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“Hey, you talk to people at the bar all the time.”
“Nah. It’s all bullshit. Besides, they do most of the talking, I just pretend to listen. But she’s real nice, Luke.” Jess’s clenched hands punched at his forehead. “I’m a fucking idiot. I got scared, you know? My past, it comes back all the time in moments like this. I-I didn’t know what… oh Christ, I’m such a loser.”
“Stop that.” Luke grabbed Jess’s arms and pulled the guy around to face him. “That’s Julian’s shit talk that got you in trouble in the first place. You’re not a loser… no way. You’re one of the kindest people I know. So don’t mess around, man. I mean it.”
Jess let his head drop and sighed long and hard. From the few inches separating them, Luke could feel the man trembling with anxiety. “Don’t worry, dude. If I was gonna do something stupid, I would have last night after I ran out of her place.” He stared at Luke; his expression troubled. “It was close. Twenty years of sobriety. You’ll never know how close I came to calling you.”
“Anytime, bro. Anytime, yeah?”
“Yeah. I know. I actually had my phone out but just as I was going to hit send, I got a text from her. And then another message saying she was sorry. Christ, she apologized to me.” Jess’s voice wobbled. “Should I answer them?”
“You didn’t respond?” Luke’s worry dissolved instantly. In his experience, any woman who followed up after a date gone wrong cared about the other person. Smiling now, he asked, “Jess, what do you want to do? Is she the one worth the battle?”
“You mean my personal battle.”
“You said it. Is she worth you struggling against everything that’s held you back all these years?”
Jess stared up at Luke, his mind working hard. Suddenly, he smiled in that sweet way he had, and his head bobbed up and down. “Yeah. She is.”
“Then take a few more minutes and send her a reply. Good luck, man. I’m happy for you.”
Watching for Jess to reappear, Luke felt an upswing of happiness to see his buddy smiling and sending him a thumbs-up sign. Good! Feeling better himself, Luke settled down for another session and took his second beer up to the stage with him. He tuned his guitar and began one of Tennessee’s favorites for the folks. His rich sounds floated out to the streets, and he watched more people surging through the door. About an hour later, he saw the blonde hair first and then the face he’d yearned to see all day.
She’s here.
Suddenly, irritation grabbed hold. Pushing her way in behind Honey was brassy Wendi, the woman he’d met with earlier. The one he’d encouraged because she’d promised to give him the lowdown on the Nashville drug trade.
No, no, fuck, no.
Stuck… knowing he had to show up for their meeting, he clenched his teeth and fought the earlier adrenal rush his body had experienced after seeing Honey.
Unfortunately, as part of his undercover operation, he had no choice. This Wendi had gotten involved with one of the gangs a month before and had become their best customer. The same woman who had no control on her behavior and figured, like most men, he might be interested in what she had to offer.
Fuck!
Chapter Fourteen
Honey and Melanie strode through the door at Nudies just as a group of other folks, all pushy and annoying, came in behind them. One of the more aggressive women had such strong perfume that it almost made Honey’s nostrils feel like they were under an acid attack. Yuck.
Since the blasted butterflies in her stomach suddenly decided to flutter all at once when she heard Luke’s voice singing one of her favorites, she had enough to deal with. She didn’t need the overwhelming, headache-inducing stench to add to her discomfort. Shaking off the affliction, she pretended all was well.
Hurrying to distance herself, she noticed Jess approach and wave them to a table near the stage. Motioning for them to follow, he signaled the two fellows already sitting there to leave and wiped it down especially for her and Melanie. Because the place was hopping, it took them a few moments to get close, and in the meantime, the people that had pushed in behind them shoved their way past and grabbed the chairs before Jess could stop them.
Watching poor Jess trying to deal with this sudden dilemma, Honey caught his eye and motioned for him to let it go. They would find places at the bar. She didn’t particularly want to be within such close proximity to Luke anyway.
She’d felt his eyes on her from the time they’d walked in, and it had become very important to her for him not to get the wrong impression as to why she’d shown up. Certainly, it wasn’t to follow him in any way, and he needed to know that.
If, for some strange reason, he commented on their appearance, she’d mention her best friend needing backup after the night before. Maybe he already knew about Jess and Mel’s meltdown, and if not, Mel had strict instructions from her to inform those interested that she’d dragged Honey here using her BFF status as an excuse.
Once Jess and Linda cleared away a couple of seats at the bar by asking favored customers to make room, Honey caught Linda’s wink and returned the gesture with a wave.
Then she watched Melanie settle herself on the stool and take time to gaze around, pretending she hadn’t just sent a gleaming smile so wide at Jess that he flushed and dipped his head.
Talking loudly, Mel leaned toward Honey. “It’s twice as busy tonight, and I thought yesterday was nuts.” In a louder voice, she added, “Jess smiled at me. He’s bringing us drinks so say something nice.”
Honey watched the spiffed-up bartender carry their margaritas carefully as if he hadn’t served millions in his time working there. She guessed these were important to him. Bowing toward the man, she said, “Thanks, Jess. This is great. It’s pretty crazy in here tonight, isn’t it?”
His expression thanked her for her support, and he smiled shyly before saying, “Luke hates the birthday fuss, but everyone loves a reason to party. He’s thirty-five today.”
