Page 96 of Hell Hath No Fury
He acts completely helpless if I’m not there, even on my days off, but he’s not completely hopeless. Anders McKay opened the speakeasy without anyone else. He did it all on his own and he has a lot to be proud of. The truth is, I admire everything he has built for himself and I hope to do something like that for myself one day. But for now, I’m happy dressing up like a 1920s gangster as I sling nine million and one different kinds of gin cocktails.
“Did you need something, Anders? Or did you miss hearing my voice boss you around?” I smile as I reach the bottom of the stairs and I’m met with rows and rows of oak barrels with one small glass room in the middle featuring hundreds, maybe thousands, of bottles.
Holy shit, that’s a lot of wine.
“Ha ha ha. Very funny. No, I did have a reason for calling. Do you know where the flamingo glasses are? I wanted to add the ‘Giselle’ to the secret menu, but I can’t do that without the specialty glassware we ordered. They’re pink, right? I wanted to show Giselle what they look like.”
This is what I mean. This man is head over heels in love with his wife. If I still believed in love, I would be jealous. Instead, I’m happy for them.
My heels echo as I walk toward the small room. I’m the only one down here and yet it seems dangerous or off limits to go sneaking around like this. I’m getting a thrill out of it.
“I stacked the boxes of glasses in the bookstore stockroom. We didn’t have enough space for all of them and I thought they would be safe there. Sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted to start testing out the new cocktail so soon.”
The speakeasy I manage is actually down a hidden hallway from a bookstore. And the door to the hallway is behind a hidden bookcase. Which is in fact called The Big House Bookstore. Anders went full roaring 20s theme when he opened the business and he’s killing it. Our patrons are obsessed with nostalgia even if it isn’t their own. Of all the jobs I’ve ever had, it’s definitely my favorite.
“See, this is why I keep you around. You always think of everything.I think we need to work on expansion with more storage. We’re getting bigger and can’t keep up.”
When the whole love triangle drama went down between Anders, Giselle, and Wren, business for us boomed. In a big way. And it has been crazy. When you combine the love triangle between two pretty public figures and the smallish town guy, people get curious and try to get connected as much as they can.
The number of times a day I have to answer the question, “Is Wren here?” is astonishing. Of course, the answer is always no, but it doesn’t stop me from selling them a drink or two. They come for the celebrity factor but stay for the ambiance. Which is fine by me. Job security.
My hand slides across the cold metal of the door handle as I tug against the heavy glass door and ask, “Is that everything you needed from me, boss?”
“Yeah, we’re all good? What are you up to right now?”
“Breaking and entering into a very expensive wine cellar with hundreds of barrels and even more bottles of wine.” I’m met with silence on the other end and I laugh while saying, “I’m just kidding. I’m at my cousin’s wedding reception.”
Technically, both answers are correct, but they don’t have to know that.
“Oh shit, why did you answer the phone? I’ll let you go.”
I start to tell him it’s no big deal when I hear the line go dead on the other end. So much for having a reason to come down here.
“I thought about walking away. About letting you believe the lies you’ve told yourself all these years, but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to tell you the truth and you’re going to listen.”
He followed me down here. I should be surprised, but I’m not. Not at all.
I keep my back to him when I ask, “And why would I do that?”
“Because even though you’re telling yourself you hate me, deep down you know you still care. And that hurts worse than not caring at all. And if there’s a chance that you got it wrong, I know you want to hear me out.”
The problem with that logic is I didn’t get it wrong. That night plays like a permanent video in my head over and over again. I can see it all clearly and the pain over his betrayal has never gotten easier.
Hunter’s shoes echo in the small room as he walks closer to me. His voice barely a breath away when he continues his speech behind me.
“On prom night, I was so nervous. I could barely focus as I was getting myself dressed that night. Things between us were changing. I’m not sure when it started, but I no longer saw you as a friend, and that scared me. More than I ever thought was possible.”
It scared me too, but I don’t tell him that. I can’t give him any more of me.
“When I picked you up, I knew things between us would never be the same. You took my breath away. It was hard to breathe. I didn’t want you to hate me. I didn’t want to ruinour friendship, but I was also not willing to keep going without taking my shot. Do you remember what song we were dancing to when I ran off?”
Even though I’m still facing away from him, I nod. Of course, I remember every little detail about that night.
I was confused when the popular song fromTop Gunstarted playing. It was older, but I just assumed Hunter had requested the DJ to play it to be silly. We loved binge-watching old 80s and 90s action movies together.
“I had it all planned out. I was going to hold you in my arms and dance along to that song and then I was going to finally kiss you and let you know how I felt. But when I leaned in to kiss you, I panicked. I ran outside to pace the beach and clear my head. My heart was pounding so hard.”
“And the limo?” I ask.
