Page 55 of Hot and Bothered
“Not usually,” I said. “I think it’s this band thing.”
“They must be something to get a crowd like this,” Reagan noted.
“Hey sweetheart, how’s it going out there?” Evan slid down to my side of the bar and gave me a wink. “How’s the mob of crazy fangirls?”
“It’s okay,” I said.
“Do you need more help?” he asked. “I can come out on the floor if you want backup.”
“I’m good.”
Evan cocked his head at me, concerned.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
I turned around before he could ask any more questions, and made my way to the far end of the room. I busied myself with clearing tables and wiping them down. I still didn’t take many customers’ orders or do the dishes, but I could at least keep the place clean and leave Lizzy free to do the other tasks.
I felt eyes on me and turned to find Evan staring. He flashed me a smile. I turned back around.
I didn’t mean to be so aloof, but with the thoughts running through my head I couldn’t make myself pretend everything was okay. I couldn’t smile and laugh and blush the way I normally would. Usually, having Evan’s attention and being on the receiving end of his endearments was enough to make my heart sing. Now it only turned my stomach sour.
There was an audible gasp in the crowd and a sudden commotion as the band came out of nowhere and took the stage. It looked like they’d come from down the hallway, but we only had Mason’s office, the storage closet, and the small kitchen back there. I didn’t know where a group of people could have been holed up.
I worried the crowd might get out of control, but they were respectful and let the band take the small stage without incident.
The music was a bit harder rock than I usually listened to, but the singer had a soft, sensual voice that made the girls swoon and sigh, and the rest of the band members were equally talented on their instruments, as far as I could tell. I could understand why they had a lot of fans.
I just wished those fans hadn’t congregated here on the one night when my emotional state was iffy at best.
I gathered a collection of empty glasses and carried them over to the bar counter, making sure to stick to Reagan’s side.
“Hey,” she called out.
I turned back to find her waving at me to come closer.
“I know we don’t know each other at all,” she said. “But are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
She examined me with a shrewd eye.
“That Evan guy told me you were his girlfriend, but you’ve been looking a little pissed off all night,” she said. “You’ve been shooting him looks like you want him to drop dead.”
I cringed. I hadn’t noticed I’d been doing that. I was upset with him, but I didn’t know yet if I had a right to be. It wasn’t fair of me to treat him like a cheating scumbag when I might have just been reading the situation all wrong.
I leaned against the bar counter and sighed.
“Has he noticed?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “We’ve been pretty busy all night. But if you’re mad at him about something, you should tell him instead of just glaring at him.”
“I don’t really know if I’m mad,” I said. “Or, I don’t know if I have a reason to be mad.”
Reagan looked at me skeptically.
“It sure looks like you do, from what I’m seeing,” she said.
