Shameless

by Teresa Mummert

  I turned back around and called Payton’s name. She made a face as she carried her cup of coffee over to us. “Yes?”

  “You want to sit with us?” I asked as I slid over to make room for her.

  “Ugh. You have got to be kidding me.” Her eyes locked on Gigi’s. “Enjoy my sloppy seconds, skank.” She laughed as she headed back out the door.

  “Well, that was fun,” Gigi deadpanned, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You want to go shopping or something?”

  “Can’t. I have to go into Swank and tell my boss I can’t work there anymore. Every time I look at that violin all I see is Lucas.”

  “So you’re giving up on the guy and the one thing in the world you love?”

  “I’m not sure those two things are mutually exclusive anymore.”

  “Henley,” she sighed, shaking her head. I couldn’t look her in the eye because I knew all I would see is pity.

  “I better get going.”

  ***

  I walked up to the front door of Swank and tugged on the handle, but the door was locked. Cupping my hand against the glass, I tried to see inside, but it was too dark.

  I pulled out my phone as I walked back across the empty parking lot and dialed the number to the restaurant, but there was no answer.

  “Great,” I groaned as pulled out my phone to call Milo. He answered after two rings, and the music was so loud he had to yell into the phone.

  “Turns out I can take an extra shift tonight if you need me.”

  “What?”

  “I can work if –”

  “Two more beers,” he yelled, his voice sounding distant like he put down the phone.

  I hung up the call and decided just to go over there after stopping at the dorm to drop off my violin. It sounded like he could definitely use the help and I needed the extra money.

  ***

  Dive Bar was packed, and I had to force my way through the crowd to make it to the back of the room. I slipped behind the bar and sighed loudly as I brushed my hair from my face.

  I immediately began to fill drinks as Milo made his way to my side. “What are you doing here? I thought you had off.”

  “I did, but it looks like you could use a hand. What’s going on?”

  He laughed as he shook his head. “The new owner is running a promotion. Dollar beers and live music,” he nodded to the corner where there was a small raised platform and a stool ready for the performer. “He’s going to be coming in later to check it out.”

  “Sounds fun,” I shrugged with a smile. “I was thinking –”

  “I thought I smelled smoke.”

  I smacked his arm playfully as he laughed at his own joke. “I was thinking of picking up some more hours. Maybe work full time?”

  “I can’t really switch up the schedule right now.” He grabbed a couple of beers from the cooler and grabbed some cash off the bar.

  “I know I haven’t exactly been the most reliable worker. But –”

  “Henley,” he began as he shook his head. “I’m quitting.”

  “You’re what? You can’t quit. This is your place.”

  “No, it’s not. I sold it, remember? I’m going to use the money to pay off some bills, maybe drive up the coast.” He eyed me for a moment. “Why don’t you come with me? Nothing crazy just a few days checking out the beaches.”

  I was shaking my head as he spoke. “Milo –”

  He laughed as he tossed away a few old bottles. “I shouldn’t have asked that.”

  “No, I mean... I have classes and finals coming up. And my friends are here. Well... friend.”

  He nodded before running his hand against his short beard. “Well, if you ever want to get away, you can always call me. I’m still your friend too, even if I’m not here.”

  I smiled, thankful someone else still considered me a friend. “I appreciate that.”

  He clamped his hand down on my shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze before turning to the large fridge and pulling out a few more bottles of beer.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  LUCAS

  I sat in the airport, flipping over my phone to check the time before my eyes danced over the travelers greeting their loved ones. After a moment, my eyes landed on a tall girl with blonde hair that faded to burnt orange into fire red.

  I smiled as I pushed from the plastic chair.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” Amelia called out before she even reached me.

  “I expected as much,” I teased.

  “Have you been waiting long?”

  I shook my head before craning my neck to the side to crack it. She looked me over for a moment as if uncertain before I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground.

  “I missed you,” I whispered into her hair. “I wasn’t sure you’d even show up.” She pulled back to look at my face as she used her fingertips to brush my hair to the side of my forehead. “You look different. Older.”

  “I feel older,” I admitted before pressing my lips into the top of her head. “What happened?” She asked as her finger ran over the length of my cast.

  “Don’t worry about it. Come on. I have something I want to do.”

  “You have plans?” She asked as she hurried to my side. “I want to spend time with you. Catch up.”

  “We have all the time in the world. I’m not going anywhere.” I glanced over at her, and she was beaming.

  After grabbing the single bag of luggage from the carousel, we stepped outside where it was drizzling, and I hailed a car. Jogging over to a taxi that had stopped on the curb, I pulled open the door and waited for Amelia to slide in before following her.

  She giggled, resting her head on my shoulder briefly as I gave the driver an address and we pulled out into traffic. She lifted her head and was staring at me, a smirk playing on her lips.

  “What?”

  She had shrugged before she looked out of the window, speckled by raindrops. “You don’t look happy.”

  “I’m happy to see you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  She rolled her eyes as she glanced back over at me. “I mean in general.”

  “My father died. How do you expect me to look?”

