Valerie arrived at Bottoms Up a few minutes early. Not only did she want to make a good impression, but her nerves were getting the best of her.
After Brett had dropped her off at home last night, she’d spent hours stressing out over the TABC certification that Logan had asked for—the one she didn’t actually have—then spent the rest of her sleeping hours on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s website, researching how to obtain one.
Since it was only a two-hour class and the fee was relatively small, it shouldn’t have been a hard problem to solve. But there were several issues. Big ones. The course was only held twice a month and the testing site was almost a three-hour drive away from Granite, Texas. Which meant she would need at least eight hours of free time to sneak off and take the class.
Unfortunately, free time wasn’t something she was going to have a lot of now that she would be working two jobs. And that didn’t even begin to cover the issue of the certificate having the date the course was taken plastered right on the front. Something Logan would surely notice.
So she was forced to come up with another plan. One that consisted of not taking the class at all and holding Logan off about the certificate for as long as possible. Chances were good that he would replace her before she had time to take the course. And it was just a temporary position anyway. Who was going to know?
Valerie hated the idea of lying to him, but she couldn’t resist the idea of having him all to herself without her brother hovering between them. Brett worked throughout the week at the mechanic shop, and she doubted he would be able to spend his weeknights hanging out at the bar and watching her every move. Sure, there would be a bar full of other people around them, but she planned on keeping Logan’s mind on her as much as possible. She wasn’t about to lose the only real chance she’d ever had with him…even if she had to use false pretenses to keep from doing so.
Taking a deep breath, Valerie threw the bar door open and sashayed inside wearing a tight little black number with matching heels. Logan stood behind the counter going over a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard while a slow song, low and sexy, hummed from the speakers mounted on the wall above him.
As she crossed the room, her heels tapped a staccato tune on the tile floor and echoed in the empty bar, announcing her arrival. Logan raised his head, and his brooding brown eyes landed on her, darkening in color. Hmm. Interesting.
“You’re early,” he said, his voice sounding a bit strained. “None of the other employees have arrived yet.”
So it was just the two of them? Alone? Good.
Valerie smiled. “Well, I thought it might be smart to get a head start on setting up my station and learning where everything is before the crowd arrives.” Her right hand curled beneath her hair and slid a thick blond strand off her shoulder to show off her ample cleavage. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Logan rested a hip casually against the opposite counter and shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Since you’re here early, you can fill out your paperwork.” He pulled a couple of papers from beneath his clipboard and slid them across the bar in front of her. “Did you bring in the copy of your TABC certification? I still need that for my records.”
Damn it. She knew he wasn’t going to let that go so easily. “Um, no. I just moved and haven’t unpacked yet. I’ll have to find the box that it’s in.” Her stomach tightened. She didn’t make it a habit to lie, but he’d backed her into a corner.
“Oh yeah. Brett mentioned you had moved into a new place recently. An apartment over the bakery, right?” He waited for her to nod in confirmation and then continued, “All right. Then bring the certificate in as soon as you find it. In the meantime, grab a chair somewhere and fill these out.”
“Okay.” Valerie slid onto the black stool in front of her, crossing her legs. She pulled a pen out of her purse, clicked it, and began to write her name in the first box.
“Uh, you’re going to fill them out right here?”
She glanced up and smiled. “Yeah, is there a problem with that?”
Logan gazed around the room at all the empty tables and chairs, and the corners of his mouth pulled downward. “No, I guess not.” Then he turned, putting his back to her, and began counting the liquor bottles lining the shelf behind the bar.
Valerie cocked her head to the side and arched one eyebrow. She wasn’t sure why, but he clearly hadn’t wanted her to sit near him. As if she were some pesky gnat flying too close to his open liquor bottles. Did he think she was going to disturb him or something? Because, if so, he would be absolutely right. She planned on disturbing the hell out of him as much as possible while working here. Just not necessarily while filling out paperwork.
She put her head down and got to work, finishing the forms in record time. “I’m done.”
Logan glanced over the forms and then laid them down. “Looks good.” He reached for a set of keys next to the POS terminal and tossed them on the bar in front of her. “These are the keys to the storeroom. You can find everything you need in there.” Then, as if he were done talking to her, he went back to counting the bottles.
Puzzled, Valerie stared at the keys and then back at him. “Um, but aren’t you going to show me around?”
