Perfect Kiss (16 page)

Since he’d bought the bar, he’d even gone as far as implementing a no-go rule. More than two drinks was a no-go. That way, there was no impaired judgment involved in the decision-making process.

Chris, a firefighter who was there with his fellow fireman, Eli and Casey, knocked his knuckles on the wooden bar top. “Hey, can we get another pitcher?”

Levi nodded as he grabbed a freshly washed pitcher and began filling it.

Then Chris lowered his voice as he motioned in Shelby’s direction. “So, what’s the deal with her?”

“What do you mean?” Levi knew
exactly
what he meant. But there was no way in hell he wasn’t going to make him spell it out.

“I mean, what’s her situation?” He leaned forward. “Is she available?”

No!
“Why don’t you ask her?” Levi tried to sound completely uninterested in this conversation. He tried to hide the fact that the question made him want to punch something. Preferably Chris’ face.

“I did.” He glanced over his shoulder towards Eli and Casey who were shooting pool. “We
all
did.”

Levi set the full pitcher on the counter. “And?”

“And she just jokes around or gives non-answers. We can’t get a straight answer out of her.”

Levi wanted to tell him that it was because it was none of their damn business. Instead, he just made an indiscernible grunt, which Chris interpreted as comradery.

“Yeah, I mean, is she just stringing us along for better tips, or do any of us have a chance?”

Levi couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “You only tip her because you think you might hook up with her? Is that why you tip me?”

Chris sighed in frustration. “Ha ha ha. You know what I mean.
So
, what’s her deal?”

He could tell that Chris was dead set on getting information. As much as it pissed him off, the fact was that the guys from the station house were here at least four nights a week, which meant he shouldn’t piss
them
off. Yeah, he owned the only bar in town, so they didn’t have a lot of options, but still—he couldn’t do what he really wanted to and tell Chris exactly where he could shove his questions and his tips.

Placing his hands on the bar, Levi leaned forward slightly. “She’s Matt’s sister and she came to help out with the twins. That’s all I know, man.”

Disappointment filled Chris’s eyes as he grabbed the handle of the pitcher and started heading back to the pool tables. “Shit. All right, well, let me know if you hear anything.”

Levi pushed off the bar. “Will do.”

Not a chance in hell.

*

Shelby felt lighter than she had in… She couldn’t even remember ever having felt this weightless. This free. It was honestly like she was floating on a cloud. The only thing that was keeping her grounded at all was the fact that, every time she turned, bent down, or lifted her arms, she was reminded of how out of shape she was. Every muscle in her body was sore.

Who knew that knocking out a wall could be such a great workout? And so therapeutic? It was like each time she swung the mallet hammer and another piece of the wall would crumble, a part of her was torn down as well. The part that was afraid. The part that was embarrassed. The part that was broken.

Out of all the steps she’d taken to try to reclaim her life, herself, this had been the biggest—giant Jack in the Beanstalk-sized!—impact.

Since she’d arrived in Hope Falls, she’d been trying to pretend to be herself. Like she was back in drama class, playing the role of Shelby Kellan. She’d been second, third, and fourth-guessing every word, every reaction, and every interaction.

Did that sound like her?

Was that something she’d say?

Would she do that?

Questioning everything so that no one would see the truth.

Except Levi had. He was the only one who had seen past the act.

In all fairness, she didn’t really know people there that well. How could she expect strangers to notice that something wasn’t quite right? And her brother had his hands more than full with his own family. She hadn’t really had a moment alone with him. Uncle Henry would’ve definitely seen through her subpar acting job, but she’d been intentionally avoiding him for that very reason.

“Can we get three more mojitos?” the pretty blonde Shelby had learned was in town for a yoga retreat with two of her friends, who were also at the bar, asked with a friendly smile.

Shelby had carded all three girls, who had looked barely legal to her, and she’d been right—they were all twenty-one. Two of them had only just celebrated their birthdays in the last month.

“Coming right up.” Shelby grinned as she began making the trio’s drinks.

