“Cut it out,” she yelled at the thirsty guy who’d moved on to banging his glass on the bar. “I’ll be right there.”
“Go,” Kevin told her. “I’m just going to hang out and watch the game for a while.”
“No problem,” she said, giving him a sympathetic look before wandering down the bar to check on her customers.
She gave the glass-banging idiot a refill with a side of dirty look. A group came in and took a table in the corner, in Darcy’s section. A few regulars came in on their heels, dispersing to their usual spots, mostly at the bar.
“Boston suits at table ten,” Darcy said. A petite, quiet brunette, she was Paulie’s opposite in almost every way. And she was a great waitress with a sunny personality that made up for her total lack of interest in sports.
Paulie nodded, giving the group a once-over from behind the bar. Like other groups of businessmen from the city, they’d go one way or the other—they either wouldn’t tip for shit or it was Darcy’s lucky day. Couldn’t tell from looking at them which type they were.
Dick Beauchamp was sitting with them, though, and he wouldn’t let the staff of his favorite watering hole get stiffed. Odd to see him so early or in his suit, though. One of his companions threw back his head and laughed.
Paulie’s heart stopped.
“Oh shit.” She dropped to the floor, hiding behind the bar.
“Paulie?” Darcy must have climbed onto a stool because she peered over the bar. “You okay?”
“No,” she hissed, waving for the waitress to go away.
This wasn’t happening. Of all the sports bars in all the world, Samuel Thomas Logan the fucking Fourth had to walk into hers?
“Go away,” she barked at Kevin’s kneecaps when he walked over to investigate.
“Tell me those aren’t FBI agents hunting a tall, redheaded fugitive.”
“Of course not, dumbass.” It was worse. So much worse.
“Dick’s bringing one of them over here,” he told her. “Must want to show you off.”
“Shit.” She tried to scramble away on her hands and knees, but Dick’s face popped over the bar.
“Hey, Paulie, you hiding back there? Got somebody here I want you to meet.”
Before she could strike a hurried bargain with a higher power, Sam Logan’s face appeared next to Dick’s. She froze, as did his expression for a long moment.
He looked a lot like he had the last time she’d seen him. Because he loved being outdoors, his tanned skin set off his green eyes. He kept his dark hair clipped short because he didn’t have the time or patience to fuss with it or make salon appointments, so he simply ran a clipper over it as needed.
The suit was different, of course. The last time she saw him, he’d been wearing a tux, standing at the end of the rose-petal-strewn aisle with his best friend at his side. Their boutonnieres had been pale blush blossoms to match her bouquet. The same bouquet she dropped as she turned and fled, tripping over the long train of her wedding gown before she’d managed to gather it all in her arms and run.
His expression was similar, though. Stunned. “Paulette?”
“Paulette?” Dick echoed. “Hell, we just call her Paulie. How do you two know each other?”
“Please don’t,” she mouthed at Sam.
When he arched an eyebrow at her, she knew the gig was up and felt a pang of mourning for the awesome life she’d lived for the last five years. “How do we know each other? Very, very well, as a matter of fact.”
Dick seemed to expect him to say more, but when Sam didn’t elaborate, he laughed and slapped his shoulder. “Small world, huh?”
He could say that again. Jasper’s Bar & Grille was the last place in the world Sam Logan should have shown up. Yet there he was, looking down at her like she was a bug and he was wondering whether or not she was worth the effort of stepping on. Hopefully he’d decide she wasn’t and she could scurry away and find a dark corner to hide in.
But Dick Beauchamp wasn’t done yet. “Since you moved in just around the corner, you and Paulie will have plenty of time to catch up.”
Moved in? Around the corner? Paulie’s stomach somersaulted as she tried to push herself to her feet. If Sam was going to get revenge by spilling her secrets, she could at least try to salvage some of her dignity.
“Yes, we will.” Sam gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll be in touch.”
Paulie watched him walk back to his table, the knot in her stomach pulling tighter and tighter. She didn’t want him to be in touch. He was from her old life and there was no place for him in her new life.
Once they were alone, Kevin stepped close and leaned against the bar. “You want me to throw him out?”
Yes, she did. And she knew he’d do it, no questions asked. “No. He won’t cause any trouble.”
Not to anybody else. Only to her. There was no doubt in her mind Sam Logan was going to cause her all kinds of trouble.
***