“Um…I’m looking for Creek Jones. Is he working tonight?” She saw the strange look come into the man’s eyes when she asked that question, as if it were almost funny, but she had no idea why it would be an amusing question.
“Creek’s not here. But I can give him a message if you’d like.”
Violet stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Do you know what time his shift starts? I’d really like to talk to him personally, if that wouldn’t be too rude.”
The man’s hands stilled from shifting bottles around behind the bar and braced themselves wide on the top of the bar, looking at her as if he could see into her mind. She blushed at the man’s perceptive gaze, grateful for the dim lighting that hid her reaction. Realizing that she was almost cowering, she straightened her shoulders and pulled herself upright. She was a businesswoman with a good head on her shoulders. She didn’t cower for anyone, she told herself silently.
“You’re Violet, aren’t you?”
Violet jumped when he said her name, shocked that he would know of her. “How do you know my name?” she asked, worried now. Had Creek bragged to his friends about his conquest? Had they sat in this bar after closing time and laughed at how easy she was to get into bed?
No! Creek wouldn’t do that! He wasn’t that kind of a man.
Of course, she’d also thought that they’d shared something special, something that was stronger than just a fling. She’d thought that it meant something when he made love to her. Five days ago, she would have sworn that he wouldn’t just dump her out of his life without a word or an explanation.
She’d been wrong about him already. Perhaps she was wrong about him again.
“That depends,” she replied, her chin jutting out with increasing anger. “What did Creek say about Violet?”
Tucker grinned, enjoying her spurt of anger. “Actually, he wouldn’t tell us anything about you,” he said, understanding that she was the woman who had been getting under his friend’s skin lately. “He let it slip that he was seeing a woman named Violet one night, and we didn’t see him for a while. Since you’re her and he’s a damn grouch, then I’m guessing that something happened between the two of you.”
Violet’s blue eyes shuttered with those words. Because she was wondering the same thing. Had something happened between the two of them? Had she hurt his feelings in some way? Offended him perhaps? Everything had seemed so wonderful. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d been happier.
So why had Creek broken off all communication with her? Why had he simply stopped calling her? Stopped coming over?
Violet realized that the man was waiting to hear details, but she shook her head. “My relationship with your friend is personal,” she told him, irritated that he wasn’t giving her the information that she needed. “Look, is he here or not?”
“Not,” Tucker said and set a glass down on the countertop. “But I’m guessing he’ll be here soon. How about a drink while you wait?” He didn’t slow down, but started mixing up various liquids in a shaker.
Violet looked back at the door, wishing that Creek would step into the bar right now so she could find out what she’d done wrong or if…well, whatever had happened!
She shook her head and sighed, wondering if she’d ever figure Creek out. “I don’t have time for a drink,” she told him, but the dratted man just continued mixing things, adding ice then shaking the metal container over his shoulder. He then pulled a chilled martini glass out of some place and poured the liquid in.
Violet didn’t want the drink, but she didn’t want to be rude either. So she took a sip of the liquid just to be polite.
“Not too bad,” she said, and pushed the drink back an inch, not intending to drink anymore.
“So why do you want to see Creek? What’s he done? Are you pregnant?”
She gasped and leaned back, horrified that the man would even make that kind of assumption. “No! Why would you ask something like that? Do women often come in here trying to get child support from him?” That hurt! The idea that Creek had done this to other women should be comforting, but it wasn’t. A deep, stabbing pain hit her in the vicinity of her chest and she ached with sadness. Yes, she would love to have a baby with Creek. And yes, her mind had been thinking along the lines of flowers and candles, of long, white dresses, and years with a man that made her body shiver with excitement and made her heart warm with laughter.
So it hurt more than she thought possible when this tall, handsome man suggested the idea so easily, because it indicated that she wasn’t the first woman to come stalking Creek in this place.