The blonde made introductions. “I’m Holly, by the way, and this is Maisie and Phoebe.”

“I’m Shelby,” she introduced herself.

One of Shelby’s favorite parts of bartending was getting to meet so many different people and hearing about their lives. She’d been a little worried when she’d first started working here that, since the majority of the patrons were regulars, she would get a little bored. Boy, was she wrong!

Since the summer tourist season was in full swing there had been a constant stream of “new blood,” as the guys from the firehouse so delicately put it. Every day, it seemed like there were new faces walking through the door. In Phoenix, Shelby had had regulars, but she’d never really known any of them. And there had been so many new faces all the time that she couldn’t have said which people were locals and which were out-of-towners. That was not the case here.

After just a few days, she knew who the “townies” were and could spot someone who was just passing through the second they walked in. Somehow, that knowledge made her feel like she belonged. Like she was a part of the community. It was definitely a feeling she could get used to.

After garnishing each of the drinks with a lime wedge, a mint leaf, and a straw, Shelby placed them in front of Holly, Maisie, and Phoebe. “Here you go, ladies. Enjoy.”

The women were all looking at each other expectantly, and Shelby immediately knew something was up. A conspiracy of some kind was afoot. She waited for a moment to see if any of them were going to say something, but when no one did, she flipped the divider at the far end of the bar up so she could go into the dining area and bus the four-top that had just been vacated.

“Can we ask you something?” Maisie, who had a short, black pageboy cut that Shelby envied and wished she could pull off, blurted out.

With her hand still holding the divider up, Shelby pivoted back towards the threesome. “Sure.”

“Is it true that Karina Black and Ryan Perkins live here?” Maisie asked almost breathlessly.

A smile pulled at Shelby’s lips when she saw Sue Ann perk up from the table behind them, where she was gathered with her bridge club, at the mention of her grandson’s name.

Shelby had started off replying with various versions of “no comment” to that question on her first day at JT’s. But then Levi had assured her that Karina and Ryan weren’t trying to conceal the fact that they lived here. He’d said that the more secretive they were, the worse it was for them. It made people think that there was some scoop they were getting if they had a sighting of them. So they’d decided to go about their lives, business as usual, and if they were stopped by fans to take pictures or sign autographs, so be it. This was their home, and they didn’t want to be in hiding.

“Yes. They do.”

At Shelby’s answer, all three of the girls’ faces lit up with excitement.

“Do they ever come in here?” Phoebe, whose hair was a bright shade of pink, asked as she shook her hands like she couldn’t contain the thrill level running through her at just the thought that she might run into the pair there.

Shelby was tempted to tell the girls that she’d just been at a book club meeting with Karina a few nights ago, but she thought that that piece of trivia might blow their minds. Literally. Plus, it felt like that would be dangerously close to the city line of Name Dropping, USA, if not smack-dab in the town then definitely in an adjacent suburb. Also, it somehow felt like she would be invading Karina’s privacy to reveal it. So she went with, “Yeah. All the time.”

The loud squeals that rang out at her reply were definitely in the ear-splitting category. It also got the attention of the firemen who were playing pool. Actually, as Shelby looked around, she saw that every eye in the place was directed at them.

“Everything okay?”

Shelby heard Levi’s deep voice at the same time that she felt the heat from his breath trickle over her bare neck.

After working on the cabin this afternoon, Shelby had barely had time to take a shower to rinse off. She hadn’t wanted to get her hair wet because it was so thick that it took forever to dry. So she’d piled it up on the top of her head in a sloppy bun. Now, as a delicious chill ran down her spine, she was happy that she had.

“Yep. Doing great,” she said.

Shelby turned her head and had to tilt her neck back to look up at the chill-causer because of their height differential. He was close, only standing about an inch away from her. When their eyes finally met, she couldn’t quite process what she saw behind his chocolate pools swirled with caramel rivers.

In fact, her brain had suddenly decided to go on a break. She couldn’t think. She could barely breathe. All she could do was
feel
. And she
felt
his stare all the way down to her soul, which happened to be located between her legs at the moment.

