“God help us all,” Jude mumbled.

I just smiled. This was it. What I’d been missing all this time.

Nate Finlay

I MADE UP an excuse to stay away from the shop and not complete Octavia’s “to do” list. My excuse would run the rest of the week. To compensate for my betrayal, I unpacked her things at the new house Octavia had purchased. It was beachfront property and massive. More house than she needed, even with me visiting, because she had no friends in the area. No reason to entertain. Octavia required luxury and apparently, this was it. She wouldn’t be your typical small business owner that struggled to make ends meet.

By Friday night I was ready to have a drink and relax. I had to face the shop again. While Bliss York wasn’t there. I’d work Saturday and Sunday to get it done. But tonight, I was going out. There was a club in town that played live music, a place where locals went. I wasn’t in the mood for the touristy shit, which was most of this town.

Octavia hadn’t called to check on things. She knew I would handle anything that came up and that should make me happy. Instead, it greatly annoyed me. Didn’t women normally text or call their fiancés? Wasn’t that fucking normal procedure? When did I become so needy?

I grabbed the keys to my truck and headed out the door. I should fucking be thrilled she wasn’t clingy. Matter of fact it was one of the things that initially attracted me to her. Suddenly that was an issue?

No it wasn’t. I needed a whiskey.

The lights outside the club flashed LIVE BAY repeatedly. This was it, the rumored spot, the place I’d heard all about. I could hear the music pumping through the speakers with my truck doors shut and windows rolled up. Hell, I already liked it.

Parking was easy since the usual summer crowd was yet to arrive in masses. We needed something like this in Rosemary Beach, or we’d needed something like this. Seeing as I wasn’t settling down there I don’t guess it mattered now.

I remembered seeing this place as a kid. Bliss said it was popular. Some friends of her father owned LIVE BAY. The guy had once played here or something. I couldn’t remember the details. They had whisky and that was my only concern.

While heading towards the entrance I tried not to think about Bliss, which meant I was thinking about her. That summer. Keeping my distance had helped, I think. Truth was, after a week of avoiding her, I wanted to just tell her the truth. Be done with the whole damn thing. That seemed like the best idea.

The only problem with that was that I was afraid I’d like what I was getting to know. What was now in front of me daily. That the woman she’d become would be twice as appealing as the girl she’d been back then. I didn’t have room in my drama free life for the chaos that would create. And I wanted to keep it that way.

The band started with a cover of a Jax Stone song and I almost turned and walked out. I didn’t much care for him. Even less for the music he wrote. Then again it was only one song and I needed a fucking drink.

“Hello Nate,” the sweet familiarity of that voice rang in my ear, because I’d hid from the voice all week. I almost cursed when I turned to reply.

She was here. Of course, she was. She knew the owner. She’d told me all about it, but that was years ago. I knew she might be here. Deep down I’d thought about it. I couldn’t pretend like I hadn’t.

“Hey,” I said with a smile, that I knew didn’t reach my eyes. It was more forced than anything else, but I had to make some effort.

“I didn’t know you were still in town,” she said. “I had a question for Octavia and didn’t want to bother her. Could you stop by tomorrow? It’s a shipment that appears to be doubled.”

She was all business. No flirting. No looking at me with those sorrowful eyes wanting me to remember. She was over it. Moved on from the shock.

“Yeah, I can. What time?”

“B! Get your ass over here! Tell this sonofabitch I can drink ten tequilas and still walk a straight line!” The male voice yelled out from a table nearby. I glanced over and saw three guys. One was Eli and a couple of women I’d never seen before. They were all laughing at the man who was demanding Bliss’s confirmation of his ten-shot tequila stroll. She wouldn’t help him out. She shook her head and denied his boasting.

“I’m not doing it. You’ll have to prove it!”

The guy threw his hands into the air. “What the fuck, B! Damn baby, I thought you had my back!”

She rolled her eyes and looked at me. “I better get over there before Micah convinces Jimmy to do what he’s saying he can do. Because I happen to know the last time Jimmy tried it he slept it off in jail. See you tomorrow. Whenever. I’ll be at the shop all day.”

She didn’t wait on me to respond before heading back to the table. The guys who weren’t Eli looked older than her. The one threatening to drink ten shots couldn’t be younger than thirty. Bliss apparently ran with a mature rough crowd, which I didn’t expect from her.

One of the girls at her table had her eyes locked on me. I could feel it, but I didn’t look her way. I’d caught enough of a glimpse to know she was tall, built well, and barely dressed. This told me she liked the attention. I had no time for that.

“Bring your friend with you!” the female called out, her words slurring and finishing with pauses. She was slobbering drunk and brave.

I didn’t hear Bliss’s response, but I watched her say something to the girl. It made her frown and turn back to the group at the table and I was left alone.

The older guy put his arm around Bliss’s shoulders. She laughed loudly, closing her eyes. I hadn’t seen that in years. I then realized I missed that laugh. It hadn’t changed. It was the same.

Before they all saw me watching and inspecting I headed for the bar to get a drink, keeping my back turned safely away, pretending she wasn’t there. I was curious to see her out with friends and wanted to know about her life. Lying to myself was pointless. She lived here. Here was familiar. Bliss had her own set of friends. I wasn’t part of that and it stung. My God, I’m losing my mind.

“You know Bliss?” The bartender was an attractive female and had her large boobs barely covered by her top. She was definitely something to look at. I figured it made for good tips. I would guess she was about my age.

“She works for my fiancé,” I said, although that wasn’t how I saw her.

She nodded. “Good girl. One of the best. Your fiancé is lucky,” she responded.

“Good to know. I’m sure Octavia sensed that before she hired her for the shop.”

“Dakota! Ten shots of tequila!” The guy with Bliss yelled to her. “This thing is going down!”

The bartender sighed then spoke. “No, Jimmy it’s not. The last time you tried that shit Preston had to bail you out. Before your dad got wind and killed you.”

“Shiii-iit!” was his response. “I was younger. Now I’m grown. Why can’t y’all just forget that?”

The bartender looked at me. “He was twenty-five when it happened. Jimmy is a hell raiser, same as his brother. What can I get you?”

“Maker’s Mark,” I replied, and though I didn’t want to, I let myself glance back at the table. I didn’t see the guy called Jimmy. I saw Bliss staring right at me. She jerked her gaze away when I caught her, but the smile that touched my lips, was as genuine as the whiskey I sipped.