Page 29 of The Perfect Melody

His question makes my head spin. He’s acting like this is no big deal—itshouldn’tbe—but when was the last time someone asked me what I wanted? WhatIwas comfortable with instead of asking my team and assuming their answers would align with my preferences, which was rarely the case. Even Ant, as wonderful as he is, has to take charge when it comes to my safety. He at least does his best to go with what I want, but at the end of the day he’s my bodyguard first and my friend second. My throat grows thick with emotion.Who knew the grumpy giant was capable of being thoughtful? “Medium, please.”

He nods. “I’ll bring you a few t-shirts and an apron from the back. Sit down and have some lunch if there’s any left.”

Aaand he ruined it.

A few people have already finished eating and are migrating over to one of the pool tables as I step out from behind the bar. Mei waves me over to sit in the newly vacated spot beside her when I approach the table. “Here, I saved you some,” she says, handing me a plate of food. “I don’t know what you like, so I grabbed a bit of everything.”

“I see that.” Grateful, I accept the mountain of food. “Thank you, really.”

“You’re welcome. Did you get your till training squared away?”

I’m about to reply when Molly butts into our conversation, leaning around Mei to address me. “Why were you talking to Austin?”

“He wanted to test me on the till and find out my size so he could get my uniform.”

She gives me a quick once-over before meeting my gaze. “Small, I assume?” she asks while pointedly glancing back down at my boobs.

Bitch. Pretending not to understand the jab, I keep my face blank as I reply, “Nope, I prefer a looser fit.” Done with whatever this conversation is, I gather a forkful of mixed greens in garlic and herb butter and shovel them into my mouth.

Mei snorts and angles her body so it creates a wall between Molly and me. “Anyway,” she says, drawing out the word and rolling her brown eyes. “Your till training?”

I take a moment to finish chewing, then reply, “All sorted.”

“Good. I don’t know what’s up with Austin today. He’s usually a great boss, but that was kind of harsh.”

“You worked here before the renovation?”

“Yeah. Believe me, all this was long overdue,” she replies, gesturing to our surroundings. “So, what’s the deal between you and the boss man?”

“I take it you’ve heard about what happened to the outdoor seating?”

“Of course, it’s all over town. Some idiot tourist crashed into the—” Her eyes bug out. “Oh my God.You’rethe idiot tourist?” She winces, likely assuming I’ll take offence at being called an idiot, but I shrug it off.

“Guilty as charged. It was an accident. There was a cat, I swerved, then aquaplaned, but yeah, I’m the one who trashed the place.”

“So that’s why he’s being so… I was going to say blunt but, now I think about it, he’s always been a man of few words—they’re just normally not so growly.”

I snort. “Hopefully he’ll forget about me once the garden’s fixed up.”

“And that’s all there is to the story?”

My left eyebrow arches. “Isn’t that enough?”

She tilts her head from side to side, her long bob swaying with the movement. The light catches the sleek strands, making me realise her hair is actually a blue-black instead of what, given her inky brows, I’m assuming would be naturally black hair. “The accident explains why he’s grumpier than usual. It doesn’t explain why he can barely take his eyes off you.”

“Yeah, right.”

She holds up her palms. “I’m serious.”

“Don’t confuse glaring with whatever’s going through your head right now. That man hates me and honestly, he’s not my favourite person today either.” It might be my fault for lying—turns out Bailey and Liam were right to be worried—but I’m still embarrassed Austin called me out in front of everyone for being crap.

“Fine, fine.” She takes a sip of water, then asks, “Wait, if you’re working here, does that mean the Pine Grove gossip train got it wrong and you’renota tourist? Have you moved here?”

“I’m a tourist, but I’ll be in town for a while.” My shoulders slump. “Longer now that I have car repairs to pay for.”

“Ouch. Did you take it to Gem’s?”

“Yeah. She’s going to tow it over to The Dragonfly for me until I can um, afford to get it fixed. What about you? You said you worked here before—does that mean you’re a local?”