I shook my head.
“I doubt that.”
“No, you are. Everyone is looking over here.”
“I’m pretty sure they are looking at you.”
She shook her head, beaming at me. She rubbed her belly.
“Ugh, why did I eat so much?”
Mason came back and handed me the to-go bag. Cassie stood up and hugged me again.
“Just in case I don’t see you again. Today, I mean. I hope to see a lot more of you.”
“That’s… so nice of you.” I was a little choked up at all the affection she was giving me. I hadn’t felt so welcomed since I was a kid. “Thank you.”
I smiled and snuck a glance at Mason. He was frowning about something, just like he usually did around me. I hurried to the back door and out into the sunshine.
Chapter Seven
Cassandra
“So?”
Mason raised his eyebrow at me.
“So what?”
I wagged a French fry at him.
“You like her.”
“Cassandra. What are you talking about?”
“Michelle. I haven’t seen you like this, well, ever.”
“Like what?”
“You watch her.”
“I watch all my employees. And the customers.”
“No. You have been watching her since I got here.”
“She’s new. I have to keep an eye on her.”
“Yeah, right. You watch her because she’s so beautiful!” Cassie laughed, holding her belly. “After all these years, all these waitresses, you fall for a girl who works in your own bar!”
“I don’t date. You know that.”
“Oh please. You look like a caveman. You want to drag her back to your den and make cavebabies.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous.” I popped a French fry in my mouth. “But true!”
“She’s a nice girl. Shy. She wouldn’t want someone like me bothering her.”
“I don’t know… she was checking you out.”
He sat up a little. Just like I thought, he was hooked.
“She was?”
“Uh huh. Now, admit that you like her.”
“I don’t know her.”
“Please, no one reads people better than you. Not even Connor. What are you reading?”
He nodded and glanced away. The serious look on his face spoke volumes. I wanted to give him a big old bear hug but I waited for his answer.
“She’s a hard worker. She seems… sad. And yes, I admit she is extremely easy on the eyes.”
“Sad?”
He nodded his head.
“She’s smart too.”
“But-”
“You asked what I was reading, that’s it. I’m not messing with a nice girl like that.”
I grumbled and stood up.
“I need the little girls room. And some air.” I wagged my finger at him. “And you need to stop lying to yourself.”
“Uh huh. Fine. Come up when you are done and we can talk.”
I saluted him.
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
I waddled to the back like an extremely overfed penguin. I peed for the tenth time since waking up and stared in the mirror.
It was finally happening. Mason liked someone. And I was thrilled about it.
I decided to take a look in the parking lot. Maybe I could see what Michelle was reading. Feed Mason some information.
And for once I was not thinking about my husband and the odd hours he’d been keeping.
I looked around until I saw it. A beat up hatchback parked as far away from the bar as humanly possible. I walked towards it with a smile on my face. I wanted to know more about the new girl.
I wanted to make sure she was good enough for Mason. My instincts said she was. But I was protective of him, and I wasn’t going to let a little thing like being eight months pregnant stop me.
I was less than five feet away when I heard it. A little girl laughing. Michelle was in the backseat with a pretty little girl. Strawberry blond. Cute little nose and wide lips.
Other than the light hair she looked just like…
Her mother.
Michelle turned to look at me in that moment. She froze, looking horrified.
I turned around and started waddling back towards the bar. I didn’t get far. I heard the car door open and footsteps running after me.
“Don’t tell him. Please.”
Michelle’s hand on my arm brought me to a stop. So did the raw pain in her voice.
“Why not?”
“I need this job.”
“Mase wouldn’t fire you for having a kid. That’s nuts. I don’t think he’d approve of leaving her in your car, though.”
“As soon as we get a place, it won’t be an issue.”
“Get a place? Where are you living?”
Her mouth was closed tight. She wasn’t talking. Well, I was going to find out one way or the other.
I glanced back to the car. The little girl was reading in the backseat, bundled up in blankets. She even had a pillow…
“You’re living in that car.”
Michelle looked miserable. Her eyes were filling up with tears.
“It’s only been a few weeks. We had to leave our last place and then I couldn’t find a job.”
I stared at her, my mind racing. Mason would flip if he knew she was living like this. And he wouldn’t want her kid out here all by herself.