Chapter 39

Piper

My head was going to explode from the sinus pressure.

“Are you in there, Piper?” Bentley called out when she knocked on my office door.

“Come on in,” I replied in a hoarse voice.

She walked in and frowned when she saw me. “Are you sure you should be at work tonight?”

I gave her the most reassuring smile I could manage under the circumstances. “It’s just a nasty head cold. We’re well-staffed, so I’m planning to stay in the office most of the evening. I need to go through some applications and set up interviews.” Business was so good, we needed to hire four more people. “I’m surprised to see you here tonight.”

Bentley had worked extensively on getting Euphoria ready to open, but she didn’t work at the club. As I understood it, she’d decided to take on the project of planning Euphoria while she figured out what she wanted to do after quitting her last job.

“I’m just being nosy,” she admitted.

“So, you heard about what happened with Austin.” I wasn’t surprised that she’d heard. Gage didn’t seem like the type to keep secrets from the woman he loved.

“Gage mentioned finding you at Austin’s house the day he left for the tour,” she explained. “I also saw the picture of you and Austin kissing. I’ve been trying to avoid asking you about it.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Since you haven’t mentioned it, I wasn’t sure if you regretted it. I figured you’d talk to me when you were ready. Then, I got impatient.”

Why hadn’t I told anyone? Cerise and Andy were my only friends I’d talked to about what had happened with Austin. Admittedly, this wasn’t the sort of thing that came up in conversation, but I couldn’t believe so few people had asked me about the pictures of me with Austin. “I’m not sure how I feel about what happened. Is that why you came all the way down to Euphoria?”

“Not really. I’m bored,” she confessed as she sat on the sofa in my office. “This never used to happen. I was always fine spending an evening at home alone. Gage has ruined me.”

I gave a weak laugh at her complaint. “I guess love changes a woman.”

“Don’t tell me you’re turning into a romantic,” she said with a gasp.

“Hell no!” I replied. “I’ve got no interest in going down that road again.”

Silence hung between us. Bentley wanted to ask me what that meant for my future with Austin. I didn’t have an answer. My sneezing fit that turned into a wheezing fit was a great distraction.

“I can stay here tonight if you need to take a sick night,” Bentley offered. “Mercy would be fine with that.”

I shook my head. “I’d end up taking this work home with me. It’s not that big of a deal for me to do it here. Like I said, we have a good staff. I’m only here in case something goes wrong.”

“All right,” Bentley agreed. “I’ll leave you to your work. We can talk later.”

I nodded and bit back a yawn. “Thanks. You should go over to see if Mercy needs any help. When she came by earlier, she mentioned something about her bartender and a bouncer being out with the flu.”

Bentley considered my suggestion. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood for The Frisky Beaver, but I should go see if my sister needs any help. She needs a night off more than anyone I know.”

Mercy needed to hire a manager for the Frisky Beaver. Her partner didn’t work nearly as many hours as Mercy. With the opening of Euphoria, Mercy was stretched too thin.

After Bentley left, I focused on sorting applications. I’d just finished and was ready to make a walk-through of the club when my phone buzzed on my desk. Looking down, I saw it was Austin calling.

I wouldn’t say we hadn’t spoken since he’d left. We’d had a couple of short conversations, but we were both busy. Feeling as bad as I did, I was tempted to send his call to voicemail, but then I remembered he’d had lunch with his dad.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hey.” Austin sounded hesitant. “Are you okay?”

“I have a terrible cold that seems to be turning into a sinus infection,” I explained. “Hopefully, you didn’t catch it from me.”

“I’m sorry you’re sick,” he murmured.

“How did your visit with your dad go?” I asked, trying to sound alert.

There was a long pause before he answered. “Nothing like I expected. My dad went to see me play.”

“I’m having trouble picturing that,” I admitted. “Your dad always seemed too uptight for rock concerts.”

“I thought the same thing,” he agreed. “He’s been to two of my shows. This last one, he took my cousin to see. I guess she lives with him. We had a nice visit. I feel bad that I didn’t make any effort to reconnect with him before now.”

“He didn’t make any effort with you either,” I reminded him. “It’s great that you’re working things out, but don’t get caught up in regrets. It’s not worth it.”

By the end of the last sentence, my voice was giving out.

“Thanks, Piper,” he said softly. “I’m glad we’re together.”

“Together?” My question was barely a whisper.

“I can’t even hear you anymore. Get some rest, Button, and call or text if you need anything. I can always get soup delivered to you. I miss you.”

On those words, he ended the call.

I let out a sigh. I was a little annoyed that he refused to accept that we were just dating. There was a difference between dating and being together. I also felt warm all over at his offer to have soup delivered. He really was a great guy.