Bride Interrupted (2 page)

Kayla looked around the bar. There was an entirely different crowd inside now. The calm afternoon patrons gave way to more rambunctious partygoers. People were laughing and drinking, swaying to whatever music played. With the variety of pop, country, oldies, and reggae, everyone was bound to hear something they liked.

She liked the atmosphere there. It was open, friendly, and put off a good vibe. A great setting for fun times and good memories. Grandpa and her late grandma made this little deli bar a beach icon. Apparently, everyone in Perdido Key knew about Gracie’s. It was the place to go for good music and good times.

Kayla didn’t want to change any of that. All she wanted to do was add to it. Make it a site to hold weddings and receptions. Surely that could be incorporated into the small space. Somehow. First, she had to convince Colton. Whoever he was. Her visits over the last years had been too scarce with her tied up in her own business, so she never had the opportunity to meet the man. She only knew he was in charge of running the operation for Grandpa. But that would change soon enough. It had to. She took a huge leap of faith by selling her restaurant in New Orleans and moving to Florida after her grandfather suffered a stroke.

So now, instead of running a famous restaurant, she would try her hand at managing a beach deli bar. And at the persistence of Christi and Paul, she took the steps to start her dream business of planning weddings. If only she could tie the two together.

Kayla spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and getting the beach house ready to be lived in once again. It had been years since there had been a permanent resident living there. Christi and Paul rented it out to tourists after they moved into a bigger house farther up the coast. Kayla was thrilled when Christi offered her a month-to-month lease. Her friend’s help made the move a lot smoother.

Just as they finished breaking down the last of the empty boxes, Christi’s cell phone rang. With Christi’s “Hello, baby,” Kayla knew it had to be her husband, Paul.

Kayla pulled out mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and ham for sandwich fixings while Christi talked to him.

A few minutes later, Christi strolled back into the kitchen to help with the supper. “Fix one for Paul too. He’s on his way.” Christi pulled out a vegetable tray from the refrigerator. “I’m starving. Must be the pregnancy.”

Kayla laughed. “I’m sure. And we were pretty damn busy today. I can’t believe we got it all done. Thanks for the help.” Kayla pulled out a bag of chips then burst out laughing. “We have enough food here to feed an army. I hope Paul has a big appetite.”

“Believe me, he always has an appetite.”

A thought occurred to Kayla. She would like to see the action at the bar in the evening. See what kind of crowd it attracted. “After we eat, let’s go back to the bar and scope it out again. Even though I want to make it a wedding venue, I still want to keep that open and active.”

“Sounds good to me, I could use a drink,” Paul said as he walked into the kitchen and kissed his wife. “Didn’t mean to barge in, but the patio door was open.”

“No problem. I left it open so the breeze could cool it off in here.”

After eating, they headed back down the beach to the bar. It wasn’t even dusk, but the inside was already full. They found a table just outside of the opened side doors. The screens that earlier enclosed the bar were now pulled back, letting the warm evening breeze flow through. Kayla listened to the music, chatted with her friends, and actually felt a touch of jealousy when Paul placed his hand over Christi’s enlarged belly. He did it absentmindedly, which made it so genuine. Kayla pushed the feelings away. She didn’t have the time or energy to think about babies or husbands for herself.

Paul leaned over to the man sitting at the next table and carried on a conversation about sports. Kayla scooted her chair closer to Christi. “He makes friends anywhere, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. It’s like all male sports freaks have an internal magnet that identifies them.” Christi squeezed Kayla’s hand. “Oh, Kayla. I wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. It’s been a lot of work getting you settled in, but it has been so much fun. We loved our little beach house. You are going to enjoy living here.”

“I hope so. Big difference from city life. Hey, I’m going to miss you too. But you will only be gone for a week on vacation. I think I can handle myself for that long.” She smiled at the wistful expression on her friend’s face. “You guys deserve this break.”

“Yeah, and it will be the last one for a while. Once this little one pops out, we will be busy with her. When we get back from vacation, we are only an hour’s drive up the coast. Really not that far away.”

Kayla turned her head, looking for someone to serve them a drink. “Hey, where did our waitress go? Looks like the sexy bartender is all by himself. And I wonder where the man Grandpa has running this place is.”

“The only people we’ve seen are the bartender and waitress.” A slow smile crept across Christi’s face.

“What?” Kayla asked.

“Nothing. Just wondering where this guy, Colton, is.”

“I don’t know, but I sure could use a Strawberry Surge right about now.” Kayla scanned the bar area.

The woman next to Kayla leaned in, joining the conversation. “What’s that? A drink? By the way, I’m Beth and this is my husband, Randy.” Her husband was still engaged in conversation with Paul. Kayla caught the brief eye contact made by the couple. Sweet. They looked like they had lived on the beach forever. Both had sun-weathered skin that probably made them look older than they were. His dark hair was long and tied in a ponytail. Hers was sandy brown, short, and poked out of a ball cap.

“Nice to meet you.” Kayla moved her chair over, indicating for Beth to join them. “It was my signature drink at my restaurant in New Orleans. I’m itching to get behind that bar and mix up a batch.”

Beth’s eyes twinkled. “Go for it.”

Christi shrugged. “Once you get something in your head, there’s no stopping you.”

Smiling from ear to ear, Kayla popped out of her seat and headed straight for the bar while the bartender delivered a tray full of drinks to another table. It took her a few seconds to orient herself to the setup. But she was right at home. She had done this so many times at her own bar, she could mix the drink in her sleep. Glasses, Strawberry Vodka, Sparkling Moscato, fresh strawberries, and her secret ingredient. The ice clinked in the glasses. One for her and one for Beth. Christi would have to stick with Diet Coke. For the baby’s sake.

