by AJ Matthews
The bartender from the hotel. The cute one.
“Hey!” Anna gave him her brightest smile. “You don’t work here too, do you?”
“No, no.” He pushed the beanie off of his head. “I’m actually playing here tonight, me and my band.”
“Of course you’re in a band.” Winn smirked, and Anna raised her eyebrows, begging Winn to be quiet.
Joey either didn’t hear Winn, or missed the sarcasm in her voice. “Yeah, I got off work half an hour ago. You rushed outta there without saying goodbye. I thought we had something special.”
Winn rolled her eyes behind Joey’s back, and Anna suppressed a laugh behind her hand. “I’m sorry! I was feeling…a little unwell. Needed to lie down for a bit.”
“So you’re okay now?” His gaze slid from her face, down to the V-neck of her top, and back. “You look fine. Better than fine.”
Anna grinned, her face warming at the young man’s awkward flirting. It was adorable, and though it meant nothing, gave her ego the jolt it needed tonight. “You’re so sweet! Hey, would you mind running up to the bar to grab us a couple beers and an order of—”
Anna looked around Joey at Winn, who reached for the menu Anna held. “Um, nachos.”
“Some nachos.” For good measure, she touched Joey’s arm before she handed him some cash. “For your trouble, get yourself a drink, too.”
“Oh, sure. Happy to.” He smiled down at them and turned to go to the bar.
Winn smiled up at him, her lips turned up but sealed tight. She turned to Anna, frowning. “What are you doing?”
Anna’s hand flew up to her chest. “Me? I’m not doing anything.” Not entirely true. Maybe she was flirting back a smidge.
“Uh huh.” Winn narrowed her eyes at Anna, but smiled sincerely. “I want you to be careful. I hope you’re not trying to make Tony jealous.”
“Make Tony jealous? He doesn’t know we’re here, so no. It’s nice having someone pay attention to me, and flirt with me. I can’t remember the last time Tony and I bantered like that. We’ve been together so long, I think we’ve forgotten how.”
At that moment, something in her head clicked. We’ve forgotten how. She’d spent so much time thinking about what Tony wasn’t doing, she hadn’t seen the things she’d been neglecting, too. She’d gotten comfortable. Stopped making the effort to do things Tony enjoyed, like camping. She wanted him to marry her. She wouldn’t sleep in a tent for him.
Not that she believed doing anything different would change Tony’s mind about marriage, and she wanted marriage more than anything.
Glasses thudded on the table, and Anna reached for the beer Joey slid in front of her. She’d sobered up enough to realize she wanted to numb herself again with a few more drinks. The sting of Tony’s rejection was more intense when she wasn’t under the influence.
“Can I join you ladies for a few? I’m a little early and the rest of the band isn’t here. I don’t wanna be the loser sitting by himself at the bar.” Joey’s broad smile was directed at Anna.
Anna nodded at the empty chair, and Joey pulled it out and sat down on the outer edge of the table, scooting closer to her.
It was like he knew she was a sucker for the “bad boy on the outside, softie on the inside” kind of guy Tony had been since they were kids. Of course she’d always loved the “softie” side more, the side that loved animals and worked with special needs kids and other people who required service dogs.
But she hadn’t seen the sweet side in some time because she was always busy at the store and Tony at work. In the evenings, they were always tired and typically sat silently while their latest binge-worthy show played for a few hours at a time. Conversations were limited to the likes of “Want another beer?” or “Can you grab me some chips?” Hopes and dreams, emotional wants and needs, never came up any longer.
So here she was, in a bar with her good friend with an early 20-something guy flirting with her while her boyfriend—ex-boyfriend?—sat twenty feet away, oblivious to everything.
4
Four
Tony’s fists balled up the napkin, wet from the condensation of the empty beer bottle the bartender whisked away. Then he unballed it and started tearing it to shreds.
