Page 31 of Love That Sass

“What happened?” she asked, and her mouth felt like she had just eaten a wad of cotton.

Her memories came back slowly, replaying in her mind. Earlier, Gwen had been going through the list of signature cocktails, practicing them for tonight. It was her first time handling the back bar alone, and she’d been so excited.

Saturday nights were reportedly jampacked, and she had been looking forward to the tips. She ran her hands over her body. She had on ripped jeans and a tee, so she was already in uniform. That was right. She’d been working the back bar, and it was going well.

Gwen blinked her eyes open, slowly at first, and warm light filled her vision. Weylin had come to the back, was helping her restock. She had a customer. He wanted shots. He got a little mean, then Weylin jumped over the bar and –what next?

“She’s waking up. Hey, Gwen. How are you feeling?” a petite blonde—Lucy—asked, helping Gwen to a sitting position.

Her mind was hazy. She turned and looked at the two huge men in the room. One she recognized as her new boss, Derrick Rand. The other was him. Weylin Scott. The redheaded hottie who’d been filling her dreams with naughty visions and causing several sleepless nights over the past week.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his rippling muscles were a huge distraction to her addled brain. Wowza. He had a bunch of sexy tribal tattoos crisscrossing his body that Gwen hadn’t known about. Why would she? Not like she had that kind of relationship with him—or anyone since,well, ever.

“Ouch, my head,” she mumbled as she pressed her feet firmly to the floor.

“Here, drink this,” Lucy said, handing her a glass of ice cold cola.

“Thank you. Mm, that’s sweet,” she murmured.

“I figured the sugar and caffeine would help,” Lucy, who was very pregnant, replied and shrugged.

“Oh, the bar, I should get back to work—”

“Honey, the bar is all closed. Everyone is home. Now you just take as long as you need,” Lucy murmured.

The bar was closed? Crap. That must mean it was after three. Gwen closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. They were in Derrick’s office again, and she was on the big couch he kept there. Still, she was starting to feel a little like a pinned butterfly.

“Do you all mind not staring?” she asked.

“Sorry,” Lucy whispered, grinning at her for some reason.

“Gwendolyn, what do you remember about what happened?” Derrick asked.

“Um, I don’t know. I was at the back bar. Tending it like Sheila taught me and keeping the crowd happy. Mostly beer tonight, but some shots too. Oh, Weylin helped restock the cooler. Then I think I, um, had a customer and I disagreed with him about something, maybe?” she said, searching his green eyes for clues.

She had only ever seen Weylin Scott looking cocky or earnest, but right then, he appeared concerned and a little freaked out. What the heck had happened?

“He wanted you to take a shot,” Weylin inserted carefully.

“That’s right. Tequila. Um, I don’t drink hard liquor straight,” she explained to Derrick. “It makes me sick. Especially, shots. I’m sorry, I know it is customary for bartenders to drink sometimes with customers—”

“That’s alright, Gwen. You never have to drink if you don’t want to,” Derrick replied. “What else do you recall, if anything?” he pressed.

Lucy rose from her seated position and eyed her man strangely. What the heck was going on here? Gwendolyn blinked, shaking her head to clear it. Oh boy, that was a mistake! She pressed her fingers to her temples.

“Ouch! Is this a bump?” she mumbled and pressed gently around the tender area.

“Fuck, Gwen. I am so sorry. You hit your head when you fell, and I wasn’t fast enough,” Weylin confessed, looking worried and sick as he gripped the back of his neck with one hand.

“I fainted?”

“Shut up, Weylin,” Derrick growled, and for some reason, Gwen really did not like that at all.

“Hey, I don’t mean to be out of line, but what is your problem, Derrick? Weylin just apologized for something that doesn’t seem to be his fault, like at all. That customer grabbed my wrist, ouch, look, he even left a bruise! Weylin got me out of a tight situation, so why don’t you give him a break?” she said, staring at the big man until it got uncomfortable.

Derrick’s chest was rumbling, and she did not know why, but Gwen dropped her gaze. Weylin had stood up at this point, body tense as he moved between Gwen and Derrick. What the heck was going on?

“It’s okay, Gwendolyn. He’s just doing his job,” Weylin murmured, tilting his head oddly and avoiding Derrick’s glare.

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