Page 10 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m a saver, not a spender.”

I bit my lip. I hated taking money from him, but on the other hand, it would solve a lot of problems. I could have the car fixed hopefully before Mom realized it was dented.

“Okay, but I’m still getting a job. Athirdjob. I want to pay you back before I leave Hart’s Ridge.” I blew out a breath. “Know anyone who’s hiring?”

Ethan looked at the sky and then back at me. He grinned. “I think I know a place.”

Chapter 4

Luke

Fuckinghell.

It was a Wednesday night. As such, I had expected business to be a little slow. Lately slow had meant that as long as Pricilla was in the kitchen, I could handle everything else with either Ethan or Jasmine to help. Weekends were a different matter, but Wednesday? I barely had to pay attention.

But I was paying attention now.

Because now, Bethany Albright was standing at my bar. On the wrong side of it.

Wearingthat.

Last night had been bad enough. I hadn’t recognized her as Ethan’s Bethany. My only thought had been,yes, her. I wanted her. And when I wanted, I generally followed through with the having. Why not? Sex between consensual adults was no different than any other recreational activity. People didn’t need to take it so seriously all the time. I sure as hell didn’t.

But a spark was what made the whole concept of sex appealing to me in the first place. Who wants to have sex with someone when there’s no chemistry? I’d rather watch mindless TV and get some shuteye. And this girl…I hadn’t felt a spark like that inyears. Maybe never, though I wasn’t going to spend too much effort trying to remember.

So it was a little upsetting to learn she was Ethan’s Bethany. The horror of that moment, of realizing I would have taken her home if she hadn’t told me her name, was something that wasn’t going to leave me anytime soon.

“What the hell are you doing?” I barked, striding toward the bar. I came to a stop on the customer side—whereshebelonged, dammit, and I had a very bad feeling about why she was on the other side of things, dressed like that.

She stared back at me like I had lost my mind. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m working.”

Exactly what I was afraid of.

“No,” I said. “I didn’t hire you.”

“Ihired her,” Jasmine said, making me blink, because I could have sworn it was just Bethany behind the bar, but here was Jasmine, rubbing the wood bar top down with a rag like she had been there all along. “You’re welcome.”

“Without telling me?” I demanded, incredulous. “It’smyfucking bar, Jasmine. I built it. I own it. I do the hiring…and the firing,” I reminded her, in case that little fact was lost on her.

Jasmine laughed. “You want to fire me? That’s cute. Not five minutes later you’d be begging for me to come back.”

I scowled. She wasn’t wrong.

“You told me yesterday that if I wanted to hire help, I was welcome to it. Those wereyourexact words. So that’s what I did. Now here you are being all ungrateful about it?” She regarded me narrowly. “You’re being weird. What crawled up your butt and died?”

Bethany’s gaze ping-ponged between us. She bit her lip. And that did things to me. Made me want to protect her from anyone and anything that put that wary look on her face.Stupid. Because right now, apparently what she needed protection from was me.

“Maybe I should go,” she said, edging away from the bar.

“I’m not mad atyou,” I said, stopping her. “Jasmine, what the hell? Is it too much to ask that you give me a head’s up before bringing on new staff?”

“I texted you,” she said calmly.

“I was hiking. No cell service.”

She shrugged. “Oh, well. Shit happens. The point remains, you had a problem, you gave me permission to solve it, and so I did. You should be thanking me.”

I was disinclined to do that. I turned to Bethany. “Do you have experience tending bar?”

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