Just One Night (Black Alcove #2) (3 page)

There he goes again,
rushing off inside the house like a girl. It’s good to know I have
a friend who can get me to laugh even in an unwanted situation. I
push off my knees as I come to a stand in front of Sara’s father.
Even for a man nearing his late fifties, he towers over me at six
foot five with gray hair, and his solid frame for an old guy is
intimidating. He pins me with dark eyes and sticks one hand in his
tan slacks pocket while the other holds a glass at his lips. Whiskey
and water on the rocks, no doubt. I’ve been a bartender at the BA
for a couple years now, and he’s never ordered anything different.
He nods and points for me to walk with him.

“You know, Logan, in
the years I’ve known you, you’ve surprised me.”

I don’t say anything
as we stop at the drink table. He pours another drink and offers the
glass to me. I take it even though I hate whiskey.

“You’ve turned out
to be a much stronger, more determined, and smarter man than I would
have imagined. And with the way my daughter speaks about you, I know
I’ve been wrong about you all these years.”

Whoa. How do I respond
to that?

“Thank you, sir,” I
say as we come to a stop just outside the kitchens doors.

“I know I’m making
the right decision when I ask you to manage and run The Black Alcove
while my daughter is away. I’m not the young and quick man I once
was. I need someone this family can trust to fill in where I can’t.
After last year, calling my brother for help is not something I will
ever reconsider. You are the right person for the job, and I believe
that you will take care of my business as if it were your own. You
salary will be more than doubled, of course.” He adds the last part
as if it were an afterthought.

Wow.

The entire compliment
doesn’t go unnoticed, but I focus on the last sentence. I could
really use that money. I could have my student loan paid off faster
than I expected, my rent would be caught up, and I could start saving
for a future with Sara. It would mean staying here apart from Sara,
but if anyone understands building a career, it’s her.

“Thank you, sir. I’d
be happy to—”

“Logan,” Sara
squeals as she comes through the open doors with a smile bigger and
brighter than ever. She doesn’t take her eyes off of me as she
closes her arms around my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist and
hold tight. She kisses me right in front of her father, but I cut it
short—I need her father to know I’m serious. That I am all those
things he said, that I can take care of his business and show him
that I’m someone worthy of his daughter. My only wish is that I
could do all that without Sara being hundreds of miles away from me.
Damn Ethan.
He turned
me in to sap.

Sara releases her hold,
giving me another quick kiss on the cheek before she turns to her
father. Right now I want to do more than a quick a kiss on the cheek.
I want to be anywhere else. I want her alone. I want to forget that
we are going to start our relationship apart from each other.
Although she wasn’t that sad when she came through those doors, I
sure hope she takes my suggestion of our embracing our different
career paths well.

“Can I steal him for
just a second, Dad?”

“Actually, Sara,
dear, before you do that, I want you to know that I’ve chosen Logan
to manage the BA in your absence.”

If I’m not mistaken,
Sara’s shoulders relax with relief.

“Dad, that’s—”

“He could run that
place in his sleep. And that’s why I think it would be in our best
interest if he took over.”

She nods her head and
an ear-to-ear grin touches her lips. Excited eyes find mine as she
throws her arms around my neck.

“Logan, this is
fantastic!”

“Yeah, I, uh … I
think so too,” I reply, hugging her back.
She
isn’t upset that I’m staying here and she’s moving?
“Do
you think we could—”

“That’s what
Ethan’s for,” Beth chimes in at an unfriendly volume from
somewhere behind us. Her confidence to speak to Mr. Connelly this way
probably comes from years of being Sara’s friend.

“Ethan is … looking
into a different career path,” Sara’s father tells her.

“What, since when?”

“Since he became a
father and is about to be a husband, he wants a job that lets him be
home at decent hours. It’s a very honorable thing to do, and I
don’t blame him for putting his family first.”

As if he knows we’re
talking about him, Ethan chooses this exact moment to come outside.

