Page 74 of Power

“The stray cat out back.”

“Yeah, and he ran away. See! Getting attached is bad. Seriously I’m fine. I feel way better letting it all out.”

“You sure? I can cover for you—”

“No way. This place is exactly what I need right now.” She goes in for a hug, and I accept the comfort.

The bar gets slammed, which I’m thankful for. The next few hours go by in a flash. I’m finishing an order for Cat, one of the waitresses, when the open stool in front of me becomes occupied.

“What can I get ya?”

“Well, I’ve never been in a place like this, so I don’t know what’s good.” I look up to Theo sitting across from me in jeans and a fitted shirt.

“What do you want?”

“To say I’m sorry.”

“Great. Better hurry back to your fancy car before someone steals it. It’s not safe around here,” I spit out and walk off to help another customer. He’s still there when I make my way back down the bar. “Did you want something else? We don’t carry fancy bourbon.”

“I want to talk.”

“Can’t. Working.” I walk off again.

Mindy comes up while I’m pouring a draft. “Hmm. . . I’m going to assume the hot guy at the other end is your boss since he looks like the hottie I Googled, and if so, just looking at him makes me want a smoke.”

“You can have him. Beware, though, he has commitment issues.”

Mindy laughs. “So do I. He’d be perfect for me. But I’m not the one he wants.” I pull my eyes away from the tap. I hate the way my stomach tightens at the sight of him. The way he looks at me. Like I’m the only one he sees. “Man, he reminds me of a sad boy who lost his favorite toy. Maybe you should just go talk to him.”

“And say what?” I hand the beers off and shove the cash in the register.

“Hear him out. Clearly, he has something to say if he came all the way here.”

He’s yet to release his hold on me. Finally, I sigh. “Fine. Cover for me?”

“You bet! You know where I keep my smokes if you need one afterward.”

I slap her shoulder and walk down to the other side of the bar. “You have five minutes,” I say and walk past him, lifting the end of the bar. He gets up and follows me. I find an empty table in the corner and sit. “Whatever it is, it could have waited until Monday.”

“No, it couldn’t.” Frown lines form between his brows. “You didn’t let me explain.”

“No need. I’m pretty sure I understood exactly what you were getting at—”

“No, you jumped to your own conclusions.” Screw him. I stand up, but he grabs my arm. “Let me finish, please.” I want to tell him to go to hell, but the way he’s looking at me has me sitting back down. “I told you in the beginning that we had to keep our relationship private. I have my reasons, and those still stand.”

“Why? What are you hiding?”

“I can’t get into that—”

“Why? Then it’s true. You have a girlfriend—”

“Dammit, no.”

“Then what? Because all I can come up with is that this is just fun for you. But it’s turning into something more than a fling for me.” I hate that my emotions are so exposed. But I need to let him know where I stand. Because in the end, it will be me who gets hurt. And I should know better than to fall any deeper into whatever this is. God help me if it’s love. And because he’s taking so long to answer a simple question, I’m pretty sure I have my answer. I pull my arm out of his grip and stand. “We’re done—”

“Fay, I’m in love with you.”

My world spins. “Wh—what?”

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