Test Drive - Samantha Chase Page 0,76

God,” Willow groaned. “No one is trying to ditch anyone, and there were no sexy whispers!”

Figuring this was her chance to share her big news, Levi excused himself to go and get the champagne. Less than a minute later he heard the telltale squeal of good news being celebrated and was glad her friends were being so supportive. He liked knowing she had a strong support network of friends–especially after meeting her parents.

With a little fanfare, he stepped back behind the bar with the champagne and a big smile. “We’re celebrating, right?” he called out and was rewarded with another round of celebratory squeals and woos!

He never would have pegged Willow and her friends as woo-girls, but he supposed any group of girls out together and celebrating could easily turn into them.

He popped the cork and Willow flinched so hard she fell off her stool. Luckily Donna was right there to catch her before she hit the floor.

My sweet, clumsy girl…

“Here we go!” he said, handing the first glass to Willow before pouring one for each of her friends and then himself. Normally he never drank while at work, but these were special circumstances. There was no way he was going to miss out on toasting her new job.

Wait…am I supposed to toast and say something, or should her friends or…

“To Willow!” Jen called out, taking the decision away from him. “To this exciting new chapter and a career that is absolutely perfect for you! We are all so proud of you for chasing your dream!” She held up her glass, and they all cried out, “To Willow!”

Levi tapped his glass to hers first–then the girls’–and took a sip before telling her he needed to get back to work. The three of them went and found their usual table, and he knew they were going to spend a lot of time talking about her new job and then about him. And he was okay with it.

Sort of.

He only hoped she was flattering in any of the personal stuff she shared–and not so flattering that her friends were going to be ogling him or anything, but just flattering enough that they were impressed and not looking at him sympathetically.

Or with pity.

Closing time came sooner than he would have expected, and before he knew it, they were locking the doors and cleaning up. Willow had resumed her seat at the bar and he enjoyed talking with her while he and the staff cleaned up.

“Hey, Boss,” Anthony said as he came out of the kitchen. “No accidents from Dex tonight. Must be some sort of record, right?”

Levi chuckled. “We should put up a chart and give him a gold star for every night he doesn’t break something.”

“It might work. Give him a little motivation for being careful!” Anthony walked away and a few of the wait staff walked around wiping down tables and vacuuming the floor. Within thirty minutes, they were all ready to go.

Levi took Willow with him to the office after everyone left so he could take care of the receipts for the night and closing down the system. She sat in the lone chair opposite the desk and watched him.

“I have to say, I would think your boss would be here on a Friday night.”

Shit…

“Weekends seem to be so busy. You’d think he’d want to be here to help out.”

“Um, yeah…about that…”

“But I guess since you were gone for over a week, he figured you wanted the hours,” she said, smiling at him. “And clearly he trusts you because he puts you in charge, and even the staff calls you boss!” Then she giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever dated someone who was the boss before. It was kind of cool hearing them all call you that.”

This girl…

She stood and walked over to him. “So, uh…everyone’s gone, right?”

Looking up, he saw the look on her face. Knew that tone of voice. Nodding, he said, “Yeah. We’re all alone.”

“Hmm…” She looked around nervously. “And…no one’s going to come back?”

“Well, I can’t guarantee that.” He stood and walked around the desk and over to the door, closing it. “But I can guarantee that no one’s coming in here.”

Her nervous laughter was immediately followed by a giddier one. “Do you think…I mean…can we…?”

Turning the lock, Levi pushed away from the door. “Oh, yeah. We totally can.”

And for the first time ever, Levi found a whole other perk to being the boss.

16

Two weeks after coming home from their road trip and Willow was still