He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He knew he was in love with her, but her saying the words to him first had caused a knee-jerk reaction of fear and flight. Knowing you’re in love with someone and actually saying the words out loud were obviously two different things.
He’d reacted badly. More than badly. He’d hurt her, and that’s the last goddamn thing he’d ever wanted to do to Chelsea.
This was why he never got involved. He wasn’t good with relationships. Hadn’t he learned that with Cathy?
He should have kept his distance from Chelsea, should have kept dating the same women he’d dated before. Kept it light and easy, with no commitments.
He’d known all along that Chelsea was a relationship and commitment type of woman, and he’d still walked into a relationship with her. He had no one to blame but himself for how this had all turned out.
He heard a knock on the door of the bar and lifted his head, saw Logan standing there, and smiled.
Great. Something to get his mind off of what a dick he was. He went and unlocked the door.
“Sorry, dude. Bar’s not open yet. You’ll have to get your beer at the liquor store.”
“Funny,” Logan said, sliding inside so Bash could shut and lock the door again.
Logan bent to pet Lou. Once she was satisfied, she wandered off.
“Damn, that dog is cute.”
“I know, right? She’s a bar favorite.”
“I imagine she is. Draws in women, too, doesn’t she?”
“She’s half my marketing right now.”
Logan laughed.
“What are you doing in town?”
“Des is flying in tonight for a visit. She’s got a short break from filming, so I’m going to the airport to pick her up.”
Bash grinned. “That’s great. I know you miss her.”
“Like crazy.”
“You want a beer?”
“I wouldn’t say no to one.”
Bash went behind the bar and grabbed two beers, popped the tops off the bottles, and came around to where Logan had pulled out a seat at one of the tables. He handed Logan’s beer to him.
“Thanks.” Logan pulled out one of the other chairs and propped his booted feet on them.
“I just wiped down those chairs,” Bash said.
“You can do it again.”
Bash shook his head. “What did you, Luke, and Reid decide about the mercantile?”
“We put in an offer to the city to buy it, so we’re waiting to hear back.”
“I think that’s a good choice. Reid could do something great with that place.”
“We’ll see.” He took a swig of the beer, then rested it in his lap. “How’s the bar?”
“Really busy. Business is picking up, and I’m looking forward to the expansion.”
“Reid told me about that. It’s a good idea.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s Chelsea?”
He was hoping Logan wouldn’t bring her up. “Not good.”
Logan frowned. “Is she sick or something?”
“No, it’s not that.” He stared at the bottle of beer. “It’s … We kind of broke up.”
“Kind of?”
“She told me she loved me. I told her someday she’d find some other guy who’d make her really happy.”
“Ouch. So you don’t love her back.”
Bash stared at the label on his beer. “Well, that’s the problem. I do love her.”
“Okay. So I don’t understand.”
He sucked in a breath and let it out. “You know my past, Logan, what I went through with Cathy.”
Logan gave him a look. “Chelsea isn’t Cathy.”
“I know that. Logically, I know that. But as soon as she said the words, I froze. I pushed her away. And hurt her badly.”
Logan took a couple of swallows of beer and didn’t say anything for a while.
“Look, Bash, relationships are hard. And sometimes we don’t do them right. Your first marriage was a mistake. I think you realized that. But is Chelsea a mistake, too?”
Bash shook his head.
“So I guess the question is, are you really willing to let her go?”
“No.” He realized right then that he hadn’t even hesitated when he answered. “I don’t want to lose her.”
“Then do whatever you have to do to fix what you broke.”
“I don’t think she’s going to give me a second chance.”
Logan laughed at him. “You’ve never been the type to be afraid of hard work. So suck it up and grovel your ass off, but make Chelsea understand that you love her.”
Bash was afraid it might already be too late.
But Logan was right. He wanted her, he’d made a huge mistake, and he needed to rectify that right now.
The problem was, he didn’t know how he was going to make that happen.
Chelsea folded and put away laundry, then cleaned her kitchen with a fury. When she was done, she picked up a book to read, but after reading the same page four times, she gave up in disgust and texted Megan. Then she took a shower, got dressed, and drove over to Megan’s. It was Saturday afternoon and she knew Megan would be baking.
Megan was always baking.
Megan opened her door and the scent of something wonderful greeted Chelsea.
“You’re just in time,” Megan said. “I just pulled muffins out of the oven.”