Like he wanted to do to the punk, the bartender guy from the hotel, sitting with his girlfriend. Moving closer to her. What was he thinking? What was she thinking?
Hell, Tony didn’t know if Anna and Winn noticed Eric and he were here. They hadn’t come over, but then Anna was trying to avoid him, and Winn was sticking with her friend right now. Chicks before…
“Jesus, man, I think you’ve torn the napkin into the smallest pieces possible. There’s nothing left of it.”
Tony glanced down at the bits of napkin, like grains of rice against the dark bar. He scooped them up in a pile and squeezed them together into a small ball. “Do you see him? The way that guy’s looking at her. I should go over there and—”
“Go over there and what? Punch the guy out? That would improve this situation how, exactly?”
Damn it. Tony hated when Eric was right. When anyone was right. Well, more like hated when he himself was wrong. He’d been informed of a few such incidents tonight alone.
“Point taken, Donnelly. Wouldn’t help my case, would it?” The bartender returned with another beer for him, replacing the napkin Tony had annihilated.
“What, precisely, is your case?” Eric sipped on the one beer he’d been nursing since they arrived. It must be warm by now. Tony was already on his third.
“I don’t know man. You’re right. What you said earlier. About treading middle ground. Wanting her in my life, but not fully committing. I’ve gotta do it, man.”
“Do what?”
“Let her go.”
Eric blanched and coughed, choking on his drink.
Tony slapped his friend on the back. “Gotcha. No. I’m going to ask her. Tonight. To marry me.”
Those should have been the words to make Eric choke—this “committed to not making the commitment guy” deciding to get hitched. Instead, the words made Eric’s face light up, almost like Tony had proposed to him.
“Seriously? That’s great, but are you sure…”
The pause made Tony think there was another part to the question. “Sure about what?”
“Are you sure you’re not doing this because you’ve been drinking, and she’s talking to some other guy? A young, attractive guy?”
“Pffft, the guy’s not that good looking.” Though silently, Tony admitted to himself the guy probably had chicks climbing all over him. When he saw the guy hop onto the stage and pick up a guitar, tuning it, he knew it was true. He was a musician, too? Yeah, women for miles.
Tonight though, with all the young women in the bar, band guy with the beanie had picked Tony’s girl.
His Anna.
He was more determined to make this proposal thing happen tonight. It needed to be spectacular. He patted one pocket of his jeans, and then the other. “You seen my keys?”
“Yeah. You gave them to me when we got here. Guess you’d decided then you were going to drink too much and didn’t want to try to drive home tonight.”
“Good. Give them to me.”
“Hell no. You are too drunk to drive. Not a chance you’re going anywhere.”
“Then you have to take me.”
Eric’s forehead wrinkled. “Take you where?”
“To buy Anna a ring.”
“Where are you going to get her a ring this time of night?”
Good question. He hadn’t given the logistics much consideration. He snapped his fingers. “We passed the supercenter on the way here. About five or so miles back. They’ll have something there.”
“It’s eleven o’clock. Are they open?”
“Aren’t they all open twenty-four hours?”
“Not all of them. You better check before you make me drive you somewhere.”
Tony huffed. “Fine.”
He pulled out hi
s phone and searched for the store. “Shit. Nope. Not open.”
“Maybe you should wait then.”
Panic gripped his heart, pulling it through his throat and strangling his voice. “Nuh-uh. She wants this. The big, romantic gesture. Here. This is her favorite place, the beach. It’s gotta be here.”
Eric held up his hand. “Okay, okay. Calm down. Think. Did you see any other stores around here?”
“No. Yes. The hotel lobby shop, but they were closed already. We walked by that convenience store. They won’t have anything. I can always get her flowers, I…” Tony snapped his fingers. “I got it! Do me a favor. Go over there and make sure they don’t leave. Keep her here.”
He backed away from Eric, headed to the door. Eric shook his head. “Where are you—”
The rest of Eric’s question was drowned out by the opening chords of the band’s first song, and Tony didn’t have time to answer him anyway.
