“She’s so enthusiastic about working. No wonder Vinn hired her.”
“Has Riggs mentioned her since?”
I shake my head. “We haven’t spoken about other people. It’s not her fault, even if he is going there. I’m not stupid. I know all the women who hang around the club want the President. He’s the ultimate prize. Who the hell would turn Riggs down if he came on strong?”
“Me,” says Eva bluntly. “I can’t even look at him lately. He’s an arse.”
I grin. “You have to say that because you’re my best friend.”
The second we open the doors at seven, the place is packed out. Eva steps behind the bar to give us a hand. I make a mental note to double up on staff. I don’t have a minute to myself for the first hour but it passes quickly. When I next look up to serve a waiting customer, I stutter, seeing Riggs before me. “Just water,” he says in a gravelly voice. “I’m on duty.”
I frown, getting him a bottle and placing it on the bar. “Duty?”
“I’m your new doorman baby,” he says grinning.
“Since when did you do door work?” I snap. “Did Vinn put you up to this?”
He shakes his head. “My brothers are busy tonight, so I stepped up. Plus, I wanted to be here on opening night. It’s a big night for you.”
I don’t have time for his riddles so I turn to the next customer. Riggs takes his spot at the door. Every time I look up, I see him staring at Raven and my heart breaks a little more. He could at least try and hide how he feels.
An hour before closing, there’s a break in customers. Things are slowing down and my aching feet are thankful. “Why don’t you take a break, Anna? You haven’t moved from this bar all night,” says Raven. I smile gratefully, taking her up on the offer. I’d made sure she had regular breaks, I’ve read up a lot on keeping employees happy.
I step out for some fresh air. “Opening night was a hit,” says Riggs. I nod in agreement. The only down side of the evening was watching him watch Raven. “And you’re great with the customers.”
“I’m surprised you noticed,” I mutter.
“Why didn’t you do something like this before?” he asks. “You were radiant behind that bar. I’ve never seen you look so . . . happy.”
“I should have,” I agree. “I should have made more time for me and what I wanted, instead of you and Reggie. I’m finally getting a life. That makes me happy.”
“I’m glad, Anna. I just wish you’d have told me sooner you needed something more. I would have made your dreams come true.”
I scoff. “I only wanted you, Riggs. Nothing else mattered. And look where that got me. Are you and Raven happy?” I ask, lightly.
“About that—” he begins, but a scuffle breaks out inside and we both rush to break it up.
Two guys are pushing each other and yelling. There’s a woman between them, crying and trying to break them apart. Riggs grabs the nearest guy to him and tries to drag him outside, but he puts up a fight, knocking a table of glasses over. “Come on,” I say, groaning at the shards of glass on the floor. “Just calm down.”
The guy turns at the same time as Riggs pulls him, and his arm flies up and smashes into my face. A blinding pain rips through my cheek bone and makes my eyeball feel ready to burst. “Motherfucker!” I yell, gripping my cheek. A look of rage passes over Riggs’ face and he throws the guy out into the street, following him and closing the door.
Raven puts an arm around my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I nod as she leads me back behind the bar and grabs a towel. She throws some ice into it and presses it to my cheek. “Shit, he got you good,” she mutters, examining my face.
“Can you go out there and make sure Riggs doesn’t go mental on the guy? It was an accident.” She nods and heads outside to find them. I check my watch to see it’s closing time and I’m relieved to ring the bell, letting the customers know to drink up.
It’s another ten minutes of waiting for customers to finish their drinks and leave. I follow the final couple to the door so I can lock up. I spot Riggs and Raven chatting in the car park and a stab of jealousy hits me hard. They look good together.
When the pair knock on the door to be let in, I release the latch and go back to collecting dirty glasses. Riggs stands in front of me, blocking my path. He grips my chin in his fingers and tilts my head so he can examine my face, but I pull free and step around him. “I wanna check you’re okay,” he says as I pile glasses on the bar top.
“I’m all good,” I mutter.
“I’ll stay and help you clean up. Chains is here to drive Raven home,” says Riggs.
“I’m fine by myself,” I say, coldly. “You can leave with her.”
He stares at me for a second and then begins collecting glasses. Raven appears with her coat and bag. “I enjoyed tonight,” she says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Riggs sees her out to Chains’ bike and then returns, locking the door behind him. “You really didn’t need to stay,” I mutter, loading the glasses into the dishwasher.
“Anna, you’ll never be here alone at night.”
“You’re not responsible for me anymore. I can look after myself.”
Riggs wipes down a table. “Mum was really happy you asked her to have the kids tonight. She misses them,” he says.
“It’ll be weird going home to an empty house,” I say. I’ll need a lot of childcare help doing this job.
“You’re the manager. You can make
