Betrayed By Beauty - Ashley Lane Page 0,83

the tables.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice calls. Maya, the woman at Tom’s table, waves her hand at me.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“The guys are over playing pool and they left me here all alone. What’s your most expensive cocktail?” Her eyes light up.

I laugh a little. “Sneaky... We have the Corrupt, it’s a mixture of sweet and sour plus a little something extra—a highly guarded secret by our bartender. That one’s thirty-five dollars. Or we have Heaven’s Seven, a mixture of seven top shelf liquors. It’s fifty-two dollars.”

A bright smile crosses her face. “I think I’ll take one of each.”

I glance at Tom and Ross who are oblivious to Maya all dressed up and sitting alone. While I know she’s only with Ross, I still have a wave of sisterhood sympathy for her.

“Great, I’ll put that order in now.”

As I’m about to turn, Maya’s hand touches my scarred wrist. I look down at it and she pulls her hand back. “Please, wait… I wanted to apologize for earlier—I was out of line. And sometimes the filter between my brain and my mouth malfunctions.” Her lips pull in a rueful grimace. “I’m studying to be a dermatologist and I was just so fascinated by your scars… to me they’re beautiful but I do recognize that whatever happened must have caused you great pain. Please don’t hold it against me.”

I cover her hand where it still holds my wrist. Other than Jax and Maddox, I can’t remember the last time anyone called my scars beautiful. “Thank you,” I say, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

“Everything okay here?”

I jump, startled by the deep voice tinged with menace, and spin around to find Angel with an almost-glare pinned on Maya. When she sees him, she steps back, hands raised in defense. “I’m sorry, I was just...”

“We were just talking about my scars,” I tell him through a smile. “Maya is studying to be a dermatologist and was fascinated by them.”

Maya nods in agreement. “They’re beautiful.”

His eyes are warm, and he leans down to press his lips against mine in a less than appropriate kiss for the workplace. “Got some paperwork to organize a meeting. Call up if you need me,” he says, and I nod before he walks away, leaving me speechless.

Maya is staring at me, her jaw hanging wide. “Girl. You have got to tell me where I can get one of those,” she says, and we both fall into a fit of giggles.

An hour later, I finish my last break of the night before closing. A familiar pair of arms wrap around me from behind and I settle into Angel’s chest.

“Missed you,” he says into my hair.

I laugh. “We work at the same place, it’s kinda hard to miss me.”

He shakes his head and presses a kiss against my hair. “Any time you’re not in my arms, I’m missing you.”

“Alright love birds, some of us only have our hand to go home to,” Rhys gripes under his breath. Angel chuckles at his expense. “I’ve got some paperwork to finish up and you, beautiful, are going to go over there with Rhys and he’s going to teach you how to work behind the bar.”

My stomach drops. “Um, no.”

“Sweetheart.” Angel smiles. “Everyone here loves you. All the regulars know who you are, Oakley. You’ve become a staple at Corrupt. They want to see you back here, not just bringing their food and hiding inside the kitchen until it’s ready.”

Well shit. I wasn’t aware he knew I was hiding in there. “I can’t.” I shake my head adamantly.

“You can,” He takes my hand and leads me to where Rhys is cleaning up for closing.

“Alright girlfriend,” he says, giving me a wink. “You ready to learn how to pull a beer?”

Angel nudges me forward and I take a reluctant step and grumble under my breath. “I’d rather be pulling something else.”

Rhys snorts and Angel bursts out laughing and grabs me around the waist before planting a sweeping kiss across my lips. “You’re so fuckin’ adorable when you pout.”

“So does that mean we can go?”

With a soft smack on my ass, he nods toward the bar. “I don’t think so, princess. Go on, show me what you can do.”

I spend the next hour learning about the different types of beers, wines, and spirits Corrupt imports from overseas, as well as the local brews that make the bar so popular. Pulling a beer was fun, but after failing at it a dozen times and ending up with a line