She couldn’t think when he was holding her, because now that they’d been intimate, any type of touch triggered her memories...not that the images of last night had ever faded to the background. Would they ever?
Besides, Kate had no clue what she wanted to say anyway. Did she say thank you? Did she compliment him? Or did she broach the fact that she’d had her first taste of alcohol and it wasn’t that bad? What exactly did she lead in with after such an epic, mind-boggling night?
The bathroom door opened, but Kate kept her eyes in her lap, not wanting to face any guests.
“Who are we hiding from?”
So much for not facing anyone.
Kate glanced up to see Tara and Lucy holding the skirts of their gowns and coming in from the madness and noise outside. Once the door shut, her friends waited for her answer in silence.
“Tara—”
“Is it Bryan?” Lucy asked, rolling her eyes. “I swear, he and Noah are close, but I had no idea how annoying that man could be when presented with a single woman. Guess he thinks he has a chance with you.”
Kate blew out a sigh. If her only problem involved a man who was a complete goober and found her attractive, she’d be golden and certainly wouldn’t be hiding in the bathroom.
No, her issues came in the form of a six-foot-four-inch bar owner who could make her tingle just from the slightest brush of his fingertips.
“This isn’t about Bryan. I’m just taking a breather,” she told them, which was the absolute truth.
Lucy gathered the full skirt of her wedding dress and flopped next to Kate on the chaise. Tara crossed and sat in the floral armchair.
“I told you something was up,” Tara stated, looking at Lucy.
“This is her wedding day.” Kate glared at her friend. “You told her you thought something was up with me when she should be focusing on how quickly she and Noah can get out of here and head to their honeymoon?”
Tara’s eyes widened as she shrugged. “We’re friends. She can go have sex with Noah whenever. I need to know what’s going on with you and Gray.”
“Are you two arguing again?” Lucy asked. “I swear, you’re like an old married couple, just without the sex.”
Kate nearly choked on the gasp that lodged in her throat. Fortunately, she recovered before giving herself away. She was nowhere near ready to spill her secret. Her friends would be completely shocked if they learned she’d had sex with Gray. Kate was still reeling from the fact herself.
“What? No, we’re not arguing.” They couldn’t argue when she was running away and dodging the issue. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you two were dancing, then you rushed out in the middle of the song.”
Kate stared at Tara. “I didn’t see you on the dance floor.”
“I wasn’t there. I was getting Marley another plate of fruit and dip when you scurried by,” Tara explained. She pinned her with those bright eyes. “I’d assumed you were running from Bryan, but I saw Gray’s face as he watched you.”
Oh, no. Damn it. Kate didn’t want to ask what emotions Tara had seen on his face, what feelings he’d been unable to mask. She honestly had no clue what he was feeling because he’d been so good at keeping that to himself since last night.
Of course, if she’d waited to hear what he had to say, maybe she’d be better in tune with what was happening in his mind.
“He stepped in and saved me from Bryan. You know how Gray is,” Kate explained, smoothing down her chiffon-overlay skirt. She had to convince them there was nothing more than what was on the surface. “We just danced a few minutes until Bryan was gone. That’s all.”
Silence filled the room, which was good because the door opened again and an elderly lady came in. Kate didn’t know her, but she’d seen her on the groom’s side during the ceremony. Considering Noah wasn’t from here, it would make sense that there were guests Kate didn’t know.
“Would you go back out to your husband?” Kate hissed. “I’m just taking a break from those killer heels. Nothing is wrong.”
Lucy took Kate’s hand and squeezed. “Promise?”
“Of course.” Kate nodded. “Go on.”
Lucy finally got up and left. Once the other guest left as well, Kate was alone with Tara and her questioning gaze.
“What?” Kate demanded. “Can’t a girl just take a break?”
“Lucy can and I can, but not you.” Tara crossed her legs and leaned back in the seat. “You are always on the go, always planning the next thing, and I’ve never seen you relax. So what’s really going on? And don’t lie. I’m done with lies.”
Kate swallowed a lump of guilt. Tara had been dealt too much lately, but there were just some things Kate wasn’t about to share. That was not a reflection of their friendship. She’d tell her and Lucy...someday.
“Not now, okay?”
Tara’s curiosity quickly turned to concern. “Promise me you’ll come to us if you need anything. I know what it’s like to be lost in your own thoughts and worry what to do next.”
True story. Tara and Sam were going through hell all while trying to keep their daughter out of the fires.
“Same goes.” Kate reached over and took her friend’s hand. “Sam looked like he was doing really well.”
Tara nodded. “He is. He left me a note on my windshield this morning.”
How could anyone not find Sam and his handwritten notes simply heart-melting? He’d done that when they’d been married and since their split, he continued to leave her notes. Tara always mentioned them and Kate wondered what it would be like to have a man who cared that much.
The man was a hopeless romantic who’d just made some bad choices. Kate didn’t blame Tara for being cautious, though. Some obstacles were just too great to overcome.
