fun.
“Caro.” Steve, looking pale, appeared at her elbow. His short buzz cut was dark with sweat. The room was warm, but not that warm. “I hate to do this to you, but my stomach’s going wonky. Feels like food poisoning. I must have eaten something bad earlier today. In any case, I gotta go home.”
She put her hand to her own tummy, which had immediately rolled in sympathy. “That’s terrible. Don’t worry about the bar. Just go home and get better.”
“Thanks. I can take your shift tomorrow if you want.”
“Only if you’re well enough. Get out of here, cowboy.” She sucked in a deep breath as Steve opened the hinged bar top and headed toward the back door. She’d counted on him to get her through this first big event, but she could manage, especially if the party started to wind down soon.
But Murphy’s Law was working against her. The minute Steve left, the band took a break and wedding guests swarmed the bar in search of drinks. Fighting down panic, she squared her shoulders and grabbed an order pad. No way could she keep all those drinks in her head.
“You handle the beer and wine. I’ll mix the drinks.”
She looked up from the order pad and discovered Logan had joined her behind the bar and was already reaching for a couple of martini glasses.
“No, you shouldn’t.” She put a hand on his shoulder—his very warm, very muscled shoulder. Instantly, that heat spread through her body. Whew. “You’re a guest. I’m sure Josie could—”
“She’s the sister of the groom. She shouldn’t have to work tonight. Besides, I want to.” He set the glasses on the counter and gave her a quick glance before picking up a bottle of vodka. “It feels great to be useful for a change.”
She couldn’t argue with that reasoning. Didn’t really want to, actually. If helping her would make him feel better about his lot in life, even for an hour or so, then she couldn’t deny him that. And she’d get the benefit of working side by side with the hottest guy in Shoshone.
“Okay, then,” she said. “But only until it slows down.”
“Right.” He picked up a martini shaker, flipped it high in the air and caught it behind his back.
Someone in the crowd whistled.
Logan winked at Caro. “You know, I’d forgotten how much I used to love this job.”
Oh, baby. He was positively delicious, and Caro was the lucky girl who got to co-bartend with him for an hour or so. She would never wish ill on anyone, but in that moment, she was really glad that Steve had ended up with food poisoning.
2
BEFORE JUMPING IN TO help Caro, Logan had spent a couple seconds weighing the pros and cons. Josie had asked him to stay away from Caro, but then again, Josie hadn’t anticipated Steve getting sick. Logan had seen the panic in Caro’s eyes when the band had stopped playing and the surge toward the bar had commenced.
Finally, deciding Josie shouldn’t have to worry about working tonight, and surely she’d rather have happy customers than obsess about Caro and Logan working together, he’d swung into action. He couldn’t pretend it was a selfless act. He’d told Caro the absolute truth—doing something useful felt fantastic.
And yeah, the idea of being Caro’s heroic savior for an hour or so was very appealing. The looks she gave him generated a sexual buzz he hadn’t felt in quite a while, and he was enjoying the hell out of that.
He promised himself that once the rush subsided, he’d retreat to the other side of the bar. Somehow, the rush never let up. Part of that could be his fault, because he hadn’t been able to resist showing off a little. Besides juggling the martini shaker, he’d built a few flaming drinks, which caused folks to order more so they could watch the process.
And damn, he was having a good time. He was also impressing the girl. He’d caught her staring a few times, although she didn’t allow herself to be distracted from her work. For two people who’d never bartended together before, they managed with a minimum of bumping into each other.
That was a good thing, because whenever he accidentally brushed up against her, he registered exactly how soft and curvy she was. That message went straight to his groin.
She also smelled of lemons, which might be her perfume or might be the lemons she’d been cutting before he took over the cocktail part of the bar duties. Whatever the reason, the scent fit her personality, which was fresh, bright, and sexy as hell.
Once in a while his knee gave him a twinge, but then he’d take his weight off his right leg and be okay again. He was grateful for that, because the party showed no signs of letting up, even after Alex and Tyler left in a shower of birdseed. One o’clock came and went. Most bars closed then, but this one was owned by the sister of the groom, and she didn’t seem ready to kick people out.
Caro slipped past him holding two brimming mugs of beer. “I’m worried about your knee,” she said.
“Don’t be.” He garnished a cosmo. “I’m fine.”
“I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Working back here is a hell of a lot easier than dancing.” He delivered the cosmo and came back with a couple dirty glasses. “Besides, I’m enjoying the company.” He probably shouldn’t have said that, but it wasn’t as if he planned to ask her out.
“Me, too.” She sent him a dazzling smile.
That made him feel good, probably too good. He wondered what she had going on in her life that kept her from dating. She seemed like someone who was worth getting to know, on many levels, but they were too busy for him to ask any questions.
Around two, the crowd finally began to thin, and Josie came to sit at the bar.
“Can I get you something?” Logan asked.
“No, thanks, but I owe you a huge debt for filling in tonight. I hope you haven’t stressed your knee.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’d forgotten you used to tend bar, but Alex reminded me after he saw you back here flipping martini shakers around.”
“I had fun.” Working in close proximity with Caro had been ninety percent of that fun, but he’d keep that fact to himself.
“I could tell. Anyway, we’re all about to head back to the ranch, and most everyone else is ready to call it a night, too. Or technically, I guess we have to call it a morning.”
Logan took stock of the remaining dirty glasses, popcorn baskets and crumpled napkins lining the bar and grouped on the tables. “It was some party, Josie.”
“It was. Alex and Tyler deserved a blowout, so I’m glad we did it up right. When you’re ready, I’ll give you a ride back, along with my slightly toasted husband.”
Logan gestured around the room. “Do we need to take care of the final cleanup?”
“We probably should, at that.” Josie straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. I
