Valerie couldn’t believe it.
Not only had Logan refused to listen to a word she said, but then he had the nerve to accuse her of playing games and thought it was her fault that his head bartender quit.
Maybe she should have made Logan hear her out from the beginning. But the accusatory things spewing out of his mouth in anger had hurt her. More than she cared to admit. And even when she pushed the hurt deep down inside of her and offered her assistance in his time of need, he’d once again cast her aside as if she were a child.
Valerie shook her head in disgust. Whatever.
Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she made her way over to the swinging doors and shoved her way through them. She hadn’t noticed it while in the hallway, but the entire bar had grown considerably louder. She could still hear the bass of the rock music pumping out of the mounted speakers, but the singer’s faint words were drowned out by the noise level of the crowd.
People yelled out drink orders and waved their money into the air, though it didn’t seem to do any good. Other fed-up groups complained openly about the lousy service, which only seemed to rile up the calmer customers. Even the ones who already had their drinks were griping about how long it took to get them. Then Valerie noticed several people vacating their tables and heading for the exit.
If Logan doesn’t do something soon, he’s going to lose a lot more business.
Glancing around, Valerie found him behind the bar hitting buttons on the screen of the POS system. He must’ve finally got it running again because he fistpumped the air and spun toward the counter. Logan began rolling his sleeves farther up his well-toned forearms, which only punctuated the size of his large manly hands. Ones he immediately put to good use.
Logan began pitching in, slinging beers at a fast-paced rate and pouring shots like a champ. He obviously knew his way around a bar and had done this many times before. But when it came time to make a strawberry daiquiri, his efficiency went down the drain. Logan and the other bartender were apparently sharing the only working blender, which had them invading each other’s workspace and slowing one another down.
Someone stepped up beside her. “Damn, it’s a madhouse in here tonight.”
Valerie glanced up into her brother’s eyes and nodded. “Yeah, it is. And it’s probably going to stay that way unless Logan gets it under control. I told him I could help, but he doesn’t want me to.”
“You know he’s not the type to ask for help, Val.”
“He asked you.”
Brett shrugged. “Yeah, but that’s different.”
She narrowed her eyes at the negative undertone. “Why? And if you say it’s because I’m a female, I’m going to kick you in the shin.”
He chuckled. “That’s exactly what a girl would do. Guys don’t kick each other in the shins…unless they’re playing soccer.”
“Don’t make me call Mom and tell her what a chauvinistic pig you are.”
“Retract the claws,” he said with a chuckle. “You know I’m just playing around. I believe in women’s rights and all that shit.”
All that shit? Really? She sighed. “I’m being serious, Brett. I know how to make cocktails. Logan’s shorthanded and could use me behind the bar. At least until he finds another bartender.”
Brett shook his head. “You don’t want to work here. Besides, you already have a job at the bakery.”
“What about the bakery?” Leah asked, approaching them from behind.
Valerie spun around. “There you are! I was looking for you earlier and couldn’t find you. I thought you left without telling me.”
“Nah, I was just on the dance floor with Sam. I got tired of stepping on his feet though so I told him to go play pool with Max for a while. Now what is this about the bakery? Did something happen?”
Valerie waved her hand through the air. “Oh, it’s nothing. The bakery is fine. Logan’s head bartender quit on him, and he’s already understaffed so I told him I could help out. At least temporarily.”
Leah shrugged. “Sure, it’s not a problem. I can change up our schedule so that you don’t work any morning shifts on the nights you work here. No biggie.”
Brett grimaced. “Valerie doesn’t want to work here.”
Funny how he keeps saying that. Valerie scoffed. “You mean you don’t want me to work here,” she corrected him, poking her finger into his chest.
He rubbed at the spot. “Well, yeah. That too. But you also can’t inconvenience Leah with a last-minute schedule change. It’s rude.”
Yeah, like Brett has ever been concerned about being rude.
