Last Chance - L. P. Dover Page 0,11
my fault. I’d walked into it with my eyes wide open, and still refused to see the truth.
All of my emotions stayed bottled and if I didn’t let them out, I was going to explode. I was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
It was well passed closing time, and there was still one couple left in the restaurant. It wasn’t like I had anyone to go home to, but I couldn’t bring myself to go to their table and tell them we closed over an hour ago. How could I when they looked so happy talking to each other?
Sighing, I sat down at the bar and Grayson slid a shot of vodka my way. He was a great bartender, and always there to pick me up when I was down. “How did you know?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You’ve been tense all night. Plus, I know you. I can see it on your face, something’s wrong.”
Tossing the shot back, it burned the whole way down to my stomach. Or maybe, it was my chest hurting from a broken heart. I turned to him and he smiled, those soft green eyes of his regarding me with concern. His auburn hair was a little longer than usual, which he’d gelled into messy spikes on top of his head.
I wanted to tell him what I did, but was embarrassed for sleeping with a man I knew couldn’t love me back. Usually, I could tell Grayson anything, but I didn’t want him to think I was a woman who’d just sleep with anyone.
“Thanks, guys,” a voice called out behind us. Glancing over my shoulder, I waved at the couple who’d kept us working past hours.
“No problem. Have a safe night,” I replied.
Once they were out the door, I locked the entrance and breathed a sigh of relief. Grayson straightened up the glasses at the bar and then placed his hands on the counter, lips pursed. “Are you going to talk to me or do I need to beat it out of you?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just a little upset, but I’ll get over it. I’m a big girl.”
“Summer didn’t piss you off, did she?” he questioned.
I rolled my eyes. “No, now drop it. Let’s finish up in here so we can go home. I’m headed to the kitchen.”
Josh, one of our waiters, had already started sweeping, while Victoria mopped. At the end of the night, I usually liked to work in the kitchen so I could nibble on the food that didn’t get served. Whatever leftovers we had, we gave them to the workers so they’d have some for their families.
Grayson tried to stop me, but I kept going, ignoring him. If I stayed around him for much longer, I’d break down. When I got to the kitchen, one of our chefs was wiping down the counters. We had three of them, all amazing cooks, but Arthur was my favorite. He was in his mid-fifties, with a head full of white hair.
“What’s up, Artie?” I said.
He smiled and gave me a little wink. “Nothin’ much, darlin. Just ready to get home to my wife. Tomorrow is our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I squeezed his shoulders. “Congratulations. That’s amazing. Maybe one of these days that’ll be me.”
He patted my hand. “I’m sure it will. You’re a beautiful, young woman.”
If only a certain other person felt the same way. “Thanks, Artie. Why don’t you head out so you can get home? I’ll finish up here.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. I could tell he didn’t want to leave.
I pushed him toward the door. “I’m sure. Now go.”
He clocked out and grabbed his coat. “Thank you. I’ll see you in two days.” He waved and disappeared out the door. Once I had all the trash piled together, I grabbed two of the bags and dumped them outside in the trash bins. I only had one more bag left to throw away, but this time when I walked outside, I wasn’t alone.
“Really?” I snapped, tossing the last garbage into the dumpster. “What the hell do you want?”
Luke stalked toward me, his gaze heated. “You’ve ignored me all week. We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.” I marched to the door, but he grabbed my arm, hauling me around to face him.
“Yes, we do. Why are you so angry with me?”
I scoffed incredulously. “Seriously? You’re gonna ask that? I can recall, just over a week ago, finding you all over another girl, not two days after we’d slept