set my schedule for the week. I didn’t want to bartend as much anymore. If my evenings were free, I could see Melissa. And it’s not like I needed the money. I’d worked my ass off and saved. I was in good shape to make all kinds of moves.
For the first time in my life, time was more important than money, now that I had someone to spend it with.
Hell, I wanted to spend every fucking waking moment with Melissa. The non-waking ones, too. The image of waking up in bed with her in the morning, all rosy and tousled . . . it sounded fucking amazing. Mind bending. A serious couple goal.
And we were a couple. We had been from the moment I took her hand at the barbecue. She belonged to me now. If she didn’t know it yet, she would soon. I’d make it crystal fucking clear to her the first chance I got.
I slipped into the back to check the schedule. It was still kept on paper on an old clipboard nailed to the wall. I was ready to cross off all my shifts when my phone pinged.
I can't make it tonight, Nick. I'm so sorry.
What. The. Fuck.
I stared at the phone in my hand. My first thought was worry for her. My second thought was that I had blown it. I texted her right back, my mind racing.
Is everything OK?
I waited for her response, my phone clenched in my hand. Nothing came. If there were something bothering her, I was prepared to kill it. It didn't matter what it was. I would handle whatever needed handling. That’s what a man did for his woman. But she had to tell me what it was.
If there were a chance I had blown it by going too fast . . . I didn't really know what the fuck I would do.
I went back inside and asked if I could work a shift. Because if I left now, I knew I'd go over to Honeycutt Stables, march up to the farmhouse, and demand to know what was wrong. Every fiber of my being demanded it. But I knew there was a chance I might make things worse.
So instead, I slid behind the bar and started making drinks.
Chapter Fifteen
Whiskey
“You okay, man?” I asked, watching Nick warily. He didn’t look good. I was worried about my friend.
Nick was behind the bar, staring at a bottle of tequila. After what happened before the barbecue, I couldn’t help wondering if we were in for another bender. He was as boozy as most of the single guys, but I’d never seen him so close to being out of control before that night.
And I’d definitely never seen him mooning over a girl. Hell, he’d pretty much ignored most females since the day I met him, even if he used to regularly end up in bed with one or two at a time in the old days. Not lately, though. And that was with zero effort on his part.
All of that was way before he set eyes on the object of his affection, now all grown up and impossible to resist. Nick hadn’t stood a chance. I’d never seen the guy so damned happy, even if it was short-lived.
From what the guys said, he’d been working and drinking steadily every night since last weekend. Not shitfaced like that one time, but borderline blotto. And clearly upset about something.
Everyone in the inner circle knew that ‘something’ was named Melissa.
It was high time he found someone, I thought smugly. Becks and I were so blissed out and happy at home, it was hard to imagine being left out in the cold. I wanted the same for him. Not that every man could be as lucky as I was. But Melissa was a great girl. Even Becks liked her, and she could be picky about people.
“She cancelled.”
“Who cancelled what?”
“Melissa. We had a date. It was going to be a real date. I was gonna be alone with her.”
“Oh,” I said, scratching my chin. “Any idea why?”
“No. She just said she was sorry.”
“When was that?”
“A couple of days ago. I haven’t heard from her since.”
“Hmm,” I mused. “Becks said the girl called you ‘gorgeous’.” I batted my eyes at him coquettishly but he didn’t laugh at my joke.
He just stared at me, finally looking up from the bottle.
“She did?”
“Most definitely. And she thought you felt sorry for her because she never went out. She had no idea she was on