“Emily… Emily…!”

Gran’s shrill voice had me rushing to pour her coffee and grab up a few of the crossword puzzle books she liked. I’d tossed and turned most of the night… the last several nights in fact.

Thank god for work. Organizing, shopping and prepping for Sunday’s bridal shower had almost been enough to keep the last few days moving along. Almost. But nothing had been distraction enough to make me forget about Chase’s fingers, or how close I’d come… to coming…

I’d been carrying that around with me ever since, aware of a brand new kind of hunger inside me, a new sensitivity. Somehow it seemed like it belonged not only to me, but to Chase as well. And it didn’t seem right to finish alone, what we’d begun together. So I had carried it with me for days… this ripe, tingling sense of anticipation. And nothing had dulled its edge. Not even the dread of having to tell Gran I would be going out again tonight…

“Breakfast, Gran,” I said, as cheerfully as I could. “I’m sorry I can’t stay while you finish,” I added, helping her to sit up and setting her tray over the blankets. “Mrs. Williams will be here by eight to help you with your bath and take care of lunch.” I watched her frown from under my lashes. “You remember, we have the bridal shower coming up in a couple of days…?”

“I remember,” she said, annoyed. “And you’re busy. Too busy to take care of your own grandmother.” She sipped her coffee and stirred in another spoonful of sugar. “May Williams is an old woman and a gossip,” she grumbled under her breath, “although she does play a decent game of rummy…”

I smiled to myself as I took a fresh nightgown out of a drawer. Both widowed long ago, Justine and May had been devoted friends and neighbors for the last forty years. Neither was a young woman anymore. And their competitiveness at cards was nothing less than legendary in our building. They were more alike than either cared to admit. They shared a deep and grudging affection…

“Well, at least this is a respectable job,” she went on, turning her attention back to me. “You won’t be wearing those awful new uniforms?”

“No, Gran…,” I said, straightening her quilt. “No, not for this one.

But we have another… a much bigger event coming up. We’ll have to wear them then…” I heard the uncertainty in my own voice and forced myself to sound more confident than I felt. “Gran… I’ve been wanting to tell you…”

“How do you expect to ever meet a nice young man and settle down?” she went on, cutting me off. “Always working downstairs… and then dressing like a tart when you’re out serving.” She shook her head disapprovingly. “You should be trying to find a husband… thinking about a family of your own. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

I bit into the side of my cheek and counted to ten. Slowly… steadily… before I answered. “Yes, Gran,” I said, finally. “Of course I think about those things, but I enjoy working… and so do Reese and Tammy. We’re learning, and challenging ourselves. It feels good to succeed.”

I sat down beside her and held my breath for a moment, forcing myself to stop. All my life, I’d had to explain myself to her, and I didn’t like how it felt. Sure, I thought about marriage and kids… someday. But I was only twenty three. And I hadn’t really lived much in those short years. I wanted fun and excitement… Chase had been right. I did want to be the girl behind the bar… so long as he was the man behind me…

“I have a date tonight,” I blurted out. “His sister is the woman who’s throwing the bridal shower on Sunday. We’re going to dinner and I’ve asked Mrs. Williams to take care of your dinner and getting you settled at bedtime.” I was talking too fast and I knew it. “You wanted me to meet a nice man and I have,” I added, jutting out my chin. “He owns his own business and he’s been very kind to me…”

“Well, I’m glad you finally got around to telling me yourself,” she grumbled. “I was beginning to think Reese was the only one I could count on.”

“Reese…?”

“She told me you had a date with a young man and that you’d be heading over to her place afterwards… that you two have so much work left to do. Something about a complicated cake design. She said you’d be working so late that you might as well stay the night at her place.” She patted my hand sharply, approvingly. “That’s fine, I suppose, if the work just won’t wait.”

“No…,” I said slowly, blinking. “This design is the biggest challenge we’ve ever taken on…”

“Alright then,” she said, nodding and pushing the tray of half-eaten breakfast aside. “You have my permission. Find that deck of cards before you go running off…

And I want to meet him when he picks you up,” she added, as I carried the tray to the door. “I’m not so old and sick that I’ve lost the ability to judge a man’s character for myself.”

“Say thank you…” Reese smiled evenly as I came down the stairs, and put her tube of pink frosting aside.

“The hell with that,” I answered back, wrapping my arms around her neck and giving her cheek a noisy kiss. “How about a raise and my undying gratitude?”

“How about time off after the Sutton party?” She grinned, her brown eyes teasing. “I could use about a week on the beach and seven delicious mornings of sleeping in…”

“Done,” I smiled back. “Along with a raise. And god, do I owe you for this…” I tied on my apron and set to work making white frosting rosettes on a parchment covered tray. “I think you might have just bought me an evening I won’t ever forget.” I felt that familiar, deep throb of anticipation inside and let out an unsteady breath. “With Chase… and without anyone to answer to at the end of the night… I can’t thank you enough for that, Reese.”

She picked up her tube and smiled at me again. “You work too damned hard for someone so young. You deserve to have some fun for a change… I know you like him, Em. And he certainly seems into you.”

I blushed and smiled against my best intentions as she went on.

“But remember, you two only just met. Let him get to know you… and find out who he is, underneath the obvious six three and gorgeous…

You know what they say, honey,” she said, looking at me with affection, “If you can’t be good,

make sure bad is really, really worth it.”