Page 33 of The Devil in Blue Jeans
Willow wiped her mouth clean with a napkin, glancing between them both. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“I suppose,” Charly said slowly, trying to pull her thoughts together. “It just wasn’t what I was expecting. In my mind, I thought I’d arrive there and meet a bunch of jerks that would never be satisfied with any kind of new business venture, especially one run by women and who had taken over the bar of their boss. But I liked them which makes me feel a bit awful for taking away their beloved western bar and replacing it with a cocktail bar.”
Aubrey raised an eyebrow. “Was that said today?”
Charly nodded. “I told a few of them that said so that was never our intention, and that we’re more about celebrating accomplishments and wanted everyone to feel welcome. However, I didn’t really get the feeling that they believed me.”
Willow cocked her head, looking sheepish through her lashes. “We did kind of change everything about the bar.”
“We did,” Charly agreed, “but it’s quite possible that they were being on their best behavior due to Jaxon’s presence because he is the boss.”
“That could be true,” Aubrey said with a nod. “All right, so here’s what you missed at the bar.”
Charly savored every bite of her pizza, listening as her friends updated her on the deliveries and three new parties that had been scheduled for women who lived out of the area. One to celebrate a promotion. Another for a cancer survivor. And one other for a “swap party,” where everyone swapped a few items of clothing they had brought with them.
“That’s brilliant!” she commented.
Willow grinned, brushing crumbs from her lips with a napkin. “The ideas have been coming thick and fast recently.”
“So, what else have you thought up?” Charly asked.
“How aboutBachelorettescreenings every week? Or aSex in the Cityrewatch? Book releases? Tattoo reveal parties that we set up with the local tattoo shop? Those are just some of the events I’ve been thinking about,” Willow replied.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Charly said happily. “That all sounds great, Willow.”
At Willow’s beaming face filled with pride, Charly felt warmth in her chest. She wanted their bar to feel like a community where friends could gather, where people were celebrated and enjoyed. Now she just needed to get the locals to feel that way too. She stuffed the last piece of bread into her mouth and fell back onto the couch with a sigh. “I’m so full.” She chuckled.
“That only means you ate the perfect amount.” Willow grinned.
Right then, Charly’s cell phone started ringing back in her purse in the foyer. Her heart jumped into her throat, before she stuffedthatfeeling away. Her excitement totally wasn’t over a certain cowboy. Nope, not about Jaxon at all.
She scurried to the foyer and grabbed her cell from her purse. Her heart sank at who was calling.
“It’s Marcel,” she informed the girls.
Aubrey quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t understand guys like him at all. Why do they realize what they have after screwing up?”
“No clue,” uttered Charly as she stared at her phone. His calls would never end unless she acted. She wasn’t sure if it was from her off-the-charts hot night with Jaxon that she was still trying to forget about. Or maybe even that she and the girls were doing better now—they were making their way out of the dark abyss of their sadness—but she knew she needed to move on from Marcel. She couldn’t help but wonder if her mom was right—she needed to finally face this head-on.
Making up her mind, she responded to the phone call. “Hello.”
“Charly,” Marcel whispered in his low voice that once caused her skin to prickle with goose bumps.
She paused for a moment, taking in his heavy breathing.
“Thank you for picking up,” he said, after a long moment.
She stayed locked on her friends wide eyes as she asked, “Why do you keep calling me, Marcel?”
“I’m worried about you...” he said and then hesitated before snorting. “Shit. I know how messed up that must sound considering what I did to you...but I—”
“You don’t have to feel concerned about me,” she stated. For the first time, she chose to keep her boiling anger to herself. “I’m doing great.”
“How can you be?” he argued back. “You’ve abandoned everything and moved to the middle of nowhere. I am responsible for this. I robbed your life away from you.”
She closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift into a peaceful darkness and sighed deeply. “I shouldn’t have left without talking to you and settling all this. Maybe it was wrong of me or maybe understandable given all that occurred...but all I know is that I have to move on...and I need to do that now.”
A long pause filled the phone line before he replied, “You do deserve that. I will never be able to forgive myself for hurting you...for what you witnessed...”
