Chapter 7

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Gracie marched around the corner of the counter in Vavoom's. Clara pushed the napkins into the dispenser on the table and watched her sister move around the room as if trying to break a speed walking record. Once she told Gracie about her invite to spend the night with Wayne, her sister had grown more agitated, barely saying two words to her throughout the afternoon and evening.

Clara stepped into Gracie's path, grabbed her sister's wrist, and walked her behind the counter. The pressure from her fingers came from desperation and her strength from irritation.

"Just talk to me," Clara said on a hiss. "Tell me exactly how I went wrong. We wanted to get closer to the bikers."

Gracie stiffened her arm and pulled from her grasp. Then, she leaned closer. "Nothing we discussed included prostituting yourself to one of the Notus Motorcycle Club members."

"Sh." Clara glanced around at the crowd in Vavoom's and finding it safe to talk continued. "God, why would you say that? I'm not planning on screwing him because we need his help."

Gracie raised her brows. "Aren't you?"

Wayne wanted her to spend the night with him. He'd shown up at the bar one hour before closing and sat at a booth with a couple that he obviously knew going by the friendly conversation. Until he'd walked in the bar, alone, without his club, Clara had tried to believe he'd only been flirting with her when he invited her over to his house.

She never thought he'd follow through.

Nothing about his personality or his actions suggested he was a player. He led a serious life, dealing with serious shit. He had no time for screwing around with her. Through the night, she'd realized that Wayne would never throw out a flippant comment or offer.

Now she had to face reality. Wayne expected her to go to his house when they closed the bar. It wasn't the right time for her to be wavering on what to do. She either went home with him or she stopped any kind of relationship with him tonight, jeopardizing her and Gracie's plan.

"No. I'm not planning on having sex with him to make sure he helps us." She lowered her voice. "If I decide to have sex, it's because I like him."

"Aw, sis." Gracie lowered her chin and closed her eyes a moment too long, taking the information in.

Clara looked across the room. "I never planned to be attracted to him."

Gracie raised her gaze to Clara. "Do you think that's a smart thing to do considering what we need him for?"

"I don't know." Clara inhaled deeply. "I just don't know what the right thing to do is anymore because I want to spend more time with him."

"Think of all the consequences. Can you keep seeing Wayne knowing what we plan to do? Think about that. You know I support you, but you'll be the one who ends up hurt." Gracie's shoulders straightened. "I need to help a customer."

Alone with her confusion, Clara carried the bin of dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Paxton had left an hour ago. The industrial size dishwasher was empty. She quickly rinsed the plates and added the mugs, tumblers, and silverware to their proper place. There were only a few dishes left out in the bar to add and then the cycle could run. If she left work with Wayne, she wouldn't be putting too much work on Gracie.

She returned to the bar. Two groups from her side of the room were making a move to leave. She walked over to the cash register as they approached. Studying each customer, she quickly noticed the man with his keys in his hand swayed and had trouble standing still.

The woman with him struggled to walk a straight line in her high heels and dig in her purse at the same time. The couple that sat at the same table with the inebriated duo approached the counter.

"I hope you enjoyed your visit." Clara smiled and took the credit card from the man. "Did you all come together?"

"Yeah." The man grinned. "We're celebrating a long-deserved promotion at work."

"Congratulations." She turned the card reader around for him to sign. "It looks like your friend is prepared to drive, but he's too drunk to get behind the wheel. I can call a taxi or Uber for him."

The man glanced behind him and laughed at his friend trying to hold up a conversation with the people at the closest table. He turned back around. "My girlfriend can drive us."

His girlfriend leaned forward. "I've only had two drinks."

Having served everyone's drinks, she already was aware of how much everyone drank. What she had to guess at was how the customers handled their liquor. She'd seen the same level of drunkenness in people who drank two beers and yet there were men who drank four shots of hard liquor who could walk a straight line and quote bible scriptures as if they'd walked out of church on Sunday.

