No Turning Back by Tiffany Snow Read Free Book Online Page B

another sniff before heading out the door.
    The sun was going down when I emerged from my apartment. I could hear faint strains of music and the light was on in Sheila's apartment. I smiled. I hoped she and Mark could work it out.
    I held my breath as I turned the key in my ignition and released it when the engine turned over easily. The Drop was downtown and it only took me about twenty minutes to drive there.
    My shift started at six and I was relieving the day bartender, Abby. She was tall with blonde hair and had been working at The Drop for a couple of years.
    "Hey, Abby," I greeted her. She was just finishing slicing some limes for the garnish tray when I arrived.
    "Hey, Kathleen," she replied. Stuffing my purse under the bar, I tied a black waist apron around me and started checking the liquor levels in the bottles for tonight.
    She filled me in on the status of the different customers scattered around the bar before grabbing her purse and leaving. Saturday nights we had two bartenders and four cocktail waitresses. The Drop was owned by Romeo Licavoli and he liked both a male and female bartender on busy nights. So tonight my partner was Scott.
    Scott attended Butler University downtown and was majoring in International Business. He was a friendly guy who flirted nonstop, which is probably why Romeo always put him on busy nights. Women loved Scott. He and I worked well together, and while he was constantly flirting with the customers and waitresses, he'd never tried to put the moves on me. Scott treated me more like a little sister and I was glad about that. Mostly.
    The pace was steady for a while, then around ten it really picked up. There must have been a concert going on tonight. There always seemed to be something going on downtown and afterward people wanted to prolong their evening so stopped in for a drink.
    My hair was getting in my way now and I took a quick moment to tie it back. I was busy pouring a Tom Collins when one of the waitresses, Tish, walked up with an order.
    "You've got to check out the guy at my table," she said to me. Tish was another one forever trying to set me up, but I thought picking up a guy in a bar wasn't the best idea. Still, I humored her.
    "Which table?" I asked, putting the Tom Collins on a tray and grabbing a highball glass for a gin and tonic.
    "Eighteen," she answered. "He's with some girl, but check him out anyway." I finished the gin and tonic, squeezing a lime into it before setting it on the tray as well. Order complete, Tish took the tray and I looked toward table eighteen. My jaw dropped in surprise.
    Blane was sitting at the table, a leggy brunette wearing a scrap of a dress at his side. Another couple sat across from them. As if he felt my gaze on him, Blane turned toward me and our eyes met. I saw surprise in his before I turned away.
    Orders were waiting to be filled and I was glad to be busy. It's not like I cared that he was here with another woman. What did I expect? That was his lifestyle. Last night had been a mere blip on his radar. Unlike what it had been for me. I shoved that thought away and busied myself putting more martini glasses in the freezer under the bar.
    I tried not to look back at table eighteen as I worked but I couldn't seem to help glancing that way. They looked like they were having a good time, laughing and talking. The brunette was so close to him you couldn't have fit a piece of paper between them. She kept touching his arm, her breast brushing against him. I was feeling something too similar to jealousy for me to be wholly comfortable with it.
"You all right?" I heard Scott ask, and I turned to see him watching me with concern.
"Yeah," I answered. "Why?"
He motioned to the drink I was pouring and I looked down to see that I'd filled it to overflowing.
    "Crap," I said, mopping up the mess with a towel. After that, I determinedly did not look at Blane again as I worked. A bachelorette party had just come in and they kept me busy for some time