âBut he canât see her alone.â
âOf course.â The door to the back room swung open and Josie walked in. Chad held up his beer. âTo Josie, for making Big Buckâs the only bar with Fernâs Hoppy Heaven on tap outside of Portland!â
âTo Josie!â a pair of college students echoed from the other end of the room.
She smiled and took a bow, then headed for the serÂvice side of the bar. He walked over to meet her. And yeah, his wide grin pretty much matched hers.
âYouâre not getting another raise,â he said before she opened her mouth. Sheâd been angling for another increase since sheâd witnessed the Hoppy Heavenâs popularity.
She leaned over the counter. âHow about a bonus for giving the customers something else to raise their glasses to?â
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched her gaze flicker to the tattoo on his bicep. Just for a second. Then she was staring back at him again, but he was the only one smiling like a fool. The challenge in her big green eyes erased the sullen mood sheâd accused him of wearing like a cloak.
âIâll think about it,â he said, flexing his arms. He hoped she wanted the kind of extra benefit he was thinking of offering herâÂa kiss that would prove sheâd carried the memory of that night in the barn around with her too.
J OSIE HAD STOPPED writing down orders by seven that evening. Nearly everyone who walked into the bar asked for a Fernâs Hoppy Heaven. And the few who requested a pop or a mixed drink, well, sheâd gotten pretty good at remembering orders and linking faces with drinks.
One of the weekend bouncers had arrived early to help manage the crowd. Sheâd packed this place and secured her job. Noah wouldnât dare take it away from her now.
Sheâd walked out of that meeting at the brewery feeling as if she could do anything. She could run this bar, pay her bills, and even secure a job for a woman trying to find her way back from a hell Josie could only imagine.
And I could fight the fear holding me back from stealing a peek beneath Noahâs Big Buckâs T-Âshirt at the muscles he fine-Âtuned over the past few years.
A touch. A taste. Nothing serious. Nothing that might lead to more.
Well, physically she was ready. It had been almost two years since sheâd had sex. But sex led to broken hearts. Especially sex with Noah. And if they messed up with the birth controlâÂa baby.
She couldnât risk losing another child. It would break her. She wasnât strong enough. Not yet, when she hadnât even finished paying for the first loss. But even after she sent that last check, she knew the grief, the guilt, the feeling of failure, none of it would ever fully recede.
Still, a kiss, maybe twoâÂthat was different. She wasnât afraid of one simple kiss. OK, maybe a little scared that she might start to feel something for him the second his lips touched hers. But she didnât want to live in fear.
âHey, Josie,â Noah called from behind the bar. âAre you all right? Need a break?â
She turned to him and saw his furrowed brow. Concern shone in his blue eyes. âIâm fine,â she said, knowing heâd vault over the bar if he thought she needed a full-Âblown rescue. But she didnât. Not this time.
Just a kiss to prove she was stronger than the imaginary demons trying to keep a hold on her. A kiss to prove the confident woman who walked into that meeting yesterday wasnât a mirage.
âGood. Then do you mind taking Josh back to see our new dishwasher? Iâm swamped, but he wanted to say hi. And she might feel better if youâre there,â he called over the buzz of the crowd.
She nodded in agreement and scanned the Âpeople at the bar looking for the redheaded Summers brother. Josh waved and headed over.
âThe woman of the hour,â Josh
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