional way as she basically calls you out on your bullshit and tells you to make it right, but oddly, it works. Maybe she can help me out of my funk.

She quirks an eyebrow, waiting for me to say something. I swallow a gulp of my drink, choking down the liquid and tell her everything about Connor. How he moved in across the street. How we butted heads. Then there was a shift where everything changed, and it was like all it took was one tiny spark and a blizzard to fuel a night of steamy hot sex. That we’re drawn to each other, but neither one of us want to admit it to the other person. How we had fun with each other at the charity gala and that led to another night together. Lastly, how all this was happening while he deliberately failed to mention that he was leaving. I don’t tell her about who he is because while he hurt me, I still respect his privacy.

She stares at me and then glances down at my empty drink. Wordlessly, she grabs a shaker and proceeds to make me a fresh margarita. Her gaze meets mine. “I thought you would need this for what I’m about to tell you.”

I choke down a gulp, bracing for impact.

“The way I see it. He doesn’t owe you anything. You two had fun in and out of the bedroom, but I hate to break it to you. He’s right. He never promised you anything. And trust me, I know, I’ve been through that. Does it suck? Absolutely. But you seem to be making this into something it’s not.”

I nod along, absorbing everything she’s telling me. I hate to admit it, but she has a point. He didn’t promise me anything. Truth be told, he doesn’t owe me anything either. Damn Rylee and making sense. Apparently, I needed someone else to tell me what I already knew.

“Okay. But what should I do? I yelled at him and accused him of lying to me. I doubt he’d even want to see me again.”

“You need to talk to him. And here’s the thing, if you like him, why not enjoy what little time you have left together instead of sitting here pouring your heart out to the bartender? Even though my advice is gold. I really should charge extra for this.”

I choke out a laugh. “But it’s going to be so hard when he has to leave.”

“Or you convince him to stay,” Olivia interrupts.

“As much as I want that, that’s not a possibility.” I swirl the base of my margarita glass on the bar top.

“Why?” Rylee asks.

“He’s got a lot of things he needs to take care of.” I want to keep it as vague as possible.

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