“Ethan,” Beth says
loudly even though he’s standing only a few steps away. “Why
didn’t you tell me you were quitting?”

“You’re quitting?”
Abby asks in shock as she and Kelsey join him. I didn’t even
realize Abby showed up. Since she’s both a coworker and a friend
none of us trust very well, I wasn’t aware Sara had invited her.
But then again, Sara has the kindest heart of anyone I know, so it
shouldn’t surprise me. Kelsey and Abby walking together, on the
other hand—well, that’s not the subject right now.

“I … ” Ethan
starts then glances franticly between Sara and me.

“Oh … this isn’t
good,” Kelsey says, leaning in Abby’s direction. “With Ethan
gone, Logan’s the only one with enough experience to run the BA,
unless Mr. Connelly wants to return. And if Logan takes the position,
he won’t be leaving with Sara.”

“Shit,” Beth says
and doesn’t even try to lower her volume.

Yeah,
shit.

“Sara, I think you
should get back to your party and you ladies can continue this
conversation another time.” Her father’s tone is clipped.

She stares at her
father for a few seconds, then glares at Beth. Our friend’s
expression shifts quickly, and in all honesty, looks like she’s
about to cry. Everyone slowly steps away from the circle we’ve
created, leaving Sara and I alone.

Our eyes meet briefly
before she reaches for my hand.

“I think we should
go,” she says, her tone void of any excitement.

I don’t say anything
because my fear that she’s going to end this before it can even
begin is strong. And that’s the last thing I’m going to let her
do.

Sara

I find Logan’s hand,
yanking hard as I pull him through the house. I grab my purse from
the kitchen table and then Logan’s truck keys off the foyer table,
walking us right out the front door. Logan doesn’t say a word as I
hand him the keys, pointing to his truck. He still doesn’t talk
until we’re sitting in the parking lot outside my apartment.

Yeah, I’m happy that
my father gave my position to Logan. Happy that it means he won’t
be coming with me and that I won’t have to endure an awkward
conversation about why he should stay here. But when Beth started to
get defensive, it occurred to me that I should be the one who is mad.
I should want Logan to be with me.

“Is everything okay?”
Logan asks as he reaches across the truck to hold my hand. My head
falls back against the headrest.

“What kind of person
does it make me that I want to go to Colorado to open this new bar,
but I also want you to stay here and take the opportunity my dad is
giving you?”

Logan licks his lips as
his head nods. “I’d say that makes you human, strong, and smart
for knowing what you want in life.”

A small smile tugs at
my lips. “But it also means that I’m a horrible girlfriend and I
haven’t even had that title for twenty-four hours.”

“Don’t even think
that. I think it’s great we aren’t letting this get in the way of
success. You will do your thing there, I’ll do mine here, and we
can make it work until you get back.”

“Yeah, but this was
supposed to be it, the perfect time for us to be a couple. Now it’s
the exact opposite. We may as well wait until I get back before we
give this a real shot,” I say. I’m already using the bar as an
excuse because I’m scared, but I don’t want to admit it.

He shakes his head no.

“You know what, we
can do this. We can handle distance. Look at everything we’ve been
through. Rockland, Colorado, is what—three hours from here? I’ll
come down every weekend if I have to. I’ll do anything and
everything if it means seeing you.”

“You can’t do that.
Not now that we have a live band almost every weekend.” Ethan
worked so hard this last year finding different bands to alternate at
the BA.

“Even with the
bands.” Logan grins. “I’m not the only one who works there,
Sara. Every now and then, they will be able to manage a weekend
without me.”

I blink at his
response. Now probably isn’t the time to let him know how nervous
that idea makes me. I trust everyone who works there—I wouldn’t
have hired them otherwise—but I also know how they work, and like
most normal people, when the boss is away, things go wrong.

“I see your wheels
turning, Sara Connelly. You’re going to have to calm down on the
perfection factor. I might not be as organized or have the experience
you do, but I promise I won’t let the BA go under in my first
week.”