“We should get back out there.” Kate came to her feet and stared down at her heels. “If I ever get married, we’re all going barefoot.”
Tara laughed as she stood up. “Deal.”
Kate had pushed marriage thoughts out of her head long ago when her engagement ended. The whole ordeal had left her a bit jaded, but seeing Noah and Lucy come together after they’d both experienced such devastation in their lives gave Kate hope. She wanted to marry one day, to have a husband who loved her, start a family and live in the picturesque mountains of Tennessee.
One day, she vowed. But first she was going to have to figure out how to get back on that friendship ground with Gray. Every time she thought of him now, she only remembered him tearing off her underwear and climbing up on that bar to get to her.
And her body heated all over again. She had a feeling the line they’d crossed had been erased. There was nowhere for them to go that was familiar and comfortable because they were both in unknown territory.
Chapter Five
Gray slid another tray of glasses beneath the bar. For the past five days he’d gone about his business and mundane, day-to-day activities. This wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last, that he couldn’t shake the void inside him. Something was missing, had been for quite some time, but he’d never been able to quite place it.
His father always said it was a wife and children, but Gray didn’t believe that. He wasn’t looking to settle down and worry about feeding a relationship. His parents had been completely in love up until his mother’s death when Gray had been five. He’d seen how the loss had affected his father, seen how the man had mourned for decades. Gray didn’t want to subject himself to that type of pain.
Besides, he’d never found anyone who would make him even think about marriage.
He’d been hand-delivered this bar when he’d come home from the army, just like his father before him. Gray’s grandfather, Ewan Gallagher, had opened the doors when he’d retired from the army after World War II. Right after that, he’d married the love of his life and started a
family. Same with Gray’s father, Reece.
They’d both had a plan and been the happiest men Gray had ever known. Not that Gray wasn’t happy. He knew how fortunate he was to have served his country and come home to a business with deep familial roots and heritage. Some men never came home, and some guys who did weren’t even close to the men they’d been before they were deployed.
But beyond all of that, something inside him felt empty. The void that accompanied him every single day had settled in deep and he had no clue how to rid himself of it.
Gray pushed those thoughts aside and headed to the back office. He needed to get his payroll done before they opened this afternoon.
He sank into his worn leather office chair and blew out a sigh. He couldn’t even lie to himself. It wasn’t just the monotonous life he led that had him in a pissy mood. He hadn’t seen Kate once since she’d deserted him on the dance floor.
They’d texted a few times, but only about safe topics.
Safe. That word summed up Kate. She did things by the book. Hell, the book she carried with her was like her lifeline to the world. She always had a plan, excelled at making her life organized and perfect.
Gray was anything but organized and perfect. He ran a bar. Things got messy and out of control at times. He’d obliterated her perfect little world when he’d taken their relationship to an entirely unsafe level.
Still, he was going to let her hide for only so long.
“Hello?”
Gray stilled at the unfamiliar voice coming from the front of the bar. He came to his feet and rounded his desk. He always left the doors unlocked while he was here working. Stonerock was a small town where everybody knew everybody. Crime was low and people usually respected his bar’s hours.
Sometimes his buddy Sam would stop in during the day to talk or just to unwind. After all that man had been through, Gray wasn’t about to lock him out. Sam needed support now more than ever and if he was here, at least Gray could keep an eye on him and be part of that support team.
“Anyone here?”
Definitely not Sam. Gray had no idea who’d decided to waltz right into his bar in the middle of the morning.
He stepped from the back hall and came to stand behind the bar. The man who stood in the middle of Gray’s restaurant clearly had the wrong address. Nobody came in here wearing a three-piece suit and carrying a briefcase. Who the hell even owned a suit like that? Nobody in Stonerock, that was for damn sure.
Gray flattened his palms on the bar top. “Can I help you?”
The stranger offered a toothy smile and crossed the space to the bar...third stool from the left. Now his favorite place in the entire building.
“You the owner?”
Gray nodded. People came in looking for donations for schools, ball teams, charity events...but Gray couldn’t pinpoint exactly what this guy was nosing around about.
“My name is Preston Anderson. I’m from Knoxville.”
Preston Anderson sounded exactly like the type of man who’d own a suit as confining and stiff as this one. Gray eyed the man’s extended hand and ultimately gave it a quick shake.
“I have enough staff,” Gray replied. “But the bank might be hiring.”
The guy laughed and propped his briefcase on a bar stool. “I’m here to see you. I assume you’re Gray Gallagher.”
“You would assume correctly.”
He pulled a business card from his pocket and placed it on the bar. Gray didn’t even give it a glance, let alone touch it.
“My partner and I are looking to buy a number of properties here in Stonerock and doing some minor revamping of the town.”
Gray crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that so?”
“We’d like to make it a mini-Nashville, if you will. The area is perfect for day tourists to pop over to get away from the city, but still have a city feel.”
