“You’ll never understand.” My voice was hollow. “Jenna and I had a dream to fix up the bar yeah, but she’s gone now and everything about it just reminds me of her. I want to be free of those memories.”
Her voice brightened. “Maybe it’s time to make new memories in that place. Give it a new life.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” was all I said, before storming out through the kitchen.
“Ashton!” she called after me but I tore right through the living room, out the front door and up to my truck.
When I wrenched the door open, Millie looked up at me with fear in her eyes. I didn’t say a word, just got behind the wheel and started the truck.
She knew that I knew. I wanted to explode on her. Break shit. Get all of my anger out. But instead I let things boil just below the surface as I fought for words to say. The two minutes of silence and white knuckles stretched to five which stretched to ten. I chewed nicotine gum like a madman, piercing the package and popping more into my mouth and spitting them out the window when they got old.
I hadn’t been this angry in a long time. I wanted to lash out all of that blame and anger on Millie, but I knew my Gran. She was always doing things like this, so I knew it probably wasn’t Millie’s original idea. But still, she shouldn’t have done it behind my back, especially after the amazing sex we’d shared last night.
Finally, I couldn’t bite my tongue any longer and Millie genuinely looked terrified of me. Her back was plastered against the far truck door, just staring at me as I chewed my gum like a maniac.
“Did you ask her to sell you the bar?” My voice held barely concealed rage.
She scoffed. “Of course not! I was collecting eggs and minding my business and she offered.”
“She just randomly offered to sell you my fucking bar!?” I screamed.
Millie’s fear melted into anger as she pulled herself up from the wall of the truck and coiled like a snake, pointing a finger at me. “Right after she told me you intended to sell it!”
Shit.
“That’s right. You didn’t mention the offer your real estate agent had presented over the beer and fucking we had together.”
I winced. It was because I was too busy ogling at how insanely hot she was in my boxers and no bra. “I was going to tell you.” I braced for her to rip me a new one, but she waved me off.
“People make mistakes. I get it. But you promised me Saturday. You promised me you’d give me one shot.” Her voice wavered a little. “I want to prove to you this is worth saving. This could be great.”
I didn’t think we were talking about the bar anymore, and the emotion in her voice surprised me. Why did she care about this place so much, about me so much? She’d ridden into my life like an angel or the devil—I still wasn’t sure—and flipped my whole life upside down.
I wasn’t sure that any of it was worth saving.
“Alright, Saturday,” I sighed. “I’m a man of my word. But if the cash register isn’t overflowing with hundred-dollar bills, we gotta sell.”
She held up her hands in a prayer pose. “Saturday. Thank you.”
That was three days away. I’d have to beg Darcy to ask the laundromat for that time.
What I didn’t tell Millie, or remind my Gran, was that I owned fifty-one percent of that bar with a clause to buy out the other person for twenty thousand dollars, the amount my Gran had put into it. If I had to, I’d get a loan from the bank, buy Millie out, and sell the bar behind both of their backs.
She squirmed in her seat and I glanced at her, wondering what made her so nervous.
“What?”
She swallowed hard. “You should know that in order to get people to come, I had to say … free beer.”
The truck swerved a little with my rage. “You what!”
She winced. “While supplies last.”
I snort-laughed dryly. “Oh thank goodness you put that disclaimer.”
This woman was going to kill me. A porn star in bed and the devil in business. And somehow … I still liked her. I was so fucked.
She sighed. “We needed something to draw a crowd. Trust me, free beer to get them in and music and food to make money. We can even start charging a cover.”
I’d never thought I’d be one of those places, places that charged covers.
“Men only,” I said.
“Obviously,” she agreed.
Oh lord. What had I gotten myself into?
Chapter 15
Millie
I’d never seen Ashton so mad. I mean, I knew he wasn’t going to be thrilled when he learned what his grandma did, but he was livid. It soured whatever had started between us and now things were just awkward. The one saving grace was that Julie was here and she’d brought a ton of my stuff.
“Girl, he is way hotter than I expected. That should be illegal,” she commented over my shoulder as I cooked up pancakes and omelets in the kitchen.
We’d gotten back yesterday and I told Julie everything. Like … everything. She was shocked I’d slept with him, but understood once she met him and saw how good looking he was. Today was the first day I’d introduced the new menu, and the few regulars we had were ordering up a storm.
“I know, right?” I laughed. Ashton and I had chemistry, that’s for sure, and her comment made me feel better. I was attracted to Ashton because he was hot, not because he had Colin’s heart … right?
As if he knew we were talking about him, Ashton peeked his head in the
