Worth It (Forbidden Men #6)(78)

Jerking backward until he bumped into the back counter, he merely gaped at them before he began to shake his head, denying what was going on.

For the rest of the night, he refused to leave the safety behind the bar. Women were still occasionally able to reach across and grab at him, sometimes even catching bits of his clothes and tugging him closer. But overall, he managed to nervously laugh with them and gently pry their hands away.

“Better get used to it now, Hart,” Ten advised at one point. “If you’re going to be some big f*cking rock star someday, this is going to be the norm for you.”

I was a little afraid Asher was going to vomit at that point.

Felicity was able to divert some of the women away from the bar by intercepting them and taking their orders, but a majority slipped past her to pester him. After a while, the three of us came up with a system where Ten and I dealt with customers and Asher stayed toward the back, mixing drinks.

We were halfway through the shift when another diversion arrived to help me keep some of my attention off Felicity. A tall, bulky guy approached the bar. Ten immediately went to him and talked to him for a while, but he mainly kept his curious gaze on me. Then Ten reached across the counter to slug him companionably on the shoulder before he glanced at me and waved me over.

I approached warily because I had no idea what this was about. But as soon as I was close enough, the stranger stuck out his hand. “I’m Quinn Hamilton.”

I blinked, not expecting that, before I slowly shook with him. He nodded humbly, respect glinting in his gaze.

“I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for Zoey. You saved both her and the baby. And they’re my entire life.” Emotion flooded his features. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

Uncomfortable because he was making me feel a strange kinship with him, I couldn’t look him in the eye as I nodded.

“If you ever need anything,” he went on, “I would be honored to help.”

I nodded again, but it felt really insignificant, so I added a rusty, “Yeah, okay.” Then something I really did want to know hit me. “How’re they doing?”

An immediate grin spread across his face. “They’re pulling through, both getting healthier every day. Zoey was released from the hospital the other day, and J.B. still has to stay in a bit longer. But they’re both healing.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and scrolled through it before showing me a picture of a red little baby with a wealth of dark hair, strapped to a bunch of tubes and wires.

I studied the shot a moment before looking up at the father, who had nothing but pride oozing from him. “He has your hair,” I said, remembering Zoey had been a blonde.

“Yeah, but he has Zoey’s eyes.” He turned the screen back to himself. His expression of absolute awe caught me hard in the chest. Once upon a time I’d dreamed of one day looking down at a baby and seeing both mine and his mother’s features mixed together in one perfect little human we had created.

Glancing around for Felicity, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I found her right there, approaching Quinn from the back.

“Hey, daddy,” she said, catching hold of his shoulder. “Are you showing off baby pictures without letting me see any?”

Quinn readily let her scroll through all he had. Her smile grew as he updated her with both Zoey and the baby’s situations, then he thanked her for stopping by the hospital and giving them gifts. I tried not to stare as they chatted, but it was hard not to ache and wonder about the woman she’d become.

She seemed so familiar and friendly with everyone who worked here. The girl I’d once known had been more of a loner, feeling awkward around everyone but me. It made me relieved as much as it depressed me. I was grateful she’d found friends and a place to belong, but at the same time, it stung to realize she didn’t need me any longer. She’d bloomed into the perfect woman all on her own.

“Quinn!” Asher bounded forward, finally catching sight of him. “Man, I will pay you five hundred dollars to take on the rest of this shift for me.”

Quinn winced and shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t. I’m going back to the hospital to sit with Zoey and the baby. I only dropped in after a change of clothes to thank Knox.”

When he motioned to me, Felicity turned her gaze my way.

“I’ll sit with them,” Asher offered. “I’ll even sing lullabies and all that shit. Please, man.”

Even though he was regretful, Quinn wouldn’t budge, wanting to be with his family. I didn’t blame him. If I were him, it’s where I would’ve been too.

He thanked me again, this time for taking up the slack for all the shifts he was missing out on, and then he was gone.

Felicity lingered at the counter, still watching me. “I heard about your heroics with Zoey. That was pretty nice of you.”

I shrugged and grabbed a nearby rag to wipe away some beer that had spilled on the counter. I wanted to look at her more than I wanted my next breath, and yet I was too afraid to do so.

“I didn’t have anything else going on at the time,” I finally mumbled and turned away. But I felt her still watching me.

I hated this. I didn’t know what to do about her in my life again. I craved every little second I got to see her, but I knew I should stay away. It was torment, the two cravings rivaling and constantly churning in me, playing tug-of-war between what my heart wanted and what I knew was best.