Page 81 of One Unexpected Kiss

He nodded. “That makes sense.” Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. “I really do wish you the best.”

“I—” I hadn’t expected his earnest tone or the tender look in his eyes. He wished me no ill will—that was all in my head. But he was ready to move on all the same. “Thank you,” I said, fighting to keep my voice from shaking. “The same to you.”

He stepped back. “If you’re ever in town again, stop by and say hi.”

“Okay.” My words were barely a whisper.

His gaze locked with mine one last time, and then he stepped out of his office and out of my life.

I collapsed into his desk chair and held my head in my hands. Taking deep breaths, I fought to collect myself and rein in my emotions. My mind and heart were reeling—I couldn’t even identify how I was feeling. But of one thing I was certain—it was time to leave the Carolina Banks.

CHAPTER 16

Bennett

DECLAN PUT HIShands up to ward off the reprimand he knew was coming. But that didn’t stop me.

“Damn it, Declan, you can’t change my order without telling me. Now we’re short two cases of vodka and—”

“Bennett, man, stop,” my little brother pleaded. “You’re not listening to me.”

I magnanimously gestured for him to talk. “Go on. You have the floor, sir.”

“There was an unaccounted-for case of vodka shoved in the corner of the storage room. That makes up the difference. So I figured we didn’t need to order more that would just get misplaced.”

“You’re sure?” I barked.

He nodded.

I threw my bar towel onto the bar. It’s not like he would lie about finding an entire case of liquor, which meant he was right. “Fuck.”

He scratched his head and took a deep breath. “The only thing I can figure is that our last order was incorrect or else it wasn’t inventoried properly.”

“Fuck,” I said again.

I was the one who had handled the last delivery, and it wasn’t the first mistake I’d made in the past few weeks. Not that I’d admit it to Declan, especially after all the shit I’d given him about his screwups. My head hasn’t been right, but hell if I knew how to fix it.

Declan nodded. “Fuckwas my thought too.”

I was totally in the wrong. If our situations had been reversed, I would be losing my shit right now. Yet Declan was taking it in stride. Over the past month that he’d been working more, he’d impressed me. Grandpa Charlie had been right to give him a shot.

“I’ll mop,” I told him. “You go on home.”

He eyed me. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Mopping was everyone’s least favorite chore, so the least I could do was shoulder that load. I owed him that much.

My younger brother nodded. As he walked past me, I put my hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, man. You’ve been doing good work.”

He grinned. “Thanks. And you’re welcome.”

Once he’d left, I poured myself a beer and set it on the bar, then I went into the back to get the cleaning supplies. As I mopped, I noticed that the trim around the gaming area needed some touching up.And hell, is that a ding in the wall near the pool table?Someone must have rammed their cue stick into it. Leaning on the mop, I took a good look around, trying to see the place from an outsider’s perspective, not an easy feat considering I’d learned to walk on these same floors.

Everything looked okay. The place wasn’t worn—it was inviting. I propped the mop against the wall. As I walked toward the bar to get my beer, a floorboard squeaked beneath my feet.

“Fuck.” The place needed a face-lift or some maintenance at the least. It was early March, so there were still two solid months left in the off-season. I wondered how much could be done in that time. A lot, if I did most of it myself, which was possible, considering I didn’t have anything else going on.Good.That was just what I needed—a project to take my mind offthings—people—I’d rather not think about.

I texted Hudson and asked him to stop by. Thirty-seven seconds later, his head appeared in the doorway of the shared break room between my side and Carmen’s. “What’s up?”

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