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“Are you single, Wes? If you are, you should come.”
I dip my head, closing my eyes and hoping the ground will open up and swallow me whole. I pray that my fair skin doesn't show just how much that statement made me blush because even though I very much want to know if this man is single, that doesn't mean I want him to know that I want to know.
Taking a breath, I turn around and go through the fridge behind me to take out another beer. I set it in front of him, hoping that signals to my best friend that I want out of this conversation.
“Who’s asking?” he questions Andy while looking directly at me.
I blush scarlet and walk away from both of them, hearing Wes’s chuckle.
“Curious minds want to know,”
My eyes meet Andy’s, and the second they do I know I’ve just outed myselfWhen I peer over at Wes and see that gleaming smile across his face, I swear I almost lose my balance.
“In that case, I'm very much single,” he says.
I take a shuddering breath, trying to figure out if that answer is what I wanted to hear or if it just adds more fuel to my anxiety about him in general.
“But I have my eyes on a certain woman who is incredibly out of my league,” he adds.
My entire body turns abruptly on its own and our eyes clash. He winks again and then flashes those perfect teeth before making his way back toward his booth. My mind reels, wondering what he meant by that statement and if that means he wants me to make the next move? If so, I might die right here and now.
“Girl, you are in so much trouble,” Andy says.
God, she's right. That man is sex on a stick, and if I let myself believe he's interested, I open myself up to the eventual truth that it will end badly.
“Why do you look like someone just stole your best friend?” Andy asks while sipping her drink and observing me way too hard.
“No reason…” I lie, taking the rag tucked into my back pocket and cleaning the bar in front of me.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. Why does it look like you just got dumped when you are very much single right now?”
I stop what I'm doing, look at my best friend, and take a breath, knowing I'm about to cave. I know if I don't spill my guts, she will spend the rest of the night berating me until I do, so it's best I just get it over with.
“I like Wes,” I admit.
Andy rolls her eyes. “Thanks, Tips, we know that. What does that have to do with the look you just had on your face? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks as if that man feels the same.”
She's right. As of a few minutes ago, it's become evident that Wes likes me, but that doesn't take away that sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.
“I’m not what he wants.”
Andy’s eyes narrow, and she slams her glass onto the bar before standing and leaning in, getting as close as she can to my face. “I want you to listen to me, Quinn O’Malley. You are a catch.”
I shake my head, years of being told differently filtering out the truth in her words.
“You are, and that man over there,” she turns to look at Wes, who is talking on his phone, his eyes still glued to mine, “is interested. You want to know how I know this?”
I nod, doubt crushing every other emission rolling through my head.
“He comes here every day, and he watches you as if you're the most precious thing in his life. And if that doesn't convince you, he just admitted to liking a woman who is way out of his league while looking directly at you. He can't get any more obvious unless he actually asks you out, but I have a feeling that is coming...and soon.”
My lungs fill with enough air to cause the tears I was holding in to release. I smile before excusing myself and walking down the back hallway to calm down.
As I lean back against the far wall, I close my eyes and tilt my head toward the ceiling, hating that I'm letting my past insecurities ruin an imaginary situation. Away from Andy and Wes’s eyes, I feel ridiculous as I wipe away stray years. Yet here I am, crying because I don’t think I’m enough for someone. The theory is not unfounded. I mean, I can barely keep this pub up and running, I’m struggling to make ends meet, and most nights, I go home alone and watch Grey’s Anatomy on DVD because I can't afford cable or Netflix. Who would want that?
I've been told that exact thing before—that I wasn't good enough. My last boyfriend expected perfection, something I wasn't familiar with andwe fought about it daily. I didn't have the pub then, but I was still struggling, and according to him, I wasn't what he pictured marrying, so he left and almost immediately started dating someone else. Last I heard, they're engaged, and as much as I hate to admit it, it hurts. It hurts that you were someone's first choice until they realized you weren’t good enough for their future.
Just as I shake the overwhelming feeling spilling out of my chest, I hear footsteps around the corner, and I sigh, not even opening my eyes. “Andy, I'm fine. You can go back to obsessing over Wes and me, and I'll be back in a second.”
