Page 23 of Shortcake
His cheeks turned a comical, pinkish hue. “It’sillegalto serve a minor. The penalties can range from fines, to jail time, or suspension of your liquor license, you know that? I could even have your license revoked.”
Heat flared through my body. This piece of shit was going to come into my bar and try to intimidate me after I’d tried so hard to take good care of his daughter? Fuck that.
I yanked one of the serving trays free from the pile, sprayed it down with cleaner, then got to work scrubbing it. If I didn’t keep my hands busy, I might just punch Conrad in his handsome, strong nose.
“Actually,” I said, gripping the rag between my white-knuckled fingers. “New Hampshire State law says that it’s illegal toknowinglyserve a minor alcohol or to negligibly serve an underage person. If I can prove that the minor presented even a realisticfakeID, then I’m no longer liable. And in this case, it was a real ID that mostly looked like her.”
His lips pressed together. “You know the law.”
“I know myrights.” Hell, you don’t open a bar without knowing all the ways you can get shut down… so you know how to avoid them.
He didn’t sip his coffee. But thick, calloused fingers gripped the handle tightly regardless. “I guess the only question left is…wasit knowingly? Your first night open, yeah? How low were your sales tonight and how much were you willing to risk to get more cash in the till?”
“Wow,” I whispered, with a shake of my head.
In our two nights together, I thought we’d gotten to know each other pretty well. As far as one-night stands were concerned, anyway. We’d spent hours talking. But based on this conversation? It was clear he didn’t know me at all.
Water from the sink streamed over my clenched fists. When I slammed the tray down into the sink, it splashed water up, splattering across my chest.
Even though it made a hell of a loud noise, the sheriff didn’t even flinch. I took a long, slow breath. My temper could easily land me in trouble on a good day. And this was not a good day.
“Trust me,” I said. “I didn’t need your daughter’s twenty bucks. In fact…” I paused, going to the register and mashing some buttons until it popped open. I grabbed a twenty, crumpled it in my fist and threw it at Conrad. He glanced down just in time for it to bounce off his forearm. “Here’s the twenty bucks she spent. Take it back. Consider it a refund.”
His right brow twitched, rising ever so slightly in an arch.
Damn, he had his poker face down to a science. I bet he was one hell of a cop in an interrogation.
His silence itched across my flesh until I couldn’t take it anymore. Tapping my foot, I clamped my hands to my hips. “Who is this Stephanie Harris girl anyway? Maybethat’swho you should be threatening right now. Not the hard-working business owner who just spent the last hour taking care of your daughter in the midst of her bad choices.”
By the scowl on his face, I expected him to stand up and storm out. Or slap some handcuffs on me, drag me outside, and stuff me into the back of his squad car. Granted, under different circumstances, I don’t think I’d mind him handcuffing me.
Jesus Christ, Addy. Get your mind out of the gutter. Conrad was probably twice my age. He had to be forty… right? In order to have a daughter who was Harper’s age. Unless he and his wife… ex-wife… got pregnant young.
Oh God. My stomach turned with the thought.
Did he have a wife? Who the hell was Harper’s mother? Was our one-night stand the product of an affair?
Thoughts swarmed my head. Maybe that’s why he left my hotel room so abruptly? He needed to get home. To a daughter.
Or to awife.
His sigh broke my train of thought. “You’re right.”
That caused my brain to stutter. “I am?”
“You are,” he said with a nod. “I’m really mad at Harper, but I can’t punish her…yet. So I’m taking it out on you. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t often that a man apologized to me. Especially not so quickly after I’d made my point. In the past, my boyfriends would fight me. Storm off. Sleep on it. And then maybe,maybe, I’d get an apology text the next morning. If I was lucky.
“You can close your mouth,” Conrad said, bringing his coffee to his lips. “It’s notthatshocking, that you’re right, is it? Or are you right so rarely that it’s a surprise even to you?”
A smile tilted his mouth at his own snarky comment. But I was truly still too surprised to react with any semblance of humor.
“I know you’re being cheeky, but it actuallyisthis shocking to hear a cop apologize to me.”
“Hm,” I could practically feel the vibrations emanating off his pressed full lips as he hummed. “You have a lot of run-ins with cops, then?”
I cleared my throat. “I plead the fifth, Sheriff.”