Leah shook her head. “It’s actually not an inconvenience at all. Changing up the schedule would work better for me too. Sam and I have so many wedding details to finish up over the next few weeks, and his construction site is really hectic in the morning. Makes it harder for him to get away. Having him take off early in the afternoon to work on this stuff with me would be better. Perfect, really.”
Valerie smiled. “See, Brett? It works for everyone.”
“Yeah, I see that,” he said, sounding almost disgruntled. Then his face broke into a wide grin. “Except for the guy who said he doesn’t want your help. Remember him?”
Shit.
She chewed on her lip as she glanced over at Logan. He was making change for a customer while simultaneously wiping up a spill on the counter. Sweat beaded along his brow, and he looked every bit as frustrated as she felt. “We’ll see about that,” she told Brett and then stalked toward the bar.
Spouting apologies and excuse me’s, Valerie quickly squeezed her way to the front of the counter, where Logan had lined up six beer bottles and was popping the metal caps off each of them. He glanced up, but the moment he locked eyes with her, he looked down and returned to his task. As if he planned to ignore her.
Valerie sighed inwardly. “Logan, I need to talk to you for a moment.”
“I’m busy,” he said, leaning away to pass out the beers he’d opened.
She waited until he righted himself so she wouldn’t have to scream over the noisy crowd. “I know you are. But that’s what I need to talk to you about. I can help you—”
“No.” Logan put both hands on the counter and firmed his stance. “I’ve already told you I don’t want your help.”
She smirked. “You may not want it, but you need it.”
“No, I don’t.” He turned away from her to hand the other bartender the money he’d received for the beers.
Though his stubbornness pissed her off, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Valerie had always had a bit of a rebellious streak in her. The more someone told her she couldn’t do something, the more she wanted to do it.
“I’ve already made arrangements with my other job. I can work here temporarily until you find someone to replace me.”
“I said no.”
Valerie blew out a hard breath. “Would you stop being unreasonable for just one second? I have some bar skills that could be put to good use. If nothing else, I could at least distract everyone and keep them from focusing on how long it’s taking to get their drinks while you guys catch up on the orders.”
Logan stopped what he was doing and leveled a sardonic gaze at her. “What are you going to do—dance on the bar?”
“Damn it, Logan. Just give me a chance to show you—”
“I said no. Now leave it alone. I’ve got work to do.” A scuffle behind her had Logan leaping over the bar in order to break up two guys who were shoving each other.
Right there. That was the reason he needed her help. He might not like the solution she’d offered him, but it wasn’t possible for him to manage Bottoms Up effectively while being stuck behind the bar serving drinks. On a slow night perhaps. But not with this many people vying for a bartender’s attention. If only he’d listen to reason.
Valerie released a frustrated sound from deep within her throat. God. Why did he have to be so darn pigheaded?
A soft hand touched Valerie’s shoulder, and she turned to see Leah frowning at her. “Sorry he’s acting like that.”
“You heard?”
“Yeah. But I’m sure it’s nothing personal. I’m guessing Logan knows that Brett wouldn’t want you working here and doesn’t want to step on your brother’s toes. Otherwise I don’t see why he’s so adamant to turn down the extra help. He obviously needs it.”
As sad as it was, Leah was probably right. Brett had always hated Valerie hanging out in bars, even though she only did so with her friends. “God, this sucks. Brett ruins everything for me.”
Leah shook her head. “Well, you can’t blame it all on him. You are the one who puts up with him interfering in your life like he does.”
“Yeah, but only because he’s my brother.”
“I have a brother, but I don’t let him have a say in my life.”
“But Ethan is your little brother. It’s different with Brett. He’s older than I am.” Valerie didn’t want to explain why she put up with Brett’s behavior, but she felt like she needed to defend her brother to some degree. “And, well, something happened in the past that made him this way.”
Leah squinted at her. “So that’s the past. Aren’t you an adult now?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Every time my mom criticized me, you encouraged me to stand up to her. Yet here you are not taking your own advice. Come on, Val. When are you going to grow up and stop letting your older brother run your life?”
