I Just Want You(26)

He nods, takes a sip of tea, and then places a breadstick on his plate. "They did."

I take another bite. He watches me. I grab my napkin, wipe my face, and then take a peek. Nothing. "What?" I ask, paranoid.

"You're sexy as fuck when you eat."

"I don't even know how to respond to that. You're my boss." I'm not sure who I'm reminding at this point, him or me.

"Doesn't matter."

"Crew."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're sexy as fuck."

I don't miss that he left off "when you eat" that time. I look down, trying to hide the blush that covers my cheeks.

"That." I look up from under my lashes at him and he's waving his fork at me. "Sexy," he says. "The way your skin pinks. . . ."

Oh my God!

"Here you go. Careful, it's hot." The waitress sets the pizza in the middle of our table. "I'll be right back with some refills. Y'all need anything else?"

"No," Crew replies, his eyes still locked on mine.

"Looks good." I serve myself a piece and then hand the spatula to him. "Here you go," I say, as chipper and unaffected as I possibly can.

He takes it, his fingers brushing over mine. I swear from the smirk he's wearing that he did it on purpose. I let go and resume eating.

"When's your last day at Coffee House?" he asks.

I swallow my bite of pizza. "I actually meant to tell you. One of the girls wanted the hours, so this is my last week." I don't know if he can sense my unease, but the rest of the meal the conversation is focused on the club and what's to come. I'm grateful that the topic remains neutral. Work I can discuss.

"Can I get you all any dessert?" the waitress asks.

Crew looks to me. "No, thank you." I push my plate away. I've already eaten too much.

"Just the check," he tells her.

"All right, you all have a great night." She lays the check on the table.

I reach into my purse and pull out my wallet.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks.

"Getting some money."

"Put it away." He shakes his head.

"You don't have to buy me dinner, Crew."

"No way you're paying when you're with me, for anything. Put it away." He stands, grabs the check and stalks off toward the register.

I do as he says and put my wallet away. I know there's no amount of arguing that's going to change his mind. I reach the register just as Crew finishes up. He places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to his truck.

"Thank you for dinner," I say once we're on the road. If I weren't looking at him I would have missed his nod, acknowledging me. We make idle chitchat about nothing of importance. I even bring up the weather. Lame, I know, but the silence gives me too much time to think. Time to analyze and replay his words from dinner. Talking about the weather is a much better option at this point.




 

 

"You don't have to come in tomorrow. There's not a lot going on right now. Next week the furniture is supposed to be delivered, and I have a supplier coming in so we can pick the mugs and all that for the bar area. I'll also need you to start files on the staff we've hired so far, process background checks, and I'm sure a bunch of other shit I have no clue about."

I smile at him. "I've got you covered. That's what you hired me for. If you change your mind about tomorrow, let me know."

"I won't. Enjoy your weekend. I'll see you Monday at nine."

"You got it, boss," I say, climbing out of the truck.

"Crew," I hear him correct me before I shut the door.

I wave and turn to head toward my car. "Wait!" Crew quickly catches up with me with his long stride. "I'll walk you."

"It's like twenty feet," I tell him.

"I'll walk you," he repeats.

Again, I don't bother to argue, letting him have his way. I hit the remote to unlock my car and he pulls open the door. "Have a good weekend."

"You too, Berklee." He waits until I'm buckled in before shutting my door and tapping on the roof three times.

I drive away without looking back to see if he's watching me. My mind is already coming up with ideas. Ideas that I need to shut down.





ROLLING OVER, I look at the clock. Just after six and I'm wide awake. I told my parents I would be at their place around nine. Dad wants some help finishing up the deck he's building, and Mom, of course, insisted that she make breakfast.

It's been a couple of weeks since I've seen them. I've let the club consume me. Like Berklee, I told Zane to take yesterday off as well. I tracked some deliveries, returned some e-mails and spent the rest of the day and night looking through the new website and sending off changes to the designer. We messaged back and forth until close to one this morning.