I can feel my eyes
practically bugging out of their sockets.

“I said I
wouldn’t
let that happen.” He laughs, unclipping his belt to slide over next
to me. He kisses the side of my head.

“I have an idea. What
if we took this time apart to grow as a couple and to grow in our
careers? Let’s take advantage of what we have been given and make
the most of it.” He places another kiss to my head before he
touches his fingers to my chin and turns my face to look at him.
“It’s ideal for you to move to Rockland because you’re going to
own a business there, but in real life, you don’t have to live
there if you don’t want to.”

I relax into his
embrace and let out a deep breath. “How do you know me so well? How
do you know exactly what to say?”

He chuckles. “I
wasn’t quite finished yet.”

I lean back up, tilting
my head to the side as I wait for him to go on.

“Your goal while you
are there is to loosen up. Don’t let things stress you out. Control
is your thing, but I think now is a great time for you to learn you
can’t control everything.”

“Hey, I don’t
control
everything
.”

He cocks a brow at me.

“What? I like
structure; it’s not a bad thing.”

“Okay, at least try?”
he asks, flashing me a grin.

I roll my eyes. “Fine.
What do you get to do?”

“I have to build
better structure.”

This time, it’s me
who looks at him suspiciously.

“What? Structure is
suffocating; it can be a bad thing,” he says, playfully mocking me.

I punch his arm and he
fakes the injury as we laugh.

His lips are on mine
before I can say anything else. His tongue slips into my mouth,
twirling with my own as his arms wrap around my waist.

I can do this. I can
open this bar, commit to a long-distance relationship with Logan
without letting it interfere with my job, and be less of a
perfectionist. This will be easy.

A throaty moan comes
from Logan. Yes, this is going to much easier once we are done making
out. Focusing on Logan for just one night isn’t going to hurt my
career. I can totally handle one night.

Logan

“
Everyone,
we have a new student today.”

Mrs.
Hills introduces me to my new seventh grade class. She’s a bigger
woman, probably in her mid-thirties with dark brown hair. Her smile
is big, warm, and inviting as she gestures with her hand for me to
join her at the front of the room. I hate being the center of
attention. I hate being noticed.

I
stand next to her, near a wooden desk. It looks just like the ones
I’ve seen in movies. It even has that stupid white sticker with a
red apple on it that reads “Best Teacher.”

“
Everyone,
say hello to Logan Parker.”

I
gaze down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the entire class.
Being the new kid is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re the
new kid because you had to switch foster parents due to the fact your
last ones didn’t want you. I was that kid.

“
Logan,
don’t be shy. Everyone is excited to have you.”

I
feel her hand touch my shoulder. When I finally move my eyes to her,
she’s giving me another warm look, her eyes saying, “Don’t be
scared.”

If
only she knew scared was something I didn’t feel anymore. What was
there to be scared of when no one wanted you? If they didn’t want
you, they couldn’t hurt you.

I
sigh and look out into the room. Only one kid is paying attention to
the teacher. I notice her because her bright blonde hair stands out
and she’s smiling at me. It’s a real smile.

I
feel my lips twitch, wanting to smile back, but the sound of Mrs.
Hills’ voice again reminds me where I am.

“
Who
wants to show Logan around the school?”

The
blonde’s hand darts into the air from the back row as something
inside me skips. She stands quickly, making her way to the front of
the room. I keep staring at her, curious who she is and why, after
the past few years of not wanting to know anyone, I want to know her.

“
Just
be back by the end of the class period,” Mrs. Hills says to us.

The
blonde nods and turns for the door. I follow her out of the room,
stopping next to her when the door closes.

“
I’m
Sara Connelly,” she says, offering her hand to me like an adult.

“
Logan
Parker.”

“
I
know.” She giggles and a blush sweeps over her face. “Mrs. Hills
just told us that.”

She
immediately starts to tell me about the school I’ll now be
attending. I follow her through the halls, listening to her talk but
not exactly paying attention.