As disheartening as it was to hear someone else tell her to grow up, Valerie couldn’t be upset with Leah. After all, she was right. Valerie wasn’t the same awkward girl in pigtails who’d needed her brother to defend her honor on the playground after a boy decided to use her hair as horse reins. Nor was she the silly lovestruck teenager who’d cried into her pillow over the stupid guy who’d left town and never looked back.
Valerie was twenty-six now, which meant she was a grown, mature woman. A capable, intelligent adult who was able to handle her own affairs and make her own decisions. No matter what happened in the past, it was time to stand on her own two feet.
“You’re right, Leah. Maybe I just needed to hear that it was okay to feel this way. Brett doesn’t have to like what I do, and he shouldn’t get a say in it. Not anymore anyway. The only three people that should be allowed to make decisions in my life are me, myself, and I.” Right then, Valerie made a unanimous decision. “Even if Logan’s mad at me right now, I know I’m the best person to help him out. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Leah held up a hand. “Wait a minute. But didn’t Logan already say no?”
“Yeah. So?”
Leah must’ve seen determination flashing in Valerie’s eyes because she grinned and said, “Um, Val…You aren’t about to do what I think you’re going to, are you?”
“Damn straight.”
Every situation she’d ever been in that involved Logan Mathis had always ended badly. Chances were good that tonight probably wouldn’t be any different. But she wanted Brett to see that his sister was much more than just a pretty face. Almost as much as she wanted to prove to Logan that she wasn’t a princess. If she had to do something drastic to open the eyes of both of them, then so be it.
And with that, Valerie hiked her leg up onto the closest stool, climbed over the bar, and hit the ground running.
* * *
Logan wanted to beat his head against the nearest wall.
He’d barely gotten things settled down between the first two guys when another fight broke out a few tables away. Thankfully, Brett had been nearby at the time and managed to grab one of the men while Logan held firmly on to the other. Although no punches had been thrown, Logan knew it was only a matter of time. Alcohol and frustration were never a good combination, especially when it came to a bar full of ornery men. If he didn’t get a handle on things soon though, he was going to have a full-blown riot on his hands.
They escorted both guys to the exit and asked Steve, the doorman, who was still checking IDs, to call them a taxi and keep an eye on the two men until their ride showed up. Logan didn’t really expect any more problems out of them since it seemed showing them to the door had taken all the fun out of their fight.
With Brett on his heels, Logan went back inside to make sure no one else was about to throw down and cause another ruckus. Almost immediately, he noted that the crowd had simmered down considerably and that the noise level was now that of a regular nightclub. Thank God.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he gave his buddy a friendly slap on the back. “Thanks for helping me get those two clowns out of the bar. As rowdy as this crowd was, the last thing I needed was people to start brawling in here.”
“No problem,” Brett said, grinning. “I didn’t mind. It’s fun throwing people out.”
Yeah, it had been kind of fun. Logan chuckled. “Reminds you of old times, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, except this time we were the ones doing the throwing instead of the other way around.”
“Well, if you hadn’t been such a little shit back in the day, we wouldn’t have gotten tossed out of so many places. You know, you were a bad influence.”
Brett laughed. “Me? Look who’s talking. It was you who hustled that guy and his friends in that little pool hall we went to in South Padre all those years ago. If you hadn’t gotten us into a fight, we wouldn’t have spent the night in jail.”
Yep. Logan remembered that night all too well. It was the night he’d decided to leave Granite, Texas, for good. “Okay, so that was my fault. I’ll own that one.” Then he elbowed Brett. “But the rest were all yours.”
Brett barked out a deep laugh. “You wish.”
Logan was just about to say something else when, out of nowhere, customers in the distance began whooping and hollering like crazy. He exchanged puzzled glances with Brett, and then gazed around the room, realizing that most of the cheers were coming from the people crammed up to the bar. But there were too many bodies in the way for him to see what the hell they were excited about.