“Good.” His mouth turned up in one of his bad-boy grins before he moved down to the end of the bar.

As soon as he was a few feet away from her, Shelby took in a deep breath as she tried to cool down her body that had flared with heat. Reaching up, she pressed her fingers to her cheek, which felt like it was on fire.

“Oh. My. God,” Holly said, emphasizing each word.

“Your boyfriend is so hot!” Maisie whisper-yelled.

“Ridiculously hot,” Phoebe agreed.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Shelby corrected them. She was surprised when her voice came out weak, small, and with a lot less conviction than she’d meant it to.

The three girls looked at her, then at each other in disbelief, and finally down the bar at Levi before Holly asked, “Does
he
know that?”

“Yeah,” Shelby assured them. Or maybe herself. She wasn’t sure. “We’re just…”

She wasn’t sure what to say.
Coworkers
seemed wrong, he was her boss and he owned the bar. She was staying in the property he owned, but she wasn’t about to classify their relationship as landlord/tenant. They were
friends
, but saying that didn’t feel right either.

She was saved from having to finish her thought when Chris, Eli and Casey asked the girls to dance, but not before making sure their dance partners knew they were firefighters. The three girls seemed more than happy to head out on the dance floor with the hotshots, and why wouldn’t they? The guys were all good-looking, tall, muscular, and firemen to boot. Triple threat anyone?

Just because Shelby had zero interest in any of them didn’t mean all females were immune to their charms. Her lack of interest had nothing to do with the guys themselves. For one thing, she was taking a sabbatical from all men and relationships. Not that it mattered, because even if she wasn’t, none of the firefighting trio individually or even combined, came close to measuring up in the charm, looks, and sex appeal of the man she’d just been at a loss for words about.

But since she’d sworn men off, it was a moot point. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.

Chapter 14

‡

“L
ast call!” Levi announced to the two dozen or so customers still hanging out in the bar.

The night had ended up being much busier than he’d expected. He’d been hoping to close up early, maybe get out of there by midnight. Now, it was five till two. He was exhausted, and he could see by the way Shelby was moving that she was, too. Not only was she not working at her usual Speedy Gonzales pace, but whenever she had to bend down to reach something, she would wince as she stood back up. It wasn’t obvious. He was sure none of her customers had noticed. But he had. He noticed everything about Shelby.

As happy as he was for the business, his heart had sunk just a little when a crowd of twenty or so wilderness enthusiasts who were in Hope Falls for a few weeks had shown up around eleven thirty, ready to party. They were tracking a rare species of bird that had previously been thought to be extinct, but had recently been showing up online in tourist’s social media photos that were visiting the areas around Hope Falls.

Levi had pretty much tuned out once they’d started talking about the bird’s characteristics and mating calls, but not Shelby. He’d been watching her as their descriptions got more and more in depth and either she’d been genuinely interested in what they’d had to say or she was a
really
good actress who had missed her calling due to a tragic case of stage fright.

While running the credit card transaction report for the day, he heard Shelby wishing the group good luck as they made their way out of the bar. After that, she made sure the young girls who had been out on the dance floor most of the night had gotten safely in a cab that was headed back to their cabin. Alone.

When he’d first met Shelby, he had to admit that he’d figured she was just an insanely hot party girl. Up for a good time. No strings. And there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was what had initially attracted him to her. But then, after he’d spent hours dancing with her at her brother’s wedding reception, he’d seen that she was so much more that. She was smart. Funny. Caring. Endearing.

The more time he spent with her, the more he saw just how much those qualities outshined the others. Yes, the package she was working with on the outside was incredible. Her crystal-blue eyes were intoxicating. Her full, lush lips were mesmerizing. Her thick, brown hair was silky smooth and smelled like heaven. Her honey-kissed skin was tantalizing. Her long, toned legs and heart-shaped ass were mouthwatering. But her outer beauty was not her greatest asset by a long shot. Her mind, her sense of humor, her heart—those were the parts of her body that were truly exceptional. Phenomenal, really.