  Her eyes had narrowed before she shook her head, dragging her teeth across her lower lip. “Are you sure there isn’t something else you haven’t told me?”

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head as I turned to gaze out of the window. “Nothing.” I decided to take Laney’s advice, even though I knew she hadn’t intended for me to stop caring, it was easier than fighting for something that was never meant to be. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

  Amelia reached over and took my hand, sandwiching it between her palms. “I’ve missed you.”

  I glanced down at her hand before my eyes snapped up to meet hers. “You’re engaged?”

  She grinned nervously before letting out a small giggle. “I didn’t want to tell you on the phone.” She held up her hand, wiggling her splayed fingers to show off the silver band topped with a square diamond.

  “You didn’t even tell me you were seeing someone. Who is it?”

  “Just some guy I met at the pub,” she shrugged as her hand dropped. “Are you upset?”

  I shook my head before rubbing my palms against my face. “I’m shocked.” When I looked over at her, I noticed the corners of her mouth tugging down. “I’m happy for you,” I reassured her as I pulled her into my arms and she sighed against my neck. “Are you happy?”

  She pulled back from my embrace, her gaze dropping between us. “As happy as I can be. I thought you would tell me I’d gone mad and say I couldn’t go through with it.”

  I let out a quiet laugh as I shook my head. “Amelia, if you aren’t happy, don’t marry him. But I can’t make that decision for you.”

  Her eyes danced over me for a moment. “So what’s her name?” She asked with a knowing smirk.

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I can te
ll when something is wrong with you, Lucas. You can’t lie to me.”

  I rolled my eyes as I leaned back against the seat, stretching out my legs as much as the cramped space would allow. “Her name is Henley, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “Why doesn’t it matter? What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I snapped defensively before shaking my head as the taxi stopped next to the curb. I paid the driver, and we stepped out into the car park, waiting for him to drive off.

  “Lucas, I should have told you –”

  “It’s your life, Amelia.”

  “No. Not about being engaged. I meant about your father. About me.”

  I shook my head as I ran my palm over the back of my neck. I’d had so much going on that I honestly haven’t even had time to sit down and process everything. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter.” She grabbed my hands in hers, her eyes pleading with me to forgive her. “You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

  I lifted my hand, ghosting my knuckles against her soft cheek. Her eyes closed momentarily before she reopened them and they glistened in the pale moonlight. “Why are you so sad?”

  She shrugged before taking a step back, and my arm fell to my side. “I just feel like I’m on the verge of losing you forever. And if I marry this guy...” Her voice trailed off as she swallowed hard. “He’s from Ireland.” She forced a smile as my gut twisted.

  “It doesn’t matter if I’m in London or America, or if you are in the middle of Ireland somewhere. I’m still always going to be a part of your life.”

  “I love you,” she blurted out.

  “I love you too.” I reached up to pull her in for a hug, but she pushed back against me.

  “No, I mean,” she cleared her throat before looking around. “I mean, I am in love with you. I have been in love with you for years.”

  “Amelia,” I began to speak, but when her eyes snapped to mine, I suddenly had no words. The last thing I wanted to do is break her heart. She was the one person in the world I knew I could trust, even if she had kept an Earth-shattering secret about my father from me. In the end, it was Amelia who was standing before me. She was all I had left.

  “Please,” her eyes closed as she spoke. “I know you don’t feel the same. I should have told you about your father because... then you wouldn’t look at me like a sister. I know I screwed up. But I was so afraid you would never talk to me again, and I didn’t want to lose you.”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  HENLEY

  I blew at the loose hair that had fallen from my messy bun into my eyes as I grabbed another bottle of beer from for the couple at the booth near the front door. I gave them a wide smile as they thanked me even though I was so busy, I couldn’t even process a thought. As I spun around, time slowed, the world blurred as the image of Lucas came into focus. He was standing in the parking lot talking to someone before pulling her in for a hug. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions that washed over me like a tsunami. Why was he here?

  I wanted to run out of the back door and disappear, but I also wanted to run into his arms. My feet began to move on their own volition. I pulled open the front door and stepped out into the unusually chilly night air.

  “Lucas?” I called out, not entirely certain if he was there or just a figment of my overly exhausted imagination.

  His eyes snapped to mine as the girl he was with dropped her arms, taking a step back. She wiped away tears from her cheek as her eyes danced over me.

  “Henley,” he whispered my name and it was apparent he hadn’t expected me to be here. I wasn’t even supposed to be working tonight, and the realization hit me that he wasn’t here to see me. Was he on a date?

  “I...um... I just wanted to say sorry. I heard about your dad. I thought you went back to London.”

  “I had some things I had to take care of here.”

  “Oh.” I looked at the girl beside him. She looked like she had just stepped out of a magazine and her hair was colored like fire.

  “This is Amelia,” He spoke up when he noticed me staring.

  “Your sister?”

  “Actually,” he began as if he had something to say about her before shaking his head. “I didn’t think you worked tonight.”