For a moment, he hoped Paul had reconsidered his resignation and returned to help out. Then Logan remembered how Paul’s body had been pressed tightly against Valerie’s lush figure in the hallway. Right then and there, Logan decided that, if the bastard hadn’t quit already, he would’ve fired him on the spot. The fucker.
“What the hell is going on at the bar?” Logan asked, trying to peer over the crowd.
Brett shook his head. “You’re taller than me, dumbass. If you can’t see, how the hell do you expect me to tell you what’s going on over there?”
When another round of clapping sounded, Logan couldn’t stand it any longer. Something was definitely happening, and he wanted to know what the hell it was. “I’m going to go check it out. You coming?”
“Nah, you go ahead. I haven’t checked the bathrooms yet. I’ll catch up to you in a bit,” Brett said, heading in the opposite direction.
Logan marched across the room, wedged himself into the crowd, and forced his way to the counter to see what the excitement was all about. But when he caught a glimpse of a blond-haired, blue-eyed rebel waltzing around behind his bar, Logan didn’t see a damn thing to cheer about.
Goddamn it. What the hell is she doing?
Logan tried to move from his position, but the crowd had already closed in behind him and were packed together like a bunch of linebackers. There was no getting through. So he did the only thing he could. He called out Valerie’s name and waved his arms to get her attention. Unfortunately, she was too far down the bar and couldn’t seem to hear him over all the surrounding chatter.
Or maybe she was ignoring him? Because that definitely seemed like a likely scenario as well. Didn’t matter though. When James passed by a moment later, Logan managed to snag his attention and nodded toward Valerie. “What the hell? You know only employees are allowed behind the bar.”
The bartender held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, she said she was a friend of yours and that she was helping out. We definitely needed it so I thought you knew. Either way, it’s not like I asked her to climb over the bar.”
“She climbed over the…” Logan ran a frustrated hand over his face. “Damn it. She could have hurt herself. What the hell is she doing back there anyway?”
“Well, frankly, if you ask me, she’s putting on quite the show.”
“Show? What are you talking about?”
“From the moment she jumped back here, she’s held a captive audience. The lady’s damn good. She changed two kegs on the fly, fixed the blender, and has been making drinks faster than I can and with a hell of a lot more flair.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “I’m not surprised. Valerie has always had a flair for the dramatic. But that doesn’t mean she can—”
“No, not that kind of flair. I mean she’s a flair bartender. You know, bar tricks. Extreme bartending. That sort of thing. A few minutes ago, I watched her balance two bottles with a pint glass on top, using only one hand. The crowd went nuts.”
“That’s what people were cheering about?”
“Yeah, among other things. Seems like she’s a big hit with your customers.”
Logan blew out a hard breath. That’s just what he needed. For Valerie to be using his bar to show off and gather more attention for herself. And where the fuck had she learned that stuff anyway? Brett hadn’t ever mentioned her working in a bar before. Then again, Logan had always avoided the topic of Valerie whenever Brett was around.
Logan watched closely as Valerie quickly lined up six shot glasses, flipping each in her hand before setting them down. Then she called out, “Who wants a free shot? Make some noise.” The crowd went crazy.
Sonofabitch. “No wonder she’s got everyone’s attention. She’s giving away drinks to the customers? I can’t make money like that.”
James shook his head. “I beg to differ. Those shots cost three times more than the beer, and every time she gives out a few, she sells five times that amount. She’s pacifying the natives and making you money while doing so.” He nodded in Valerie’s direction. “Here she goes. Just watch. It’s entertaining as hell.”
Logan couldn’t believe he was going along with any of this, but he craned his neck to see what she was going to do. He could always strangle her afterward.
Valerie tossed the stainless steel Boston Shaker into the air with one hand and caught it behind her head with the other. Without hesitation, she flipped it up again and let it land on the back of her hand before spinning it once more and snatching it out of the air. Then she placed it on top of the rubber drip mat and tossed a scoop of ice inside.