The drink was mixed and ready to pour into the glasses. Just as she raised the pitcher, a man’s voice called out over the crowd, “Hey, Colton, who’s the new bartender?”

The dark-haired man with the whiskey voice and black marble eyes straightened up from the table he was delivering drinks to and turned toward the bar. “I don’t have a new bartend—”

Kayla caught the surprised and amused look on Christi’s face. “Colton.” The two women mouthed at once. Kayla turned her head and made eye contact with the dark depths of the deli bar’s manager. Her hands froze in midair while her stomach plummeted. Finally regaining her composure, she finished pouring the drinks and darted back to the table before the angry looking Colton reached her.

Colton stormed to the bar. It didn’t matter that the woman had been here most of the afternoon. It didn’t matter that her flowing cover-up didn’t do much to hide her black and red bathing suit. And it certainly didn’t matter that her easy movements came off sexy as all hell. This was his territory, and no one went behind the bar without his permission.

Colton stalked to the table she shared with several others. He recognized one of the couples. A few years back, Colton assisted in putting the man behind bars. He was surprised to see him set foot in there. But, the business was open to the public. As long as the man didn’t cause any trouble, Colton had no right to throw him out of the establishment.

All eyes were on Colton. Except that woman’s. She eyed her drink, stirring the liquid with her pinkie finger. The drink she made behind his bar. Her ignoring him bit at his temper.

Beth wrapped one arm around Randy, picked up her glass in her other hand, and tipped it to Colton. “Great drink. Cheers.” The other two women sitting with her giggled.

“Yeah, cheers.” Randy’s lip curled up as he clinked his beer bottle against his wife’s glass.

“Cheers,
buddy
.” Colton’s blood boiled. He should not have even acknowledged Randy. He turned away from them.

The other woman sat in her chair, legs crossed, one foot swinging to the beat of the music.

“The bar is off limits to customers,” Colton said. He shook his head and, without another word, moved on to the swinging half door that led behind the bar. He expected to see dirty glasses in the sink. He was wrong. The woman had mixed the drinks and cleaned her mess in a matter of minutes. Impressive. And by the way the other woman was oohing and aahing over the drink, it must taste good.

The only evidence left behind was the remains of the mixed drink in the pitcher. His fingers itched to pour it down the drain. He refrained, as that would be throwing away money. Speaking of money, she owed him for those drinks. Only, he couldn’t put a price on it because he had no idea what ingredients she used. Sniffing the pitcher, he identified the wine, Moscato. But something else teased his senses. Something with a kick. Vodka maybe?

He left the pitcher on the corner by the sink so he could tend to customers at the other end of the bar.
What the hell was taking Mags so long anyway?
She insisted on going to Sam’s Club to purchase more chips since she forgot to pick them up earlier in the week. Chips and salsa were offered at no cost to the patrons, and now they were running low. He hoped Mags would be back soon. The bar filled up early on this clear early May evening. A busy night lay ahead of him.

During the day, the crowd poured in, the rush of lunch breaks putting them in a time crunch. Sandwiches and chips were served all day long, but at night, the crowd transformed. The walls rocked with loud music, and the bar got more of the business.

He wiped down a table, took drink orders, and turned around to find the pretty auburn-haired woman behind the bar. Again. This time he made it there before she escaped. He stood in the entryway, blocking her path. “Ma’am, employees only behind the bar.”

“Sorry. I’m just pouring the rest of our drink. Although, I would like to make another pitcher. Several people want to try it.”

He sighed. He had four tables waiting on drinks. He didn’t have time to argue with this woman. “Make the damn drinks then get out from behind here.” Walking around her in the small space, he brushed against her arm. She pulled away quickly. Something strange flickered in her eyes. She emptied the pitcher into glasses and began pulling out bottles to mix another batch. “And collect some money this time. This is a business.”

“Yes, boss,” she muttered, the sarcasm oozed from her sheepish smile.

An hour later, the woman--he found out her name was Kayla—made pitchers of her drink as fast as she could. He would have to find out her secret. At least she was charging for them now. She cleaned up a spill when a young, drunk man overturned his girlfriend’s glass. A table of four left the bar after enjoying themselves for the last hour. Colton watched as Kayla left her friends to wipe up the vacated table. The two couples left a stack of bills as a tip. A test, Colton thought. Would she keep it for herself? A grin spread across his face when she picked up the tip and deposited it in the bottle on the bar, not in her pocket.

His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts of this tourist woman who must work as a waitress somewhere. She was too efficient. “Hello… Maggie, what’s wrong? Slow down.” Colton made his way through the doors behind the bar so he could hear Maggie over the music.

“I’m sorry, Colt. When I was leaving Sam’s, someone plowed into my truck.”

“Are you okay? What happened?” Maggie was like the daughter he never had. His stomach twisted with the thought of her being hurt.

“I’m fine, just a little sore, but my truck is totaled. The idiot was playing with his phone and never saw me. I hate this, but I am going to be tied up for a while tending to this. I called Alec. He’s going to come get the supplies and bring them to you. Said he should be there in about thirty minutes. But, honestly, I don’t know how much longer I will be.”

“Don’t worry, Mags. I’ll manage. You take care of whatever you need to. Don’t even worry about coming in tonight.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.