"Why don't you go ahead and get the keys from your friend before you walk out the door. That way I feel better about our customers arriving safely at home." Clara handed the man the receipt. "We want you to drive safe, so you can return."

"No problem." The man walked over and grabbed the keys out of his friend's hand and tossed them to his girlfriend.

Clara looked for Gracie and found her collecting tips off the tables and talking with two men who were heading toward the door to leave. Her stomach flipped. The only customer not preparing to leave sat at a table, nursing a Coke, intent on seduction.

Not that Wayne had done anything inappropriate while she'd worked. She opened the cash register and removed the drawer. It was the way he took possession of her. She counted the money. No, it was the way she'd let him possess her. If she walked across the room, she walked for him. When she laughed at a customer, she was laughing so Wayne could hear her. She moved through the bar, wanting him to be aware of her body. He'd made her do all those things without saying a word or lifting a finger.

She shivered, and her handful of money went to her side on a groan. She'd lost track of the count. Was it thirty-five or thirty?

"Go ahead and leave." Gracie stopped in front of her. "I'll close out the drawer."

Clara glanced at Wayne. "You're sure?"

"We'll deal with whatever happens afterward." Gracie leaned against the counter. "Go and enjoy yourself."

Her sister's change of opinion and lack of discussion only made her second-guess her decision. Once she slept with Wayne, the whole dynamics of their relationship would go in a direction they never planned for. A one night stand would hurt the progress she'd made. Their flirting kept Wayne coming back to the bar. Her selfish reasons to have sex with him could cause him to lose interest and stop coming to the bar.

Or, it could be something wonderful and work toward their advantage.

Never in her life had she ever thought her skills or lack of skills at fucking would mean so much.

"Okay," she whispered. "But, I'm staying here until you're ready to leave and then I'll walk you to the car. It's not safe to leave by yourself with the money bag on you."

Gracie nodded. "I'll hurry and load the dishwasher. The tables are wiped down, and I locked the front door. Finish counting the money, and I'll be quick as I can be."

She nodded and piled the money back in one stack to start over. "Thanks, Gracie."

Her sister reached across the counter and squeezed Clara's hand. "We're sisters."

"Twins," said Clara.

"Together through whatever life hands us." Gracie's chin lifted in stubbornness and walked into the kitchen.

Determined not to mess up their plan to work with Wayne and Notus Motorcycle Club in the future, Clara counted the money, used the rubber bands to separate the bills, and wrote out a deposit. One of them would take the day's pay to the bank tomorrow morning before they headed to work.

She put the drawer back in the cash register, and Wayne stood and approached her. Warmth heated her face. She wasn't ignoring him on purpose.

"Anything I can do to help you close?" he asked.

She shook her head. He assumed she'd go home with him.

"No, I'm waiting for Gracie." She pressed her hand against her stomach. "I don't want her to walk outside alone in the middle of the night."

"Smart," he said. "So, you'll come home with me?"

The corner of his mouth lifted, softening the harsh lines of his face. She puckered her lips and slowly exhaled to keep from passing out. He was beautiful when he smiled. Or, almost smiled.

"You know I will." She moistened her lips. "That's why you're here. It's why I’m standing in front of you."

"I wasn't going to give you a chance to say no." His gaze intensified. "Are you scared?"

She laughed softly. "Scared? No. Nervous? A little. Excited? Absolutely."

Wayne inhaled deeply, and his gaze dropped to the front of her shirt. The apron failed to distract him. "Good."

She trembled, liking the satisfaction she heard in his rough voice which sealed the deal and let her fully embrace her desire for him. It'd been a few years since a man emotionally turned her on. Most of her sexual experience came from physical attraction. A simple element that benefitted her and the man.

Wayne wanted her and wasn't afraid to show it, but more importantly, he put in the time to prove to her that he wasn't playing around, giving her a wonderful feeling. She wanted more, and she wanted it with him. It no longer mattered that she was at an unfair advantage. She knew his history and what kind of person he was.

He knew nothing about her, except what she'd shared with him.