Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (66 page)

“Shut up Eric.”

“Damn, hormones are getting to you already huh?”

“No, it’s your arrogance.  I’m not a bitch, and I can take you flirting with every woman that you serve a drink to that you find attractive.  But I can’t take you hitting on me or talking shit about our coworkers that I’m sure is completely out of line.”

“What I said about Neal isn’t out of line.  He hasn’t been laid in next to forever.  He needs a woman to screw him so that he’ll remember that sex is a normal part of life and it feels good.  But I’ll shut up.  I won’t hit on you and if I say or do something that pisses you off just tell me.”

“Thank you.”

They got hit with a crowd again and the rest of the night went quickly.  Cleanup was fast and the tips were good.  Robyn hoped that Eric would stay true to his promise not to hit on her.  She had a feeling that it would be hard enough to work with him as it was.

She went home and took a long hot shower.  Her feet hurt.  She wished that Fuller were there to give her a foot massage, that he was happy and excited about being a father.  But she knew that he probably wasn’t coming home and that he probably wasn’t going to be a father of the year candidate even if he did change his mind and want to be part of their child’s life.

She slept soundly that night and didn’t dream of Gabe.

Chapter 4

Robyn spent most of her day off catching up on laundry and doing some spring cleaning of the apartment.  Though Fuller had had bad habits with his socks and sometimes his underwear, he’d been particular about having his laundry done a certain way and often.  So when they’d been short on money, Robyn had washed all of his clothes and not always all of hers or had sometimes washed his in the laundry room at their apartment building and had hand washed her clothes.

Looking back on it, Robyn could see more and more how people might think that Fuller was controlling.  But she was tired of caring what other people thought of her relationships.  She did tell herself over and over that she was going to make better choices about the man she chose to have a relationship the next time around though.

She had a long drawn out conversation with Elza that evening.  Her older sister hadn’t approved of Fuller either.  She shared their mother’s opinion that if he didn’t want to support the child that he’d created he didn’t deserve to be a part of his or her life.  Robyn had tried to be polite at first, but for years Elza had felt like a second mother and an overbearing one at that, and she always thought that she knew what was best for Robyn.   So they had ended up in an argument. 

She’d angered Elza so much that her sister had taken back her offer of sending her the baby and toddler clothes that she’d offered to send her earlier in the conversation since her youngest child had just turned six.  Robyn was sure her sister would have a change of heart, but she figured that if she didn’t she’d be fine anyway.  She already had a lot more than she’d ever expected to have at this point with what Gabe had bought for her and she planned to shop thrift stores for more unisex clothing as time went on.

That was what she did when she awoke the next morning.  She got through her morning sickness and then dressed and had breakfast.  Morning sickness didn’t hit her every day.  Sometimes it was every other day and sometimes it was every third day.  She felt much sympathy for women that had it every day and sometimes more than once during the day.

Once she had finished her breakfast dishes, she put her shoes on and headed out to her favorite local thrift store.  She marveled over how tiny the baby clothes were though of course she had younger siblings and had spent some time with her nieces and nephews when they were infants.

She picked out quite a bit and they had a great sale going on.  She was able to fill a large bag for only $20.  She’d bought so much that she was afraid she was over doing it, but she knew that babies grow fast and she had extra money with what Gabe had given her.

She returned home and put everything away.  She ate a light lunch and then set her alarm and took a short nap.  When she woke up, she took extra time brushing out her hair.  She loved her long hair.  It was her one true vanity, but she wasn’t sure how long the length would remain when she had an infant.

She left her apartment extra early and took the longest possible route to the bar.

She was nervous about working with Neal.  She didn’t trust Eric’s opinions and it meant nothing to her when the last time that Neal had had sex was, whether it was yesterday or five years ago.  But even Gabe had said that he was not your typical bartender, so she was apprehensive when she walked into the bar that afternoon.

A gorgeous guy with dark hair that was cut close to the scalp was behind the bar, listening closely to the old man across the bar from him.  She knew he had to be Neal.  She felt an instant attraction to him and swallowed hard as she walked behind the bar.

Once the old man had finished what he was saying, he turned to her and gave her a smile that was a little shy.  “Hi, you must be Robyn.”

“I am.  You must be Neal.”

He nodded.  “I am.  Are you pretty comfortable behind the bar?  Eric didn’t give you too much trouble last night did he?”

Robyn laughed.  “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but I survived.”

“He’s kind of a pain, especially if you’re an attractive woman.” He looked into her eyes and then looked away from her.  “And you are.”

Robyn felt a little thrill go through her at his words.  After being around Neal for a couple of minutes she already liked him better than she liked Eric.  If she was going to date a coworker, she was sure that she would much rather date Neal. 

