Page 7 of Kiss Me Ever After
Why did he have that effect on me?
“You okay?” Bryony appeared at my side. “You seem distracted.”
I pinned on a smile and wiped the final free table. “It’s been a crazy day, I guess. I haven’t done anything like this before.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Bryony patted my shoulder. “And I’m impressed. When I spoke to your…” She ground to an abrupt halt before finishing her sentence, pretending to see the couple waving for their bill. “Let me go and see to them.” She stepped away.
My forehead wrinkled. What had she been about to say? When she’d spoken to my… who did she know that knew me?
The door banged and Justin Navarro walked in as if he owned the place.
He was all I didn’t need right now.
3
Justin
“You’ll never guesswho’s back in town,” Alex Kane said as he sat down at the bar and reached for the bowl of peanuts.
I slapped his hands away. “They’re for paying customers.”
“Then get me a beer,” he drawled.
Sometimes I hated my best friend for coming in while I was working.
Curtis Porter, our other friend, and my colleague in the hotel bar, came through with a breakfast tray from one of the rooms. “Has Alex told you the latest?” he asked, grabbing the remaining dirty coffee cups from the end of the bar and piling them onto his tray.
“Why the hell does everyone else know what’s going on and you’re making me guess?” I threw my hands up. “Which I can’t be arsed to do, so tell me.”
Alex and Curtis exchanged a glance, and Curtis nodded his head to Alex.
“Well?” I snapped. It probably wouldn’t be long before someone needed another drink and any chance for chatting shit would disappear.
“Lennon Cole,” announced Alex.
Her name bounced off me, reminders of last summer here in the hotel coming to the forefront of my mind. I shouldn’t have been bothered, but it triggered.
“Her usual trip before she heads off to New York for that fancy pants job she was banging on about all last year.” I busied myself tidying up the bar area, ignoring the fact Alex’s gaze bored into the back of my head. “If she wasn’t your sister’s best friend, I wouldn’t tolerate her. Seriously, she’s just another fucking tourist.”
Curtis cleared his throat. “Not this year, mate. Got it on good authority she’s back for the whole summer and, get this, isworkingin the Blue Goose Cafe.”
My hand froze as I wiped the counter. Why was she working? Families like the Coles, with their holiday houses, top of the range cars and platinum credit cards, didn’t need money from a minimum wage job in a café; that was more my speed.
“Where’s she staying?” I asked, trying to keep my tone casual as I turned to face the guys.
“Next door,” said Alex. “She came around last night to see Amber and Mum.”
“And Amber filled me in on all the details,” added Curtis. “She’ll be hanging out with us a lot more than usual.”
Mixed emotions ran through me. On the one hand, Lennon had never been anything other than a pleasant distraction, someone to make my ex jealous with. But on the other, it could be a chance to get to know her better, to really find out if we could be anything to each other.
Ha, who was I kidding? We were way too different to ever be close.
“Ugh. As if I want to double date with you two. Plus, who says I have any interest in Lennon anyway?” I bluffed. “You two should know better than to listen to Amber’s idle gossip.”
“Last year’s fashion show? And, oh, I don’t know, Candace’s reaction when she found out?” Alex reached for the peanuts again.
“Doesn’t matter now. Candace and I are over.”
