Almost by rote, Avery filled the chilled glass, but as Rowdy smiled at the woman, she couldn’t seem to do anything but stare.
The jealousy was so red-hot, Avery couldn’t even breathe.
Cannon nudged her. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’ll kill him.”
“Him being Rowdy, I take it? I mean, that’s the guy you’re killing with that laser-like glare, right?”
She gave one sharp nod.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you take a break?” Cannon pried her hand off the beer mug and handed it over to the disgruntled customer. “I’ll take care of things here.”
“No.”
Cannon gave an exaggerated sigh and a pitying shake of his head. “You’re only showing him how much it bothers you. While I don’t know you well, I sort of took you for the type with a lot of pride.”
Yes, where was her pride? She needed to find it and fast. It took a lot of inner struggling, but Avery finally got her gaze off Rowdy and the other woman. She put a hand to her forehead and concentrated on collecting her wild emotions.
“Hey.” Cannon tipped up her chin. “I think Rowdy’s fighting his own demons tonight. Don’t take any of that shit too seriously, okay?”
“So you don’t want me to kill him?”
His fingers still under her chin, Cannon grinned. “I get the feeling he’s already suffering, you know?”
Yes, she did know. But if he went off with that woman...
Out of nowhere, Rowdy shoved between them. “Avery, take your break. Cannon, you can go help Jones finish up in the kitchen.”
More amused than ever, Cannon said, “Sure thing, boss.” And off he went.
Rowdy didn’t look at her, but his presence was so big that all he had to do was get near to make her aware of him in every pore. She wanted to ask him if his back was okay. She wanted to hug him, and she wanted to smack him.
Avery searched the room and found the redhead seated at a table. So she was still out there...waiting on Rowdy?
Over her dead body.
“Go on,” he said.
Instead of leaving for her break, she glared at Rowdy. “What is she doing here?”
“It’s a free country, Ave. She can go wherever she wants.”
Ave again. Lowering her voice, she demanded, “Are you taking her to your office?”
“Why? You want to watch again?”
That low blow actually took her back a step. Lips parted, breathing shallow, she wondered how quickly she could get out of there.
Except, this time, she didn’t want to run. This wasn’t like with Fisher. This hurt so much more.
Rowdy glanced at her, then cursed low. “No.”
She didn’t understand.
He reached around her for a glass. When she didn’t move, he paused, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Time stretched out while he stared into her eyes. He leaned in, his voice like broken glass. “No, I’m not taking her to my office. I don’t want to f**k her. I don’t even want to touch her.”
He sounded furious...at himself.
Tension ebbed away, leaving her wilted. “Okay.” The wild thumping of her heart calmed. The invisible fist squeezing her throat eased up. She almost said thank you, but that’d be too absurd.
She touched his arm, stroking over his thick wrist once, then she darted away. They needed to talk, but she had to regroup first. If she tried it now, she’d end up making declarations that Rowdy didn’t want to hear, and that would make matters worse.
She was in the break room swilling coffee when the storm started. Rain came down in earnest, sending sheets of rain against the windows. The lights flickered and thunder rattled the floor beneath her feet.
Wow. She finished up her break and went back to the floor. Some of the guests stood near the windows looking out. Overall, the storm chased people away—including the redhead, blonde and brunette! With the low crowd, the rest of the night was easy, but as dismal and tumultuous as her thoughts.
The lights flickered a few more times but stayed on. Rowdy had flashlights near the bar, and of course emergency lights were installed. Still, Avery was very glad to call it a night.
When the last customer was gone and Rowdy had locked up, she knew she had to confront him. It was now or never.
Coat on, nervousness chewing her up inside, Avery found him in his office. Ridiculously formal, she tapped on the door before stepping in.
Because he stood off to the side, she didn’t realize that Cannon was there, too, until she entered.
Rowdy glanced at her as he pulled on his own jacket. “Do me a favor, Cannon, and see her out to her car, okay?”
Avery froze.
Looking uneasy, Cannon pulled on his knit hat and shrugged. “Sure, I can do that.”
Get a backbone, Avery. She stepped forward. “Rowdy...”
He tossed the keys to Cannon. “Lock up on your way out.”
Avery couldn’t believe it when he went right past her and out the back door. She stood there, staring at the door, willing Rowdy to change his mind, to come back in and apologize. To say they needed to talk.
Even to argue with her.
He didn’t.
Slowly, she turned to Cannon.
He looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling. He cleared his throat. Twice. “You ready to go, honey?”
A refreshing surge of anger boiled through her. For such a long time now, Rowdy had chased her hot and heavy. He claimed to want her. Bad. But now, over a big misunderstanding, he intended to just blow her off?