“I missed you too,” he admitted, resting his forehead against hers. “I think I can handle an early dinner. What are you in the mood for?”
She gave him a sexy smile and hoped they were on the same wavelength. Maybe if they went back to his place–even for a quickie–she could convince him not to come back here tonight and call in sick or something.
“Food,” he murmured, kissing her.
So much for being a seductress…
“In that case, how about some…”
The sound of a loud crash in the kitchen made them both jump, and Levi immediately turned and excused himself.
With a sigh, Willow rested her arms on the bar and looked around. There were just a handful of people here to eat and she was the only one sitting at the bar.
“Hey, Willow! How’s it going?”
“Hey, Anthony!” She sat up and smiled. “What happened back there?”
Groaning, he explained, “Dex. Dex is what happened back there. I swear, that guy is a damn mess. I don’t know why Levi keeps him. I mean, I’m all for giving people second chances, but this is like his eighteenth. Levi’s losing money hand over fist because of this. He’s had to restock most of the dishes and glasses. It’s crazy.”
Levi was losing money?
“So…uh…Levi’s in charge of hiring and firing?”
Anthony looked at her funny. “Well, yeah. He’s in charge of everything.”
She had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Swallowing hard, she said, “Because he’s the…manager?”
“Willow, Levi owns the place. He’s literally in charge of it all. And he’s a really kick-ass boss–seriously the best guy I’ve ever worked for–but he’s got a soft heart. I know it will kill him to fire Dex. But hopefully, he’ll just rip it off like a band-aid and move on. We need help in the kitchen that aren’t total klutzes.” He chuckled. “Levi’s really a softie when it comes to them. Just like his grandfather was.”
It was like she could feel the color draining from her face.
“Hey, Willow? You okay?” he asked, concerned.
“I…uh…I’m fine.”
There was yelling coming from the kitchen and Anthony excused himself, leaving Willow beyond hurt and confused.
Not that Anthony walked away, but because of the revelations.
Holy crap…the revelations.
Why would he tell my father the truth and not me?
It took all of three seconds for Anthony’s words to come back to her.
Because Levi’s a softie when it comes to klutzes.
And I am their queen.
Muttering a curse, Willow slid off the stool and walked out of the pub. There was still a lot of commotion going on in the kitchen and she really didn’t think she could handle talking to Levi right now.
And definitely not for a while.
Running out to her car, she pulled up the group text on her phone with Jen and Donna.
Willow: 9-1-1. Change of plans. Meet me at my place. And someone bring pizza.
Getting the mess in the kitchen straightened out took far longer than Levi had planned, and when he walked back out to the bar, Willow was gone. He didn’t think anything of it; figured she realized he had some stuff to deal with and he wouldn’t be able to do an early dinner. However, he firmly believed she’d be back at her usual time with the girls.
But…she didn’t.
And when he tried calling her, it went right to voicemail.
It wasn’t like her to get upset over something so trivial or without trying to talk it out with him, but obviously she was more pissed off than he realized.
Unfortunately, there was no way he could leave the pub tonight. They were shorthanded, the kitchen was a disaster, and Friday nights were notoriously busy.
Never before had he watched the clock with so much frustration, and once it hit midnight, he was shooing people out the door.
“You okay, Boss?” Anthony asked. “I mean, I get that you’re still pissed about the whole kitchen incident, but you’ve been a little short with everyone tonight.”
Raking a hand through his hair, breathe sighed. “Yeah, uh…sorry. I guess I’m distracted. Willow left and I can’t get her on the phone, so I’m worried that something’s up.”
“She seemed a little confused by what happened earlier.”
Levi immediately stopped wiping down the bar. “What do you mean?”
“It was a little weird. She couldn’t understand why you were in charge of so much around here or why you were going to have to fire Dex.”
“What? At that point, I didn’t know I was firing Dex.”
Anthony leveled him a stern look. “Dude, really? We both knew that was coming.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Why would you mention that to Willow?”
He shrugged. “She asked what happened, and we started talking, and it was like she had no idea you owned the place.”
“You told her I owned the place?” he shouted and knew how crazy he sounded.
“Well…yeah. I thought she knew. You guys have been hanging out a lot and you’re dating now, so I thought it was common knowledge.”
The string of curses was out of his mouth before he could stop them. “I need to go. Can you lock up?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Running back to his office, Levi grabbed his keys and was sprinting past the bar when Anthony called out to him. “What?”
“I’m sorry, man. Really. I had no idea she didn’t know.”
But all Levi could do was wave him off because he had more important matters to attend to.
The drive to Willow’s apartment took less than fifteen minutes and it wasn’t until he had parked the car that he realized he should have thought a little harder about this plan. He parked in front of her door and wondered just what the hell he was supposed to say. He could apologize, he could swear he’d never lie to her again, but was the damage already
