Page 52 of Long Shot

The weird thing is . . . I know exactly what she meant. For a lot of my life, I, too, felt I didn’t deserve to have fun. Now I have to find out why she feels that way.

Reese

“Nobody’s cooking for the party.”

I tip my head. “Really? We need to have food.”

Later that evening at Conquistadors, we wait for the last customers to leave to close down the bar and start the staff appreciation party.

“Of course.” Cade smirks. “We’re going to order pizza.”

I lift an eyebrow. “You’re going to get pizza delivered to a restaurant?”

“Sure. Why not?”

I laugh. “It seems weird but yeah, why not.”

“It wouldn’t be fair to make you all work when it’s a party to show our appreciation.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.”

I wasn’t scheduled to work today, and after our trip to the beach and my unfortunate confession, I was glad of that so I didn’t have to spend more time with Cade. I’m getting to know him and know I screwed up by saying I don’t deserve fun. He’s not going to just let it go until he knows why I said it.

Shit.

The restaurant is pretty much empty now, other than regulars Joe and Helena, who are sitting at the bar arguing heatedly about what movie to watch when they get home.

“We’re closing now,” Beck says to them. “I highly recommend the latest James Bond flick.”

Both Joe and Helena fall silent. They look at each other, shrug, and slide off their stools. “See you tomorrow,” they both call as they walk out.

“I don’t understand how they stay married,” I say. “They don’t agree on anything.”

“Right?” Cade shakes his head. “But then again, they agree on the most important things.”

“What?”

“They love each other and they’re honest with each other and they’re faithful to each other.”

My heart flutters in my chest. “Um. I guess thosearethe most important things.” Not that I’d know anything about a relationship. I’ve been so busy building my career, I’ve never really had one of those. I had a few boyfriends, but most of them weren’t willing to stick around when I worked such long and weird hours. Anyone with a nine-to-five job who wanted to go out for happy hour drinks or dinner and a movie was going to be disappointed.

But when my career came to a crashing halt, and I was all alone, it crossed my mind that maybe I sacrificed too much for my work. Or maybe I’m just too selfish to ever be in a relationship.

Now that customers are all gone and the restaurant staff not working today have all arrived, Marco cranks up the music and Beck starts pouring drinks. Hayden is also behind the bar, helping, which is cute. She has no idea what she’s doing when it comes to cocktails, but she fetches ice and glasses, and pours wine.

“What would you like, Carrie?” Marco asks. “We have some new drinks on the menu.”

Carrie leans on the bar, smiling at him. “Oh, yeah? Is that thanks to Reese also?”

“Nope. Thanks to Beck. How about Sex with the Bartender?”

“I’m always up for that.” Carrie winks at him.

“It’s a drink, baby.”

“No. You cannot have a drink called that.” She pauses. “What’s in it?”

“Bailey’s, Triple Sec, coconut rum.”

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