“Thank you.  I am pretty comfortable behind the bar.  I bartended before.”

“Good.  Can I ask you a question?”

Robyn’s heart started to beat triple time.  She hoped that he was going to ask her out.  She wanted to kick herself for wanting such a thing after what had happened with Fuller, but Neal was so good looking and she was sure that she was going to enjoy working with him.  The old man looked back and forth between them.  A faint smiled crossed his face.  He pushed a tip across the bar, tipped his hat at them and walked away.

“Sure.”

“Rumors spread worse here than they do around town.  I mean no offense when I ask you this, but are you pregnant?”

Robyn hid a sigh.  “Yes.  But I’m not going to try to get out of any work because I am if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh no, of course not.  I try to think the best of people and not the worst.  If you need a break or need help with something, please let me know.  I’m not saying that pregnant women can’t do things, or that they shouldn’t.  I just want you to know that if you need help, I’ll be here.”

“Thank you.”  She smiled at him, still a little disappointed that his question had been about her pregnancy.

The customers were steady that night.  Neal didn’t say much to her, but he was very good with the customers, both male and female and the tips were good.  Cleanup went quickly.  Robyn definitely thought that she would enjoy working more with Neal than with Eric, no matter how attractive she found him.

They locked up and he walked her to her car.  She paused for a minute, almost wanting to ask him out herself.  She knew that rushing into a relationship was probably the last thing she needed to do, but she had a feeling that Neal wasn’t one to rush things, and that if they started a relationship it would be one that was meant to last.

But her courage failed her when she opened her mouth to ask him out to dinner and instead she said “Do you work with Kasia much?”

“I have.  She’s an interesting woman, but you don’t have to worry about anything when you work with her.  She isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.  She’ll take you under her wing when she finds out you’re pregnant and probably try to do most of the work herself.  She is a man eater, but she adores her children.  You two will probably make an absolute killing in tips when you work together.”

“Oh.  Okay.  It was nice working with you Neal.  I’ll see you next week.”

Neal smiled.  “I look forward to it.”

She got into her car.  Neal walked to his car but didn’t get in until she had pulled out of the parking lot.  She sighed, wishing she could have a cigarette.  But she thought that if she were this lonely only days after Fuller had left her, how bad was she going to be when more time had passed?  Then again she admitted to herself as she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building, she had a feeling that she would have had a thing for Neal regardless.  Women had drooled over him all night.  He’d been polite but distant to them, while still being friendly enough that they showed their appreciation in their tips.

Neal was definitely an interesting man she thought as she let herself into her apartment.  She took a shower and then crawled into bed, very much looking forward to her day off on Sunday already.

Chapter 5

Robyn wasn’t sure how much she looked forward to working with Kasia as she got out of bed the next morning.  She was almost expecting a female version of Eric from what she had heard about her coworker so far, but she didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with the other woman or to judge her unfairly.  Robyn knew that there were some people that would probably judge her unfairly simply because she was an unwed pregnant woman that planned to raise her own child.  It was strange to think of in this day and age, but she knew it was true.

The day seemed to drag.  She didn’t really have much to do.  The apartment was clean, she had groceries, and the baby’s room was set up exactly the way that she wanted it to be.  She tried to read for a while but her taste in books usually ran to racy romance novels that involved lots of sex and affairs.  With her attraction to both Gabe and Neal, sex and affairs were the last things she believed she needed to think about.

She ate a late lunch and then decided to go to a local discount store and price a cheap laptop.  Neal had mentioned that they got paid the following Monday.  She figured that she would be fine on money until then and be able to pay her electric bill and pick up a few more groceries and other things after pay day.

She fell in love with a laptop but it cost more than she liked, so she decided on the most basic model that should still do everything she needed it to.  They had wireless internet access at her apartment building so she drove home and asked the manager what the password was and then returned to her apartment and set up the laptop.

It was slow and didn’t pick up the wireless connection the greatest, but she figured it would suit her purposes and she could keep in touch with her sisters and brothers and some of her friends from back home easier that way.

There was a free trial for a game on the laptop that was very addicting.  She spent the rest of her time before she had to leave for work playing the game.  She left her apartment wondering if it would be easier to work with her male coworkers or Kasia.  She figured that working with Neal might be the most enjoyable, but tried to put the thought out of her mind as she pulled into the parking lot of Gabe’s Place.

A beautiful woman was behind the bar when she went inside.  She looked like a model or an actress, tall and thin with high cheekbones and flowing hair.  Her eyes were large and a startling gray color that was almost silver.  She was leaning over the bar, talking to a good looking guy that looked to be in his thirties.  Robyn was pretty sure that he was looking down Kasia’s shirt as she rounded the bar.