  I laughed. “I wasn’t supposed to, but Swank was closed. And Milo needed an extra hand. The new owner is running some promotion or something.” It hit me that he had probably hoped he wouldn’t have run into me and it made the sinking feeling in my stomach spread.

  Harper stepped out of a car parked across the lot and began to make her way toward us. Lucas turned to face her, smiling broadly. “Are you nervous?”

  “I still don’t believe I’m going to do this,” she replied as she made her way to his side.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I looked back and forth between them. “Hey, do you know why Swank is closed today? I tried to call Alex, but he didn’t answer.”

  All three sets of eyes landed on me, but no one spoke.

  Harper stepped forward. “No one called you?” She glanced over her shoulder to Lucas before she focused on me.

  “I just got back from the airport,” Lucas replied with a shrug. “I thought Alice had handled everything.”

  “What’s going on? What happened?”

  “It was closed because of the funeral yesterday. Alex was in an accident,” she explained.

  I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp, unsuccessfully. “Oh, my God. He...? I had no idea.” Gigi’s words replayed in my mind, scolding me for being so self-absorbed lately.

  “You didn’t know about Lucas?” She asked, her eyebrows pulling together and her large brown eyes narrowing.

  “Know what?” I asked as I glanced past her to him, my eyes dropping to the cast on his arm and I wanted to reach out and touch it and ask if he was okay, but it wasn’t my place to do so. He’d went from being everything to me to a virtual stranger in the blink of an eye.

  “Harper, you should get inside. It looks like the crowd is getting rowdy.”

  She nodded and gave me a small smile before slipping inside the front door of Dive Bar.

  “What didn’t I know? And what is Harper doing here?”

  “I’m going in to grab a drink and give you two some time to talk,” Amelia spoke up before she followed after Harper.

  My eyes settled on Lucas, afraid of what else he hadn’t told me. “Lucas?”

  “Harper is here to sing. She’s actually really good she’s just been afraid to sing in front of a large crowd.”

  “Why didn’t you go home for your dad’s funeral? And why is your sister here?”

  “She’s...” he glanced up at me, his eyes searching mine before he sighed. “She’s not my sister.”

  “What?” I took a step backward before glancing over my shoulder into the crowded bar. “You lied about her?”

  “No! I didn’t –” His words cut off as he looked down at the ground.

  “Forget it. It doesn’t matter. You don’t owe me an explanation. I have to get back inside before Milo fires me.”

  Lucas grabbed my arm, stopping me from leaving. I turned back around to face him, hating how I couldn’t just force myself to walk away. “He won’t fire you. Just stay here and let me explain.”

  “You ran off with Harper,” I snapped. “I told you how I felt and we... you just left.” I folded my arms across my chest, shivering from the cold.

  “And you ran off with Rhys,” he shot back the pain evident in his eyes. We both had glared at each other before I groaned, dropping my hands to my sides.

  “It doesn’t matter. I have to go. I need this job.”

  “No, you don’t. Henley. Stay here and talk to me,” he called after me as I pulled open the door and slipped inside, making my way through the dense crowd to the bar.

  Milo was leaning over the bar and talking to Amelia and over the faint singing of Harper from the platform in the corner, I could hear Lucas call my name from be
hind me. I rolled my eyes, blinking back tears as frustration and anger overwhelmed me.

  “I’m going to take care of inventory,” I yelled to Milo as I stepped behind the bar and pushed through the door in the backroom. Seconds later the door swung open, and Lucas stepped through.

  “You can’t be back here,” I snapped at him.

  Milo was right behind Lucas. “You heard her,” Milo yelled at Lucas, the bass in his voice jolting me. “Get out.”

  “Give us a moment, mate,” Lucas shouted back at him, never taking his eyes off me.

  “I said, get your ass out of here,” Milo shot back. Lucas turned to look at him, and I knew that if I didn’t diffuse the situation, there was going to be a fight. It had been brewing between them since the moment we ate at Slice of Heaven. If there was one thing I knew about Lucas, he didn’t back down from a challenge.

  “You gonna make me leave?” Lucas asked, his eyes narrowed. I pushed myself between the two of them, my back to Milo.

  “I am. He said you should go.” My voice wavered, but I did my best to stand up against his six foot something frame, pushing up on my toes.

  “Do you want me to go, love?” He asked, and suddenly the conversation felt very intimate, and I was glad I didn’t have to look at Milo during our exchange.

  “This isn’t my place,” I replied, avoiding the question.

  “It isn’t his place anymore either,” Lucas shot back, but his voice was calm. It was more of stating a fact than an insult.

  “It’s none of your business,” Milo snapped, pressing his chest against my back as he lurched forward, throwing me slightly off balance but I recovered.

  “Actually, this is my business.” His eyes met mine before glaring over my shoulder at Milo. “She’s my business and this shithole of a bar is my business.”

  “That’s not possible. I met the owner,” Milo replied, taking a step back and finally giving me room to breathe.

  “You met my father.”

  My heart broke as I finally put two and two together. Alex was Lucas’ father.

  “The woman I’ve been talking to?” Milo asked, still trying to piece together what had happened.