Not bothering to turn around, Logan said, “I don’t have time. I got here later than usual because I had a visitor show up at my house earlier. She kept me detained all afternoon, and I really need to get this inventory done before we open.”
She? A woman had been at his house earlier? Valerie’s heart sank. “Oh. Well, I thought maybe you would help me get acquainted with the place. You know, since you are my new boss and all.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “If you have any questions, you can ask James. He’ll be here soon. Besides, you’ve worked in a bar before so this isn’t your first rodeo. You did just fine on your own last night. I’m sure you can manage to find your way around again.”
“Yeah, but that was only the bar area. I haven’t been to the storeroom yet.”
Finally, he spun around to face her, his eyes narrowed. “I’m pretty sure you’ll have no trouble finding it, princess. We both know you’re already familiar with the employee hallway.”
She cringed and bit her lip. “Logan, about that…”
He held up his palm to stop her from saying anything else. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Valerie. It’s not like it’s any of my business anyway.”
“Yeah, but—”
“I’m really busy. I have to get this inventory done before we get slammed tonight.” He nudged the keys toward her. “Go ahead and get started. I’ll send James to help you out when he gets here.” Without waiting for her to respond, he lowered his head and started putting figures into a calculator.
Frustrated, Valerie snatched up the keys and headed through the swinging doors. She marched down the hallway until she stopped at the storeroom door. It took her only two tries before she found the right key. Then she shoved open the door, flipped on the lights, and headed inside what looked like an oversized walk-in closet.
A half-dozen kegs stood in formation on the right side of the room while a large, commercial-quality ice machine leaned against the wall on the left, humming quietly to itself. Huge wooden shelves lined the back wall, holding a substantial array of glass liquor bottles, bar equipment, a few office supplies, and a big cardboard box with a few black bar T-shirts spilling out over the sides.
Knowing damn well her messy brother had probably left the shirts in their current state, the first thing Valerie did was straighten them and fit them neatly back inside the box. Then she spent the next half hour memorizing the different types of liquor Logan kept in stock and even made mental notes to look up some drink recipes for the ones she wasn’t familiar with.
When James finally showed up, they loaded their arms with supplies and headed toward the main bar, where Logan was still working on the inventory. James helped her stock her speed well, answered a few questions about their routine procedures, and showed her how to use the POS system. Since Leah’s bakery was equipped with a similar one, it didn’t require much training on her part. Thank goodness. Because Logan had been standing not even ten feet away and she was supposed to know what the hell she was doing.
They’d just finished the tutorial when the young bartender who’d made her drink the night before swept through the front door and rounded the bar. The moment he saw her behind the counter, he grinned wide. “New bartender?” he asked James.
“New bartender,” James confirmed with a nod.
“Hi, I’m Valerie,” she said, offering her hand.
“Derek,” he said, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it gently. “I’m the slow one. But you probably know that already since I made your drink last night.” He gave her a friendly wink. “I’m still learning.”
Not wanting him to feel bad, she smiled warmly. “Aren’t we all?”
The smile reached his eyes. “That’s nice of you to say, but it’s hardly true. I saw those awesome moves you had behind the bar last night. You’re going to have to show me how to do that sometime.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
Behind her, Logan cleared his throat. Loudly. “Will you guys excuse us for a minute? I need to speak to Valerie about something. Alone.” Though he’d politely asked them to leave, his tone wasn’t all that friendly.
Once the other two men made themselves scarce, she tilted her head back and glanced up at Logan. His dark gaze sent shivers running up her spine, but she fought the urge to take a step away from him. She wasn’t sure why he looked like he was about to deliver some bad news, but she forced herself to smile anyway. “So what’s up?”
“I hate to say this, especially since I know how you love fashionable attire, but you…uh, might want to consider wearing something a little different to work in the future.”
She stared at him point blank and then glanced down at the minidress riding high on her bare thighs. She smoothed her hands down her sides and planted them on her hips. “You don’t like my outfit?”
His gaze followed the same path as her hands. “Um, no. I mean, yes.” Logan sighed and then shook his head, as if he were just as confused as she was. “Although I do think your brother is going to kill you if he sees you wearing that, I wasn’t talking about your dress. I was referring to your feet. They’re going to be sore after standing on those spikes for so many hours.”
“Oh, these?” Valerie lifted one foot off the ground and pointed her toe, showcasing the sexy, three-inch skinny heels she’d worn.
