Page 78 of Break My Heart
I turn to her. ‘Aria, I’m sorry, but I really need you to go. I can’t afford to keep paying you when we don’t have the sales.’
‘You don’t have to pay me. I’ll just keep you company.’
‘You don’t have to—’
‘I know, but I want to. I’d rather be here than go home to an empty apartment.’
We remain behind the bar, leaned against the counter, staring at the door like we’re willing it to bring in customers.
‘So I met this guy today,’ Aria says. ‘He asked me out.’
‘What’s he like?’
‘Short, bald, looks nine months pregnant, and smells like cigars.’
I smile. ‘Lenny asked you out?’
Lenny is the old guy who works at the grocery store. He greets you when you walk in. I think that’s his only job. I’ve never seen him do anything else.
Aria tells me the story, which makes me laugh and gets my mind off my lack of customers for at least a few minutes.
An hour later, she goes home. By midnight, the place is empty so I close down early, deciding it’s not worth staying open for the one or two people who might show up. I go in my office and try to brainstorm ways to get customers. At this point I’d do most anything just to make enough to cover the bills.
I was hoping Sawyer would offer up a suggestion or talk through my options to maybe spark an idea I haven’t thought of yet. But he didn’t, which makes me wonder if he doesn’t want to help me. I can’t be mad at him for that. Why would he help his competitor? But I’m also his girlfriend. I thought he’d do more than just tell me to check that my signs were still up.
When I get back to my apartment, my phone rings. Assuming it’s Sawyer, I answer, ‘Hey, I’m home. I closed early. There was no use staying open without customers.’
‘Gina, it’s me. Dad.’
I instantly panic, thinking something happened to him. Other than holidays, he almost never calls. ‘Dad, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?’
‘No, I just thought I’d give you a call. I know it’s late there, but I assumed you’d be up. How are you doing?’
‘Okay. Dad, are you sure there’s nothing wrong? You never call me out of the blue like this.’
‘You don’t have your grandfather watching out for you anymore. Or Ryder, now that you two broke up. I worry about you, kid.’
‘I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.’
‘What was that you were saying about not having customers? Is that bar of yours not doing well?’
‘It’s a microbrewery and it’s doing fine. It was just a slow night.’
‘Who were you talking to when you answered? A new boyfriend?’
‘He’s just a friend,’ I say, not wanting to tell my dad about Sawyer. I don’t tell him much about my personal life. I didn’t tell him about Ryder until after I’d moved in with him. My dad doesn’t share much about his personal life either. I know he’s dated since my mom died, but he doesn’t talk about it.
‘How do you like that town you’re living in?’
‘It’s okay. There isn’t a lot to do, but I work a lot so it doesn’t really matter.’
‘And that place of yours. It’s making money?’
‘It’s getting there. It takes time to get a new business going. I just need to be patient.’
‘If you had used that inheritance of yours to buy a house—’
‘Yeah, I know, Dad, but that’s not what I wanted to do. I don’t want a house. I want a business, something that’s mine where I get to make the decisions and don’t have to work for someone else.’
