Cassidy dunked a rag in some clean soapy water and headed to the bar’s far end. The typical L-shaped bar dead-ended on the right side in a very dark corner. The lack of light served a purpose for the more amorous customers.
Cassidy had learned years ago not to look too closely at that end of the bar, especially not late into the night when the music was blaring, and the place was packed. She’d figured out how to swipe the empties with a discreetly averted face.
Whenever she closed, she was more liberal with the bleach in that corner. The wooden walls were beginning to lose their color, and the red vinyl stools over there looked faded. The floor, as well. In truth, it was the area of the bar that received the most attention when it came to being cleaned, and it wasn’t the only place where sex happened. Definitely, the two dual-toilet bathrooms were suspect.
Although the questionable corner of the Northern was well-known in town, the place wasn’t getting raided over it—maybe because Darlene took the rest of her responsibilities as a bar owner so seriously. She was extremely strict about drunk driving (for both cars and boats), so she was quick to grab keys and made sure her staff did, too.
Cassidy suspected Dar sometimes grabbed keys so men couldn’t follow women home, especially if there’d been tension between them. She used sobriety as an excuse, of course, but it made the place safer for women. It was also an insight into Dar’s past, Cassidy thought sadly.
Cassidy checked out the two college-aged girls sitting at one of the tables on their phones. They spoke to one another occasionally but were more absorbed in their phones than anything else. They’d been drinking Heineken beers as though they’d been told they had to because they were at the lake, but neither seemed to like them.
One was a blonde, and the other had light brown hair, but they were otherwise indistinguishable from the other typical temporary lake vacationers. They were impressed with their hot little bodies and bored with their surroundings. Clearly, they were here on the parental dime and biding their time until they could find someplace better.
The door swung open, spilling in the bright afternoon light. Cassidy had to look away, accustomed to the dark. It was a typical response when there wasn’t anything to buffer the glare, like customers.
Cassidy noticed the girls first when her eyes adjusted. The blonde had pried her eyes from her phone at the intrusion and was looking at the new patron. She was staring and kicking her friend beneath the table to get her attention. As the brunette scowled at the blonde, annoyed, Cassidy turned her eyes toward Mac.
But Mac wasn’t looking back. He was checking out the blonde as thoroughly as she was checking him out. His smile was bordering on pity as the two entertained a moment of eye-fucking, and Cassidy wondered if he pitied the poor thing for what he was going to do to her, or what she was going to miss out on.
“Jesus,” Cassidy whispered to herself, wondering where the thought had come from.
Mac’s attention snapped across the room to her as though he heard her, his dark brown eyes registering a moment of shock at seeing her behind the bar before he masked it. He approached, jeans and beige Henley fitting him the way clothes were supposed to fit a man.
And then it registered; what the pity had meant. The pity was for himself, not the girl. The girl was too young for him; he was intrigued, but he wasn’t going to go for her.Pity.
“Hey, neighbor,” Mac greeted, voice low, intimate, and seductive as he approached the bar.
And all she could think was that she’d seen him naked, the image of his elongated body leaning against his door frame front and center in her mind.
His expression let her know he knew what she was thinking.
Ducking her head, she narrowed her eyes as he moved onto a barstool with ease. “Neighbor,” she said back, striving for boredom in her tone. Trying to ignore her increased heart rate, she asked as casually as she could, “I assume you want something?”
He leaned his elbows on the bar, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he asked, “What have you got?”
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug to indicate her disinterest. “Whatever you’re in the mood for.”
A grin crept over his face. He gave her red dress a smoldering perusal. Cassidy looked away, annoyed, wondering how mad Darlene would be if she broke a beer bottle over the head of a customer. Surely, the woman was insured.
“You left that wide open, sweetheart,” Mac said in a low, sexy growl.
Cassidy ignored the chill running through her. She snapped, “Keep your options limited to the beverage menu.” She gave him a look of intolerance, attempting to convey his harassment wasn’t welcome. However, she didn’t feel harassed. She was flattered. Intrigued. Intrigued that it flattered her. And that bothered her. Her defenses came up. “Try to be human.”
“Modelo Negro,” Mac said.
Cassidy frowned.
Mac pointed to the mini-refrigerator behind her. “It’s a beer, darlin’.”
Pushing off the back counter, she mumbled, “My name’s Cassidy.” She walked over to the mini-fridge and knelt, removing the requested glass bottle. Moving to the bar, she picked up a bottle opener and popped the top for him. She slid the bottle over, all the while aware that he watched her every move. “Shall I start a tab for you?”
Mac answered, taking the bottle from her, “Got an account already, Day.”
“Day? What’s Day?”
He indicated her chest, the name tag there. “Cass-sid-Day. Cassie is too obvious, Sid doesn’t suit you, but Day—like a bright, new beginning—Day suits you.”
Cassidy toyed with the misspelled name tag without looking down at it. Neither she nor Darlene had ever bothered to replace it;Cassiday.She informed him, “It’s spelled wrong. There’s no ‘a’ there.”