Falling Fast
Page 13

“How’s your grandma?”
Hearing concern in his voice, I shift on my feet. “She’s okay.”
“Just okay?” he questions, pulling a glass out from under the bar and filling it with ice and Diet Coke before handing it to me. Looking at the glass then him, my stomach feels funny. I ordered a Diet Coke at lunch the other day, and he obviously remembered that.
“She thinks I’m my mom,” I blurt out to cover up the way I’m suddenly feeling off- kilter.
“What?” he utters, his brow furrowing.
Taking the glass with me, I move past him and go around to the outside of the bar, taking a seat across from him on one of the stools.
“She thinks I’m my mom. She calls me Gabriella. That was my mom’s name.”
“Baby,” he whispers, and that one word washes over me, leaving behind something that makes me feel entirely too good.
“It sucks, but I’m dealing.” I shrug, and he leans on the bar with his elbows, putting him closer.
“What do the doctors say?”
“She has an appointment tomorrow. She was diagnosed with dementia before, but I’ve been doing a lot of research, and I think she might actually have Alzheimer’s or her dementia is to the point now that she just can’t remember the past from the present.”
“I’m sorry you’re dealing with that.”
“It’s okay. I still get to spend time with her, so that makes it worth it,” I tell him, and his face softens.
Clearing my throat, I take a sip of soda then turn to look over my shoulder when the door opens, causing light to shine into the darkness of the bar behind me. Seeing it’s Lisa, my back straightens and my muscles bunch.
“Fuck me,” Colton growls, and my eyes fly to his, which are locked on Lisa. Turning on my stool, I realize as I watch her get closer that I was wrong yesterday. She’s not just beautiful; she’s perfect. She looks like she could step onto any runway in Paris and fit right in. “What are you doing here?” Colton asks, moving down the bar and out from behind it.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Not now,” he states, and if he had said those words to me in that tone, I would have run for the door, but not Lisa. She just gets closer.
“Colton, we need to talk. You can’t keep putting it off.”
“We don’t need to talk.”
“I’m still in love with you.” Her voice cracks, and my heart sinks. Sliding off my stool, I make a move to leave, wishing I had the power to just disappear into thin air.
“Gia, do not move,” he commands, and I pause mid step. “Lisa, outside now.” He points at the door then storms that way, with Lisa following in his wake. Watching them leave, I look around the empty bar then at the clock. It’s after twelve. Rose came in this morning and opened up for me, but then left saying she needed to run some errands and stop at the bank. I didn’t need her with me, because it doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to scrub toilets. But now I don’t know what to do with myself, or know when Rose will be back, or if Colton will be back at all.
Jumping in place when the door is thrown open so hard it bangs against the wall, I swallow, watching a pissed off Colton storm in. “Is everything okay?” I ask like an idiot, then watch his eyes come to me, and judging by the amount of fury in them, it’s not.
“You see that bitch, you tell me.”
“Ugh…”
“Actually, you see that bitch, you do not engage with her. You just tell me,” he clarifies, then he shakes his head and jerks his hand through his hair. “She stopped you last night when you were out walking with your grandma?” Even though it sounds like a question, it’s not; it’s a statement. She must have told him.
“She wanted to introduce herself,” I whisper lamely.
“Yeah, I bet she did.” He lets out a bark of laughter that is painful to listen to. “She’s a bitch, Gia.”
“Okay,” I agree, because I kinda already knew she was a bitch without him pointing it out to me.
“Me and her are done.”
“Okay,” I repeat, even though I’m wondering why he’s telling me that while looking at me like he is.
“Good, now grab your coat.”
“What?” I squeak.
“Grab your coat,” he says again, and figuring I don’t want to piss him off any more than he already is, I scurry to the office, grab my coat, and put it on.
He doesn’t tell me to follow him outside, but I do all the same, and when he stops at my Jeep, I stop there with him.
“The door is fixed.” He proves this by opening the door and slamming it closed.
“Thank you.”
“When summer hits, I’ve got a friend who can change out the doors and put on a soft top for you.”
“All right.” I nod, even though I’m still a little in shock by all that has happened in the last five minutes.
“I also changed the oil and checked and refilled the fluids. They were all low.” Uh, what? “You still might want to have it serviced by the dealer so they have it on record, since that kinda thing can fuck with your warranty.”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He pulls my key out of his pocket.
“Yours is in my bag,” I tell him, taking my key.
“I’ll get it later. Where’s your phone?”
“Pardon?”
“Your phone, where is it?” he repeats, so I pull my cell from the back pocket of my jeans. I don’t have a chance to hand it to him before he’s taking it from me. Then he takes my hand, separates my thumb from my fist, and holds it to the button so the phone unlocks.
“You could have asked me to do that,” I mutter, annoyed, but he ignores me as he clicks away on my cell, and then I hear his phone start ringing in his pocket.
“You have my number.” He hands me back my phone. “What do you do if Lisa stops you?” he prompts, and I start to go from annoyed to pissed, because one, he is not my man, and two, I’m a grown woman who has taken care of herself for a long-ass time. I don’t need him to do that for me, and I don’t plan on seeing Lisa again either. “Gia.”
“Colton.”
“Look, you’re new, so you don’t get—”
Snorting, I shake my head, which ends whatever he was going to say. “I might be new here, but I get it. Believe me, I totally get it. But since there is nothing for Lisa to worry about when it comes to you and me, I think I’m okay,” I tell him, heading back toward the bar and ignoring his heavy footfalls behind me.
Going inside, I walk back to the office and pick up the bucket of cleaning supplies, figuring I can disappear and clean the bathrooms again. “Leave it there.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” I snap.
“You’ve already cleaned. You don’t need to clean again just to avoid me.”
“Fine,” I grit out, dropping the bucket. Then I let out a sigh of relief when I see him look from me to the bar.
“We’ve got customers,” he states through clenched teeth, leaving the doorway.
Thank God. I go out the door with him then walk around the bar, grabbing a notepad and pen as I head toward the four men who have just taken up one of the high-top tables.
“Hi, guys,” I greet them, and they all turn to look at me, their expressions varying from interest to confusion. “What can I get you to drink?” I ask, ignoring the looks and keeping the smile on my face. I haven’t taken many orders since working here, because the people who have come in normally take a seat at the bar, and whoever is working behind it pouring drinks gets there before me.
“Four Coors Lights,” the biggest and oldest of the bunch orders for all of them.
“All right, I’ll be right back with your drinks.” I head back to the bar, trying to avoid looking at Colton, even though I can feel his eyes boring into me.
“They’re having four Coors,” I tell him, writing down the drinks on the notepad in my hand.
“Gia.”
“Yeah?” I look up stupidly, and the moment our eyes meet, my pulse kicks up from the look he’s giving me.