weekend. She’s there. He said I needed to get down there.”
Chase turned before Colin had finished his sentence, running down the steps and out to his car, starting it before he had even closed the door. He was vaguely aware of Colin getting into his own car as he drove down the street and made a sharp left, but the only thing he could concentrate on was getting to Ripley’s so he could see with his own two eyes that she was okay.
He pulled into an empty space at the end of the street that wasn’t meant for parking before he jumped out and walked swiftly down the sidewalk toward the bar.
As soon as he opened the door, relief flooded through him like cool water through his overheated veins.
She sat with her elbow on the bar, her chin resting heavily in her palm, and Chase was pretty sure her hand was the only thing keeping her head up at that moment. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused as her free hand sloppily played with the mess on the bar in front of her.
The pile of discarded lemon rinds.
Under any other circumstances, he would have smiled over her falling victim to his Lemon Drops once again, but the expression on her face was ripping his heart out. She had that little crease between her brow, and all he wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and kiss her there until it smoothed away.
“Are you gonna take care of her?”
Chase hadn’t even heard Colin come up behind him. He glanced back at him before he looked at Andie again, her eyes falling closed for a beat too long before she opened them lethargically.
“Yeah. I’ll handle this,” he said, taking a step toward her. He felt a hand come down on his arm as Colin gripped him forcefully, spinning Chase back around to face him.
“No,” he said firmly, his eyes intense as they locked with Chase’s. He took a tiny breath before he said again, “Are you gonna take care of her?”
Only this time, his meaning was clear.
Chase felt the tension drop from his shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, he was able to look his friend square in the eye before speaking to him.
“Yes.”
Colin stared at him for a moment, the muscle of his jaw flexing as his grip on Chase’s arm loosened. With one firm nod, he released him fully before he turned and walked out the door, pulling it closed behind him.
Chase stood there for a moment, staring at the dark wood and the brass handle without really seeing. He heard the sound of Colin’s car door slamming followed by the sound of his car accelerating as he took off down the street, and Chase closed his eyes and lowered his head, taking a deep breath before he turned back toward Andie. She was licking the sugar granules off an old lemon rind as she stared blankly into space.
Chase walked toward the end of the bar, and as he approached her, her eyes slid over him and then away without the slightest sign of recognition. He took a steadying breath, thinking maybe he would be lucky and she’d be too drunk to remember she was mad at him.
But when he stopped in front of her, she shook her head. “Go away, Chase.”
“No.”
Her eyes flashed to his. “Fine,” she said, picking up one of the empty shot glasses as she tilted her head all the way back, trying to drain the remnants of a shot she’d already taken. After a few unsuccessful seconds, she slammed the glass back on the bar. “Then I’ll go.”
She turned away from him, grabbing her purse as she called out to the bartender. “Excuse me, Billy? Barney?”
Chase stifled a smile. “His name is Bailey.”
“Barney?” she called again. “Can I get one more of these?” she asked, waving an empty shot glass in the air as she tried to gather her purse with her free hand.
Chase turned toward Bailey, shaking his head imperceptibly as he moved his fingertips back and forth over his throat, and Bailey nodded once before he said, “Sorry sweetheart. We already had last call.”
“Fair enough,” she said before she turned and fumbled with the straps of her purse, trying to gather her things.
“You know what you don’t know about me, Chase?” she asked suddenly before she yanked the purse off the stool and looked up at him. “I love Lemon Drops.” She shrugged flippantly as she