Malcolm looked at the money, picked it up, and shoved it in his pocket. “Sure.”
He didn’t seem in the least disappointed. Probably because Harriet’s ass was nowhere near as curvaceous as her friend’s, and in the breast department, she was somewhat lacking. Not totally flat chested. She happened to like her B cups, thank you very much! But she certainly didn’t possess the double Ds her friend sported.
The hassled waitress appeared with a plate loaded with steak and fries. As she placed it in front of Malcolm, Harriet held up her appetizer. “Um, would you mind boxing this for me? I’ll wait at the bar for it.”
By then, Malcolm was working his way through his entree and didn’t even seem to notice her as she hurried away from the table. When the waitress appeared with her food boxed up, Harriet handed her ten dollars for her trouble. She doubted Malcolm would tip well, if at all. Then she snatched up her food and headed back to the car.
On the drive to her apartment, she cursed Tashia for subjecting her to Malcolm. What a total waste of time! She’d spent thirty minutes on her makeup, agonized over her outfit choice, and for what? A buffoon who thought it was fine to discuss his hookup with her friend, or an idiot who thought it was cool to order for her, what’s more, an obnoxious fool who couldn’t even wait five minutes for her to arrive before ordering and starting his meal!
When she reached her place, she parked, and then found she had a dilemma. Damn it, the girls all knew she was going on that date, and they were all going to be at Jackson’s tonight. She couldn’t possibly walk back into the bar before nine o’clock. If she did, she’d have to relay the whole sorry date to them all. Besides, the way she was feeling right now, she might have a problem keeping her hands from going around Tashia’s neck for setting her up with that moron.
The only trouble was there was only one way for her to reach the apartment she shared with Logan above the bar, and that was to walk through Jackson’s and take the stairs from the main saloon.
She looked at the to-go box and sighed. She was starving, and the food had looked really good even if she hadn’t been allowed to choose it herself. Turning around, she crossed the road and went into the small park opposite Jackson’s Bar. Sitting on a bench, she pulled out the Styrofoam container and ate the fried calamari with her fingers. Mmm, this was pretty good. At least that was something. Perhaps, her evening wasn’t so disastrous after all.
5 Logan
Logan had rung the bell for last orders ten minutes ago, and the place was almost empty, except for a few stragglers. Just as he went to bolt the door to the bar, there was a knock, and he heard Harriet call to him. He pulled it open, a little disheartened that she was home so late after her date. Huh, must have gone well, damn it.
“Hey, you’re out late. The girls staggered home five minutes ago.”
She looked at the floor, her expression a little sheepish. “Yeah, I know, I watched them leave.”
He held the door open, and she stepped inside. Logan couldn’t help but notice the sag in her shoulders. “You look like you need a drink.”
She hesitated for a moment. “No, it’s okay, you’re closed.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I was going to have one after I cleaned up, anyway.” Still she hesitated. “Aw, come on, keep me company. I’ll make you a hot chocolate if you don’t feel like drinking.”
She smiled up at him, and Logan noticed the sadness in her eyes.
“On second thought, give me five minutes to throw out those guys over there, then I’ll open a bottle of wine and you can tell me what happened.”
“Thanks, Logan, you’re a good friend.”
Ouch. That hurt. But he went with it. “Five minutes, ten tops. Go take a seat at the bar.”
She chewed on her lip, and Logan wondered if her date had got as far as kissing her tonight. His stomach knotted at the thought, and he dismissed it. Harriet was a grown woman. If she wanted to kiss someone, it was none of his business.
“Thanks, a glass of wine is definitely what I need. You sure you don’t mind, Logan?”
“Be my pleasure. Now, just let me see that group out.” He winked at her, and left her to get settled while he collected up a couple of glasses on his way to the last occupied table. “C’mon, guys, haven’t you got homes to go to?” The three patrons downed the dregs of their drinks, and he followed them all the way to the door.
He grabbed a tray full of glasses from the remaining tables and headed back to the bar where Harriet was pulling apart a paper coaster.
“Huh, what did that coaster ever do to you?” He took it from her and dropped the shreds into the trash. “Okay, red or white?”
She grinned at him, and her expression seemed to suggest a load had been lifted from her shoulders. She opened her purse and put her hand inside, but Logan covered it. “It’s on me.”
“You’re awesome, do you know that?”
He reached up, selecting two wine glasses. “So, what would you like?”
“Red. The Malbec.”
He already had the bottle in his hand because he knew it was her favorite. He uncorked it and poured them both a large measure. The burgundy liquid almost reached the top of the oversized glasses.
“Whoa.” Harriet laughed as she saw the filled glass. “Anyone would think you wanted to get me drunk.”
“You look