The woman turned to her.  “Hi.  You must be Robyn.  I’m Kasia.  Half of the things you’ve heard about me probably aren’t true and that is very likely to be the half that came from Eric.”

Robyn laughed.  “He is definitely an interesting guy to work with.”

Kasia snorted.  “Eric is a horn dog.  His ego has him convinced that he’s still seventeen and captain of the football team.  Neal on the other hand, I sometimes wonder if he has an ego or a sex drive.”

Robyn didn’t get a chance to respond because they suddenly got hit with a crowd of customers.  When it slowed down a bit Kasia motioned for her to sit down in the chair behind the bar.

“So you’re pregnant huh?  Did baby daddy stick around or was he out the door the second you told him?”  Kasia gave Robyn an inquiring look.

“He was pretty much out the door the second I told him.”

Kasia sighed.  “Some men are like that.  And some men will take care of you and your children no matter who they belong to, no matter how you treat them.  It’s really too bad that I can’t love the guy and never did.  I try not to be a bitch or a slut but I like sex and I am a bitch.  Why do women have to love men that are completely wrong for them?”

“I don’t know.  How old are your kids?”

“Six, four and three.  My oldest son’s father is the one that takes care of us.  I don’t have to work here.  He is way too generous with me.  He pays me twice what they said he had to pay in child support and sometimes more on top of it.  He visits with not just his son but my daughter and my younger son too.  He’s an angel.  I wish I could love him, but I don’t.  It doesn’t make sense because he’s smart, he’s good looking, he is so good with all of my kids and he’s got money.  But I’m dumb and I hang on to my daughter’s father and let him back into my bed whenever he feels like being there.  I let him break my heart over and over again but he doesn’t get away with breaking Sheryl’s anymore.  If he wants a midnight bootie call but doesn’t want to play daddy in the morning, we screw and then his ass is out the door.”

“Fuller said that he didn’t want to be a part of our child’s life.  He accused me of messing around on him.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

Kasia shrugged.  “Sorry.  I come off as harsh.  When guys accuse you of messing around, they’re insecure or they’re feeling guilty because they’ve been cheating themselves.  Or they’re one of those guys that don’t believe that anyone can be faithful.  A lot of people cheat-a lot more than your average person probably likes to think about.  But not everyone cheats and it’s crazy for people to believe that humans weren’t meant to be monogamous.  Who wants to be sixty and alone or going out to the bar trying to find someone to take home with you?”

“Not me.  But I don’t think that I want to even think about getting involved with a man.”

Kasia smiled.  “Neal is a hottie isn’t he?”

Robyn felt a blush rise to her cheeks.  “He is, but he doesn’t seem remotely interested in me in that way.”

“But you wondered what he’d be like in bed about thirty seconds after you met him didn’t you?”

“Yes, but how smart is it to get involved with a coworker anyway?”

Kasia made a face.  “Don’t remind me.  Eric would not leave me alone when we worked together.  He bragged about how good he was in bed and how many orgasms he could give me, blah blah blah.  He’s hot and not as dumb as he comes off, so I figured what the hell.  My kids were with my mom and I was lonely.  We cleaned up and then we got into a hot make out session in the big back booth.  Eric’s tongue feels good in your mouth but he does not know what to do with it when he goes down town.  But I figured he was willing to try and that’s more than what some guys do.  The sex was a disappointment.  He’s nicely hung, but you know how they say it’s not the size of the boat it’s the motion of the ocean?  Eric doesn’t know how to use what he’s got properly.  I guess that he’s never stayed with a woman long enough for her to teach him how to be a good lover.  I made a snide comment to him after he’d finished.  His face fell so far that I thought he was going to cry.  He begged me to let him try again, but I told him no way and asked Gabe to put me on another shift the next day.”

Robyn laughed.  “Wow.  He pretty much told me that pregnant women disgust him.”

Kasia shook her head.  “Pregnant women are beautiful.  If I was bisexual I would totally want to do a pregnant chick.”

Robyn was glad that several customers came in and she didn’t have a chance to respond.  She wasn’t sure what she would have said.  But by the end of the night, she liked Kasia and figured that her least favorite work nights would be the nights she worked with Eric.  The tips were spectacular and clean up went quickly.

They locked up and then parted in the parking lot.  Robyn was very much looking forward to being lazy on her day off.  She drove home and showered and then crawled into bed.  She realized that she was starting to miss having Fuller in bed beside her less and less.  The thought gave her hope that she would be okay by herself and not try to seduce her attractive boss or her attractive coworker.