Pulling in a breath, Gray eyed the business card, then glanced back to Preston. “And you want to buy my bar.”
Preston nodded. “We’ll make it more than worth your while.”
He took a pen from inside his jacket pocket, flipped the card over, and wrote a number. Using his fingertip, he slid the card across the bar. Again, Gray didn’t pick it up, but he did eye the number and it took every ounce of his resolve to not react. There was a hell of a lot of numbers after that dollar sign.
“You really want this bar,” Gray replied.
Preston nodded. “We’re eager to dive into this venture. We’d like to have firm answers within a month and finalize the sales within thirty days after that. All cash. Our goal is to have all of our properties up and running before fall for when the tourists come to the mountains for getaways.”
Gray had never thought of selling this place before, and now he had a month to make a decision. His initial reaction was hell no. This was his family’s legacy, what his grandfather had dreamed of.
But reality kicked in, too. That void he’d been feeling? He still didn’t know what was causing it, but all of those zeroes would go a long way in helping him find what was missing...or at least pass the time until he could figure out what the hell he wanted to be when he grew up.
Gray never had a set goal in mind. He’d done what was expected and never questioned it. But more and more lately he wondered if this was really where he was supposed to be. And if it was, then why did he still feel like something was lacking?
Preston went on to explain they’d still keep the establishment a bar, but it would be modernized for the crowds they were hoping to bring in. Gray had no idea what to say, so he merely nodded and listened.
The figure on the untouched card between them spoke more than anything Preston could’ve said.
“So, think about it,” Preston stated, picking up his briefcase. “My number is on the card if you have any questions. This isn’t an opportunity that will present itself again, Mr. Gallagher.”
“I imagine not,” Gray muttered.
Preston let himself out the front door, leaving Gray to process everything that had happened over the past ten minutes. He reached for the card, turning it from front to back.
What the hell did he do with this proposal? True, he’d never actually wanted the bar, but it was his. And while he may have wanted to pursue other things in his life, there were some loyalties that came with keeping up tradition. Gray would never purposely go against his family.
Family was absolutely everything to him. His father never remarried, so Gray and his dad had been a team. Then Gray’s grandfather had passed only a few years ago, leaving Gray and his father once again reeling from loss.
Now that they were all each other had, this business deal wasn’t going to be something easy to say yes or no to. This was definitely a decision he needed to discuss with his father. But Gray wanted to weigh his options and have some idea of what he wanted before that discussion took place.
Gray already knew where his father would stand on this from a sentimental standpoint, but his father also didn’t know that Gray hadn’t been happy for a while now.
Ultimately, the final decision would belong to Gray.
There was one other person he wanted to talk to. One other person who’d been his voice of reason since junior high, when she talked him out of beating the hell out of some new jock who had mouthed off one too many times.
Sliding Preston’s card into the pocket of his jeans, Gray went back to working on the payroll. Kate had one more day to come to him...and then he was going to her.
* * *
Kate’s color-coded binder lay open to the red section. The red section was reserved for her most important clients. Not that all of them weren’t important, but some needed more attention than others.
Mrs. Clements was by far her best client. That woman wanted help with everything from organizing her daughter’s bridal shower to setting up her new
home office. Kate also had a standing seasonal job with the middle-aged lady when it was time to change out her closets for the weather.
Kate stared at the time on her phone. It was nearly two in the morning, but she wasn’t the slightest bit tired. This plan for Mrs. Clements wasn’t due for nineteen days, but Kate wanted it to be perfect before she presented it to her.
Pulling her green fine-tip marker from the matching green pouch, Kate started jotting down possible strategies. The definite plans were always in blue and those were already completed and in the folder.
Kate tapped on her phone to fire up her music playlist before she started compiling a list of possible caterers.
The knock on her door had Kate jumping in her seat. She jerked around and waited. Who would be knocking on her door in the middle of the night? Probably some crazy teenagers out pulling pranks. But the knock sounded again, more determined than just a random tap.
She contemplated ignoring the unwanted guest, but figured murderers didn’t go around knocking on doors. Plus, this was Stonerock. She knew the entire police force. She could have anyone over here in a flash if something was wrong.
Kate paused her music and carried her phone to the door in case she needed to call upon one of those said officers. Of course Noah was still on his honeymoon with Lucy, so he wasn’t an option.
As she padded through the hall, Kate tipped her head slightly to glance out the sidelight. Her heart kicked up. Gray. She knew it was only a matter of time, but she certainly didn’t expect him in the middle of the night.
This man...always keeping her guessing and on her toes.
Blowing out a breath, Kate set her phone on the accent table by the door. She flicked the dead bolt and turned the knob.
Without waiting for her to invite him in, Gray pulled open the screen door and stepped inside.
“Won’t you come in,” she muttered.
“Considering I rarely knock anyway, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
From Best Friend to Daddy Page 4