“Yes, those. I think a pair of sneakers would probably be a better option. Less slippery that way too.”
She smirked. There were so many racy things she could say to that, but instead she went with a bland, “It’s okay. I think I can manage.”
“If you say so, princess. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.” Then, without another word, he headed off across the room at a brisk pace.
Valerie let out an irritated sigh. Why did he always call her that? And what the hell was his problem anyway? It was bad enough that he hadn’t wanted her to sit near him while filling out those forms and then he’d basically ignored her. And now he couldn’t seem to get away from her fast enough. Weird.
His apparent lack of interest was ego-deflating, to say the least, but Valerie knew none of it was because of her. Couldn’t be. She hadn’t done anything to cause him to avoid her like this. At least nothing he knew about anyway.
But so much for thinking she would have Logan’s undivided attention while working for him. Even when she had him alone, she didn’t have his attention, undivided or otherwise.
* * *
Logan crossed the room as fast as he could.
Valerie was wearing another one of those tiny dresses that clung deliciously to her shapely figure, and it was all he could do to stifle the urge to reach down and rearrange himself. He should probably have his head examined for agreeing to let her work here while wearing shit like that.
Who knew it would be so hard. Literally.
He glanced back at her standing under the bar’s relaxed lighting. She wore an innocent smile on her angelic face, but all those breathtaking curves and that dangerously high hemline forced all the blood to rush to his damn head. And he wasn’t meaning the one on his shoulders.
If he’d had it his way, Valerie Carmichael wouldn’t be allowed to wear anything less revealing than a potato sack. A long one. Because although she’d always been feminine as hell, in this barely there outfit, she looked like a walking version of a wet dream. One he never wanted to wake up from.
As if she’d known he was staring, her eyes darted in his direction, and a delighted smirk lifted her cheek. She’d always been a stunner, but over the years, she’d somehow perfected that flirtatious smile of hers. Like the blond she-devil knew lustful memories of her had filled his teenage spank bank on way too many occasions.
Even though it had been eight long years since he’d been this close to her, the sound of her loud, playful laughter and the soft, bell-like tone of her voice had always stuck with him. But now there was something even more intriguing about her.
He’d never met anyone who oozed sex appeal like Valerie did. It was as if a bright sexual aura hung permanently in the air around her and saturated his skin whenever he got near her. The kind of excruciating tension that started in the balls and drove men like him to the nearest bathroom to yank their dicks in order to establish some modicum of control.
Actually, sexy didn’t even begin to describe her accurately. It was more like she was a work of art, and her gorgeous body was the canvas. One he’d happily paint over again and again using only his tongue. Take that, Leonardo da Vinci.
Logan let his gaze trail over her once more, appraising her voluptuous figure. Just the thought of how she would taste or the mere notion of him burrowing himself deep inside her swirled heat in his gut and had stale air backing up in his lungs. Jesus. Get a grip already, man. She’s off-limits.
Yeah, that was no shit. He couldn’t keep thinking about Valerie in that way. There weren’t many guys Brett would trust to be alone with his little sister. In fact, Logan couldn’t think of anyone else that would be considered safe enough to watch over her, which meant he was probably the only one. And that only made it even more important not to abuse the trust her brother had put in him.
Besides that, he couldn’t stand around eye-fucking Valerie all night long. He had shit to do. There was only one way to make this easier on himself. As long as she was working here, he just wouldn’t look at her anymore. That was simple enough, wasn’t it? Yeah, right. And I might as well stop breathing while I’m fucking at it.
Maybe someday he’d be able to look at her without desperate need and fierce desire tying his gut into knots. But that day wasn’t today. And chances were good it wouldn’t be tomorrow either. But possibly after a few nights though…
Yeah. That might work. Once he spent a couple of nonstop evenings with her, he was bound to develop a thicker skin. Until then, he’d have to do everything in his power to keep her from getting under it.
Hunching his shoulders, Logan set out to find the waitresses, Sally and Trisha, to make sure they had everything they needed. Then he swept the entire bar with his eyes, checking that everything there was ready to go. Derek had already positioned himself at the side bar while James and Valerie stood behind the main counter eagerly awaiting customers.
Logan peered out the front door and gave Steve the nod to start checking IDs. An even bigger line had formed than last night and stretched around the side of the building. Damn. If business continued to be this good, Logan would have the money he needed to save his mother’s house in no time.