He had a ring to buy.
And a future to start.
With his wife.
“He’s cute, right?” Anna laughed as Winn shook her head. She was smiling, so she knew her friend wasn’t judging her.
“Yes, I do think Tony is cute.”
Anna stuck her tongue out at Winn. “Very funny. But yes, he is. I’ve always thought so.”
“So you do love him?”
Anna wrinkled her nose. “Are we going to talk about this now? Right when I was getting my buzz back?”
“I think we should. Before you do something—” Winn glanced over at the stage “—or someone, you might regret.”
“What? I never planned on sleeping with the guy! He’s practically a baby!”
“He’s what, twenty-two, twenty-three? Eight years isn’t much, Anna. Also, you said it yourself. He is cute.”
“No. I am not going to do anything—or anyone—I might regret tomorrow morning. The only person I’m going back to a room with is you, pretty lady.”
“You still didn’t answer my question. You love Tony.”
“That sounded less like a question, and more like a statement. If you need confirmation, of course I do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be so hurt by his refusal to commit. I always thought if he loved me enough, he’d get over the hang-ups with his parents and their sham of a marriage. He would see we’re not his parents and we’ve been happy for so many years and a piece of paper isn’t going to change that and make us less happy.”
Winn pointed at her. “Do you think the piece of paper will magically make the two of you happier?”
Anna opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of a logical response. Yes, the emotional one was always there. She wanted the love like her grandparents had. She wanted that with Tony. But no. No piece of paper was ever going to make them happier.
Winn continued. “I get how Tony feels. My parents split, my mom suffers, still, from chronic depression. My nephew’s mom split when he was a baby. I said I’d never allow myself to care so strongly about anyone that they could hurt me like my mom was hurt, or my brother. But I did. I let Eric in, let him love me. And when we’re both ready, if we are, I will gladly take the plunge and get married. Because we both want to. Not because one of us pushes the other.”
Pushing. Demanding. The ultimatums. Anna sank her face into her palms.
“He still treats you well, right? He’s not the romantic he once was, so tell him you need that. From the way he was looking at you, I guarantee he would do about anything to win you back right now.”
“They saw us? And didn’t come over? Was he really looking at me like that?” Anna lifted her head from her hands and looked in the direction where Tony and Eric were sitting. She longed to see the adoration on his face, the look he’d given her so often long ago. Tony wasn’t there and Eric appeared to be paying their tab. “He’s gone. He left. I ruined it, didn’t I?”
Winn shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maybe he didn’t leave. He went to the bathroom.”
The tone in her friend’s voice was less than sure.
Eric walked over to the table, took the seat Joey vacated earlier, and leaned over to kiss Winn. “Hi.”
Winn touched her boyfriend’s face, and tiny stick pins pricked at Anna’s heart. They looked at each other like no one else was in the room. Of course, they’d only been dating for a few months, and everything was perfect between them. Still, Anna envied the elation of new love.
“Eric, where did he go? Did he leave? Is he going home?” Then the unvoiced question: Is he gone from my life for good?
He turned to face her, expressionless. Dread filled her stomach, streamed through her body and straight to her brain. Good thing she was sitting, since a wave of dizziness made her head spin.
Then Eric’s face broke into a wide grin. “He’ll be back. I have no idea what he’s doing. He told me to make sure you didn’t leave.”
“He said that?”
“Yep. He doesn’t want you to go.”
He doesn’t want me to go. The words could mean so many things. He doesn’t want her to leave the bar. Or he wants her to stay in his life.
She now desperately hoped it was the latter. She kept her eyes peeled on the door, willing him to come through it.
The band’s first few loud songs faded into a slow Journey classic. The front door slowly swung open, and Tony appeared, his dirty blond hair glowing a faint blue from the dim lights overhead.
