“Go ahead,” I said.
“We can’t act like we’re together when we’re in front of Tom,” he said.
Then again, maybe he was going to be like every other man use that phrase as a prelude to disaster.
“What do you mean we can’t act like we’re together when we’re in front of Tom?” I asked. “Why would he care?”
“Because I promised him we wouldn’t get back together.”
That hit me so hard I couldn’t even think for a few seconds.
“What?” I finally asked.
“When I very first hired you to work at the bar, way before anything happened between us. He told me we couldn’t be together as long as you were working at the bar. That nothing could happen between us and we had to keep everything professional. So, we can’t be flirty or show any kind of affection to each other while he’s around,” he said.
I stared at him for a few seconds. “Just like that, huh? You just make agreements about the future of our relationship without any input from me, and I’m just supposed to be okay with it?”
“Ava,” he started, but I shook my head.
I was offended and hurt, sad and furious. There was so much building inside me, I couldn’t be in the same space with him anymore. I couldn’t trust how I would react for much longer. Instead of finding out, I opened the door and climbed out of the truck. Mason was calling to me, trying to get me to come back, but I wouldn’t turn around.
He was scrambling to get out when I opened the back door to the bar and went inside. The voices from the main part of the bar were loud, and I made a beeline for them. I didn’t want even a second more of that day to be spent alone with Mason.
“Hey, Ava,” Jesse said when I walked through the kitchen door.
Tom looked up and grinned wide when he saw me. Getting down from the barstool where he sat, he came toward me and opened his arms for a hug. We all knew each other well years ago, but I was still somewhat taken aback by the greeting. This was a man who didn’t want his brother to have anything to do with me, but he was happy to scoop me up in his arms the second he saw me.
“Hey, Tom,” I said. “Good to see you.”
I was going to play nice. After all, he did technically own the bar. His brothers had ownership over it, too, but he owned the majority.
“I’m so happy you’re working here. I’ve been keeping up, and it sounds like you’re doing a wonderful job,” he said.
“I’m really enjoying it. It’s been great.”
His eyes lifted over me as the door opened, and I assumed Mason walked in. Even though I couldn’t see Mason, I could see the expression darken on Tom’s face and realized he was putting two and two together and concluding we got to the bar together.
“You left your phone in the truck,” Mason said, coming up behind me.
That wasn’t going to help matters, and I saw Tom scowl.
“My car wouldn’t start this afternoon, and I didn’t have another way to get to work. I had to practically beg Mason for a ride,” I said.
“And that’s it?” Tom asked, still staring at his brother.
“That’s it,” I said insistently. “Trust me, nothing will ever happen between us again.”
I headed for the station to start setting up the tables for the evening. I knew it was a low blow, but I was feeling hurt. I couldn’t believe Mason would do that. Everything seemed like it was going so well. We’d fallen right back into being together so smoothly, and I believed for once things were going to work out for me. I wasn’t even worried about what it meant for other aspects of my life, or Michigan, or anything. It was just Mason. I was just happy to be happy with Mason. Now, he’d shattered that.
He tried to talk to me throughout the night, but I ignored him. The fact that he had already laid down the line and said we couldn’t flirt or look like there was anything between us made it easy to avoid getting into any sort of position where I had to listen to him. Tom was obviously impressed by the crowd that came in, and I put on my best show of schmoozing with the customers and keeping them happy.
And I definitely flirted.
As the night wound to an end, I overheard Mason trying to nudge Matt, Tyler, and Jesse to make them leave so he could handle the cleanup and closing. He was trying to set us up to be alone together. But I was going to nip that right in the bud.
“Tom,” I said as I finished drying a glass and set it in the rack, “would you give me a ride home? If it’s not too much trouble.”