Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(27)

Sofia’s face turned bright red as she turned her back to the customer.

“Sorry to interrupt.” The man crossed the room and sat at one of the tables. He plucked the menu from the stand and started to read it.

I raked a hand through my hair, muttering, “Shit.”

Sofia looked over. The redness in her face was gone but her cheeks were still flushed. “Back to work?”

“In a sec.”

Her eyes drifted down my body, widening as they landed on the bulge behind my zipper. “Oh. I-I’ll just go take his order.”

“Thanks.” I nodded, closing my eyes and taking a few breaths. But it was impossible to get my dick under control with the taste of her still on my tongue.

Fuck my life. I’d just crossed a line and there was no going back.

Kissing her was the best bad idea I’d had in years. She was rich and beautiful and the type of woman who sucked men in and held them captive.

Sofia took the man’s order and came back around the bar. Without a word, she poured his beer and delivered it with a coaster and tray of peanuts.

I was still fighting to get myself back under control.

“I’m going to see if there are any more decorations.” She walked past me and down to the office.

“Fine.” I went straight for the bottle of whiskey on the back shelf, poured a shot glass full and tossed it back.

“Need me to take this to go?” the man at the table asked, grinning as he sipped his beer. “You could lock up and help her look for decorations.”

“We’re good.”

He raised his eyebrows.

I sent him a glare, making it clear that if he brought up Sofia or the situation he’d walked in on again, he wouldn’t have to leave. I’d throw him out the fucking door.

“This is the last of the decorations.” Sofia returned with another two bags of confetti and a box labeled in Chinese.

“What’s in that one?” I pointed to the box.

“Noisemakers.”

I took the box from her hands but saw that it was unopened. “How do you know it’s noisemakers?”

“Because it says so on the box.”

“You can read Chinese?”

She shrugged. “Not well, but enough. I had lessons in high school. I’m much better at Spanish because I spent a month in Barcelona after graduation. Though I haven’t used it since. Both are rusty.”

I blinked. “You speak Spanish and Chinese.”

“I don’t really speak Chinese. I haven’t since I stopped taking lessons. But I can read it well enough to get by.”

Christ. I didn’t need more turn-ons. A woman whose mind was as sharp as the bite of her fingernails was impossible to resist.

The door to the bar opened again, and this time a familiar face came walking in.

“Hey, Wayne.” I jerked up my chin.

“Dakota. Hey, Sofia. How are you two getting on?”

The man at the table choked on a peanut as he laughed.

“We’re fine,” I muttered. “Want your usual?”

“Sure.”

I poured Wayne a beer as Sofia went to sprinkle more shit on the tables we’d just have to clean up later. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d probably be the one to sweep up all that confetti.

“How are your feet holding up?” Wayne asked Sofia.

“Much better.” She kicked up a heel of the Chuck Taylors I’d seen Thea wear frequently. “These are comfortable. Though I look silly in sneakers.”

I frowned. “No, you don’t.”

Her skinny jeans and simple white V-neck tee were much more appealing than the fancy shit she’d worn the last two days. Today, she looked like she was comfortable here.

Confident. Every move was made with more surety, whether she was picking up glasses or using the soda gun. She walked around this bar like she owned the place.

It was the confidence I recognized from her siblings.

Add to that her beauty, and it was hard not to stare. For the rest of her “internship,” I’d be more focused on her than I would the bar.

“Big party tonight.” Wayne sipped his beer. “I might have to break my one-beer rule and stick around for a little bit longer.”

“You should.” Sofia adjusted a spray of stars and foil strings she’d put on one table. “It’s going to be fun.”

Her excitement was palpable, her anticipation contagious. Fuck the drinks. Screw the customers. All that mattered tonight was that Sofia had a good time.

I wanted her to leave here tonight feeling like she’d made a difference. That I couldn’t have done it without her help.

I wanted her to feel like she mattered, at least for one night.

To make that happen, I’d need to be as methodical as possible. I’d need to make sure I didn’t get too busy and shove her out of the way. So I spent the next hour doing added prep while Sofia talked to Wayne. I made us all a pizza so we could eat early, and then I closed up the kitchen.

Thankfully, Thea had learned from her mistakes the previous year. She’d tried to run both the bar and kitchen last year, and it had been chaos. This year, she’d advertised the kitchen would be closed, giving me one less thing to worry about for the night.

By seven o’clock, we were prepped and waiting. Wayne had decided to stay and was in the bathroom. Which left me and Sofia standing behind the bar as the first customers came in the door.