Anna willed herself to stand, but her legs wouldn’t obey the command her brain sent. Not until Tony reached the table and held out his hand. “Dance with me.”
It wasn’t a question, but she didn’t mind. And apparently her legs didn’t either, as she wobbled to her feet. He steadied her with his strong hands and led her to the floor.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, stroking the soft hair dusting the nape.
His arms slipped around her waist, his hands molding to the small of her back. She leaned into his chest and inhaled the sharp scent of his deodorant and body wash. She loved this smell, would miss it so much if...
He moved one hand from her back, slid it up her arm, sending shivers across her skin. When he took the time to touch her—really touch her—oh, the things he could make her feel. It had been so long though.
Then he cupped her face in his large palm, turned her face up to his, and whispered, “Please let me kiss you.”
Anna’s step fumbled, and she melted into him. She nodded, and he lowered his head to hers. His lips brushed hers, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. Her hands gripped the back of his head as she deepened the kiss, and the rest of her body, in a heated frenzy, wanted to wrap itself around him. She lifted a leg and slid it…
“Not here, babe. Let’s go outside.”
A husky laugh escaped her throat. “I like where your head’s at on this one, Martino.”
She rushed to the table and grabbed her purse, smiled at Winn, and sprinted to Tony’s side at the front door.
Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him outside, to the alley between the bar and the neighboring building. She didn’t care it smelled of rancid beer and day-old trash. She wanted him, fumbled with his shirt, pulling it from his waistband. He grabbed her wrist, halting her progress.
“Not here, either. This isn’t why I wanted you to leave the bar with me.”
His solemn expression alarmed her, and panic welled in her chest. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Come.” He walked out of the alley and held out his hand again. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
They walked briskly back to the hotel, and when Anna started to turn left to the elevator bank, Tony led her the other way. “The elevator to the penthouse level is this way.”
“The penthouse level?” That’s where the honeymoon suite was.
“Yep. After I left the bar, I ran back here to see if any rooms were available. They said someone cancelled one of the luxury suites earlier this evening, and no one else had requested it. Now it’s ours.”
The room she booked an
d cancelled only hours ago was once again theirs.
He pushed the button for the elevator, and the door opened immediately to whisk them to the uppermost level. The elevator opened to a small hallway with only two doors. Someone, dressed in the uniform she’d seen other employees in, exited the left door. He nodded at Tony, who lifted his chin in response and put his hand on the door to hold it open.
Anna’s nose wrinkled. “What was that about?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he stepped back to let her into the room, dark save for a faint glow coming from the patio door. “Tony, what—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Just come.”
She walked with him in the direction of the light and gasped at the dozens of candles scattering the patio and stacked on tables. Several vases of colorful flowers mingled with the glow. The waves lapping on the shore below provided a romantic soundtrack. “This is beautiful. You did this?”
He shook his head. “I planned it, but got some help with the execution.”
She pointed in the direction of the front door. “The guy…”
“Yeah, the guy. That guy saved my butt.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“And you never will, woman, if you don’t stop talking.”
“No. Not yet. You have to let me say something. I’m sorry I’ve been pushing you. Sorry for telling you if you didn’t give me what I wanted—didn’t marry me—we were done. I don’t mean it. While I was busy telling you a piece of paper declaring we were married wouldn’t detract from our happiness, I refused to hear what you were saying. How the piece of paper couldn’t make us happy, either. I don’t need it, Tony. We don’t have to get married. We can just be. But…I do want more of this.” She waved her hand at the romantic scene he’d set.
“Are you finished?”
“Yes, I—”
“Quiet, please.” He slid down to one knee. Anna’s breath left her in a loud rush. This wasn’t happening. This was some drunken dream. The whole night. She’d drunk too much on the rooftop bar and had passed out…
He took her left hand in his and kissed her palm. Looking up at her, he searched her face. She wasn’t sure what her expression was conveying. Elation? Shock? Both, and more?
