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“Yeah.” Her eyes jumped from whatever was behind me to my face and then back to her phone, which I hadn’t noticed buzzing again. “You know, he still mentions you sometimes.”
I blinked a few times, trying to wish the nausea away. “I don’t know why.”
Sarah furrowed her brow at me. “He’s…stuck.”
“He’s stuck?” I retorted, my tone growing sharper than I intended. I bit down on my cheek to keep from saying anything more.
Sarah eyed me, a cautiousness to her tone. “He was married, too. It wasn’t ever right for him though.”
I don’t want to hear this. I don’t care. It’s been sixteen years.
But I found myself getting lost in her words, anyway, my heart skipping beats. “Who was it?”
“Some girl named Brittany. She’s not from here. She put her sights on him, and it was a kind of sympathy case, you know? Like picking up a dog up from the pound.”
Or jail.
“Anyway, it wasn’t meant to be. But Ireallyneed to use the bathroom.” Her voice shifted as she slid off the chair, grabbing up her phone. Something about the way she was acting was suddenly...off.
“Are you okay, Sarah?” I asked just as she turned to go.
“Oh yeah, for sure.” She smiled at me, though it didn’t reach her pale blue eyes. “Um, just so you know, I already paid for the beer. Don’t leave yet.”
Before I could say anything to her comment, she spun on her heel and took off toward a hallway just off the dance floor.
What the heck was that about?
Chapter 5
Where is she?
I drummed my fingers on the table, noticing my smartwatch read out that it was nearly ten o’clock. Thirty minutes had passed since Sarah had left the table, and honestly, I was starting to worry. Maybe she was getting sick or something? Maybe she had to take a phone call? She had been acting kind of weird toward the end of our conversation, but…
Maybe that had just been me.
Before I could second guess the decision, I slid out of the chair and slung my purse over my shoulder. I already had a headache from the obnoxiously loud music and smoke, so a trip to the bathroom to just check on her didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
“Hey, miss,” a voice called from behind the bar. I turned to see the cowboy bartender, his handlebar mustache as jet black as his hair.
I hesitated, but then walked over to where he was waiting, his towel in his hand. “Yeah?”
“Are you looking for Sarah?”
Strange question.
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “She said she was going to the bathroom.”
“Right,” he snorted. “Good luck with that. She’s an elusive little thing, didn’t even pay for the beers.”
I let out an annoyed sigh, and dug into my purse, pulling out my wallet and handing over my debit card. “You could’ve just told me you needed me to pay for the beer.”
He shrugged. “If I said that, you mighta just took off running. Trust me, it happens more often than you’d think.”
“Not surprised,” I mumbled as I watched him head over to the register and run my debit card. I glanced down the counter, seeing an older couple sipping on their drinks, laughing with each other. I ripped my gaze from them, taking a deep breath as the bartender made his way back to me.
“Thanks,” he handed back my card and the receipt. “I gave you the employee discount since you didn’t know she was going to cut and run on you.”
I pursed my lips. “Does she do that often?”