From his side view, Logan couldn’t see what kind of liquor she grabbed, but his eyes stayed glued on her as she juggled three bottles, then poured some of each into the tin shaker. Slapping a clear mixing glass on top, Valerie spun the entire canister upside down in her hand and shook the hell out of it. When she was done, she smacked her palm against the rim to crack the seal and went down the line, filling each shot glass with a creamy beige liquid. Then she began spraying each with a dollop of whipped cream.
Okay, so maybe that was pretty cool to watch. Valerie obviously had the charisma and focus of a professional bartender and clearly knew her way around behind a bar. But those fancy moves of hers were probably nothing more than parlor tricks. The real test was whether the drinks tasted like they were supposed to.
Logan nodded at the shots. “Are her drinks accurate?”
James snorted and said, “I’ll let her clue you in on that.” He headed down the bar, not stopping until he reached Valerie. He whispered something in her ear that caused her to grin sadistically, and then he took her place at the bar.
She lifted one of the shots from the counter and carried it back to Logan, setting it in front of him. “Bottoms up.”
Logan eyed her warily. “What?”
“This is a test, right? You’re wondering if I made the drink properly? Well, I can tell you that I did, but somehow I don’t think that’s going to satisfy your curiosity. The only way to know for sure is if you taste it. So go ahead.”
“I already told you I don’t drink on the clock.”
Valerie shrugged. “I know, but one isn’t going to kill you. Besides that, it’s almost closing time, and you still need another bartender for tomorrow night.” She smiled and lifted one haughty brow.
Damn it. She had him there.
He made it a habit never to drink on the job, but he needed to know whether she made the drink correctly. Because if she didn’t, then she had no business being behind his bar in the first place.
Logan lifted the shot to his lips and threw it back in one gulp. The moment the creamy liquid hit his taste buds and slid down his throat, he nearly groaned out loud. Christ. She’s giving out fucking Orgasms.
And damn good ones at that.
Unable to help himself, Logan let his mind wander and imagined lifting her onto the bar, sliding that tight skirt up her voluptuous thighs, and giving her an orgasm of her own. Then he would find out what other talents those magic hands of hers may hold.
God, I’m an ass for even thinking it.
Brett would kill him if he knew that Logan was having those kinds of dirty thoughts about his friend’s sister. Remembering his oath to stay away from the girl who had grown into the sexy young woman in front of him, Logan strengthened his resolve. Looking at Valerie was the closest Logan was ever going to get. He knew that. It was just that his dick couldn’t seem to comprehend the notion.
Yes, everyone in the place was mesmerized by her performance, including him. But that was just another perfectly good reason to stay far away from her. He couldn’t hire Valerie. It would never work.
Pride shining in her eyes, she smiled at him from across the bar. “So what do you think?”
“I…uh…” God, he was pathetic. How the hell was he going to give her the bad news when she was looking at him like that?
The truth was, he would’ve hired her on the spot if she had been anyone else. Actually, if he were just thinking with the proper head, he would be smart enough not to let her slip through his fingers. But no. Instead, he was planning to ignore her skills in mixology, which meant he was screwing himself over and letting his cock run his business. But then he remembered something important.
It wasn’t only him that he was screwing over. Shit.
Logan had only three weeks to come up with enough money to pay off the default balance on his mother’s home or the bank would foreclose on it. He couldn’t possibly let that happen when a solution to his problem was staring him right in the face.
A feeling of desperation came over him, and his stomach tightened in response.
Damn it. He didn’t have a choice.
Valerie’s drinks were dead on, his customers were happy, and his staff needed the extra help…at least until he could find someone qualified to replace her. Which would have to be soon. And by qualified, he was simply referring to someone he wasn’t attracted to. Because he would let a bum off the streets take her place if that meant he didn’t have to torture himself this way for the next few weeks.
He sighed. “Okay, you’re hired.”
A smile spread across her face. “Really?”
God. Deep down, he knew he was going to regret this decision. It was as if he’d opened a can of worms that he wouldn’t be able to close later. But it was too late to do anything about it. Or was it?
“Yeah, really. But only if you can get Brett to agree to it.”