Page 34 of Barron's Second Chance
"If I could turn back time, I would. In a heartbeat." He lifted his head, meeting her gaze with a look of determination. "I'm hoping you would be willing to sit down with me one day so we can talk. I know you don't owe me anything, but I hope you'll let me apologize properly."
Speechless, she watched as he backed away slowly. "I'll leave you alone until then," he told her, turning on his heel and striding out.
What the actual fuck?
10
Two Exes Walk Into a Bar
Barronpulledintohisreserved parking spot behind The Homestead and cut the engine. It was 7 pm on a Friday, yet he was again spending it going through paperwork in his office.
He didn't need to be there, but the silence in his home was deafening. A few of his friends invited him round for a drink and to watch a rerun of a football game, but he passed. He wasn't feeling it. Wasn't feeling much of anything lately.
So this is what he did most nights. He came into The Homestead, where the dull sound of the bar and restaurant's atmosphere from his office soothed him enough to distract his thoughts from running too deep.
He snatched his phone up from the console before locking his vehicle and walking around toward the front entrance.
He had his own back access, which led to the private rooms reserved for employees and where his own private office was located. However, he liked to stroll through the main floor, scrutinizing the venue through a customer's eye to ensure that The Homestead was welcoming and grabbed your attention as soon as you walked in. First impressions were everything, and Barron knew that when a patron walked into a bar or restaurant for the first time, they drew their conclusion quickly on whether they would stay. If the vibe was negative, they usually disregarded that establishment from future visits.
There was an outdoor decking area in the front, and he was pleased to note that all the tables were taken. Though, not surprising for a summer Friday night.
As Barron walked up the wooden steps, he shook hands with a few regulars and stopped to chat with a couple of people that called out for him before continuing through the open double doors.
Most of the tables inside were also packed, with a few empty ones reserved for pre-booked customers. His staff were moving deftly around the restaurant, their hands full with drink and food orders. Luckily he had managed to procure enough staff to carry them comfortably through the busy season. They mainly consisted of high school and college-age students looking to make some extra money.
He approached the bar where Ian and Anthony were working behind, serving the waiting crowd and fulfilling table orders.
"Hey, man," Ian called out, holding his hand out for a fist bump. "You back here again?"
Barron grimaced as he watched the other man wipe down the counter in front of him. "Yeah, just have a lot of work to do lately." He held his hands up. "Not checking up on you, I swear."
Ian laughed. "You would have to leave the office to do that," he told him. "You stay in there 'til almost closing."
"Alright, so I don't have a life," he joked.
Barron jumped as a loud noise drew his attention. Tracey had stomped behind the bar and dropped an empty tray, a little rough in his opinion, on the tray stack.
She turned cold blue eyes at him; if looks could kill, he would be eviscerated by now. Ian took a step back behind her and cocked his brow at him in silent communication. Barron discreetly shook his head. The less said out loud, the better, given Tracey's attitude over the past few weeks.
The scene was silent and tense as Tracey snatched up a clean glass and held it on an angle under a beer tap. She regarded him coolly before turning off the tap, wiping down the sides of the glass, and carrying it back out of the bar area towards a waiting table.
"Phew!" Ian blew his breath out in amusement. "What did you do to piss her off?" He asked.
"Nothing," he replied.
And that's the problem. Barron had done nothing.
He didn't blame her for being upset; she had every right to be. She had been chasing after him to warm her bed again for a long time, so she had been overjoyed when he approached her out of the blue with a proposition. Throughout her shift that night, she flashed Barron sultry stares, warm smiles full of promise, and subtle caresses.
Sure, his enthusiasm had started to wane towards the end of the night, but he still had every intention of following through and taking her to bed.
And then his sweet Eden called.
Tracey had turned up at his office at the end of her shift, eager to leave and reacquaint his body with hers again.
He couldn't do it.
Not after hearing Eden's voice for the first time in years and being bombarded with a deluge of memories and emotions. Barron knew he had asked Tracey for sex to take his mind off Eden's arrival in New Haven that day.
