“If you want me. I don’t feel like I’ve done a lot to prove I can do the job.”
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and you’re a natural. Mostly, I wanted to see how you’d deal with people not being as warm and welcoming as they should be.”
She shrugged. “Nothing I can do about it. But right now they’re talking about me. If they start talkingtome, no guarantees. But I’ve never actually hit anybody, so there is that.”
“Good enough.”
“So…is there some paperwork I should fill out?”
With much grumbling, Billy eventually produced the documents she needed to fill out. While she wrote, he poured himself a soda water and leaned against the bar.
“We’ll be opening the outdoor seating soon, and then it starts getting busier. The big deck’s gonna be closed for a private event Wednesday night, though. One of the summer people wants to host a get-together to toast the opening of the season, and they’ll be up here getting their summer homes ready. It’ll be just women, I guess.”
Lucy was surprised they wouldn’t go up to the restaurant and bar at the resort hotel. She hadn’t been there, but Iris had driven her by it a lot when she was a kid, talking about how she’d stay there someday. “Okay.”
“She said something about fancy shots,” Billy grumbled. “What’s fancy about shots? You pour the booze in the shot glass and you knock it back.”
Lucy lit up so hard inside, she was surprised she wasn’t literally glowing. “I can handle the fancy shots. I know what she wants.”
He looked over at her, frowning—but in his contemplative way, not the angry way. “You do?”
“It’s kind of my thing, actually. Designing signature cocktails and shots for events.” She smiled when his eyebrows shot up. “I told you I can do mixed drinks and drafts, which I can, obviously. But my true passion is…art with alcohol, I guess you could call it?”
“Huh. And you got an idea for these women?”
“I do.” It was inspired by spending a lot of time thinking about Miami, though she didn’t want to share that and get into a whole discussion about it. “A layered shot that looks like sand, water and sky. Like the ocean, to kick off their summer weekends by the sea. I just need to know how many women.”
He nodded, looking impressed. “Ten is what she said. I charge a fee for private events on top of the bill. You take care of them for the night so I don’t have to think about them and I’ll split the fee portion with you. And you and Mattie split the tips, of course.”
“It’s a deal.”
Lucy would have done it for free, but she kept that to herself.
With her job secured, her paperwork done and a fun party where she could really show off her talents on the horizon, she sailed through the rest of the shift. She didn’t even mind the increase in whispers and furtive glances when the dinner crowd filled the place.
She couldn’t wait to get home and tell Nick.
* * *
Lucy’s first shift at the Keel seemed like a good time to finish off the second bedroom, so Nick left work early and roped Gray into leaving with him.
When they pulled into the driveway, he was slightly surprised her car wasn’t there, though. Billy Loring had a big personality, and he wasn’t sure it would vibe with Lucy’s. Also, she was going to be the center of attention, surrounded by sideways glances and whispers, and it wouldn’t have shocked him to find her on the couch, under the blankets. He’d figured there was a fifty-fifty chance she wouldn’t make it the full shift.
“It must be awkward, having a woman you barely know sleeping on the couch every night,” Gray said as he took his tools into the smaller bedroom.
“Not really. She’s easy to get along with.” He was going to say more—about how he enjoyed her company and looked forward to coming home at night to see her—but he shut his mouth.
“Glad to hear it, though I’m surprised you didn’t give her the bed and sleep on the couch. That would be a veryyouthing to do.”
“I tried, actually. But since I have a job and she didn’t, she said I needed a better night’s sleep.”
Gray nodded. “Then let’s get this room done so she can get some sleep, too.”
It took them two hours to hang the ceiling fan light and smoke detector, and then install the outlet and switch covers on the electrical boxes Gray had installed earlier in the process. After giving the room a thorough cleaning, it took them two trips to bring back the furnishings being stored in a neighbor’s barn.
His brother helped him reassemble the bed frame, which was the same maple as the rest of the furniture in the cottage. It was all heavy and possibly older than him, but a quality it would cost a fortune to replace nowadays.
“I can help you bring in the dresser and nightstand,” Gray said after checking the time on his phone. “But then I’ll have to run. Cory signed tonight and he’s looking to drown his sorrows.”