Chapter 1

1

"Can you put this in the system?" Rhys asked, handing Sadie a handwritten phone order.

"Sure." Sadie wiped her hands on her apron and took the ticket. While on autopilot, she tapped on the point-of-sale screen and entered the order for the cheeseburger, fries, and a slice of apple pie. Her stomach tried to eat itself as she thought of the delicious apple crumble pie that was on the menu this month. When she finally got her break, she and a slice of that pie were going to have a moment.

Chuckling to herself, Sadie squinted at the name Rhys had scribbled at the bottom and then turned abruptly toward him. "Does this say King?"

He didn't look up from the notebook he was scribbling in as he said, "Yep."

Sadie let out a gasp and then quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

Rhys glanced at her, his eyebrows raised. "I take it that means you two haven't cleared the air yet?"

Grimacing, she shook her head. A week ago, King McGrath had walked back into her life, and then when he'd realized who she was, he'd walked right back out of it. That would have been bad enough, but they'd been on stage at the brewery in front of a large crowd, singing a song for the producer she'd hoped to work with when he'd abruptly walked out. Sadie had nearly died on the spot. It wasn't as though she was an experienced entertainer. After that, her performance had been shaky, and she'd been sure she'd blown her chance at a record deal.

She'd found out a few days later that she hadn't, in fact, blown it. But if she wanted the deal, she would have to record a duet with King McGrath. Her first instinct had been to say no. And she would have after the way King had acted, but she needed the money. Her tips at the Townsend Brewery weren't going to pay for the termite damage that had nearly destroyed the foundation and porch of the house she'd inherited from her mother. It was either sing with King or sell her mom's beloved house to some investor for pennies on the dollar before it was so bad it was condemned.

There had been no question. She'd signed the contract that afternoon.

But she still hadn't talked to King. Hadn't had a chance to clear the air. To explain why she'd ghosted him a decade ago.

"Excuse me!" a shiny teenager called from across the pub. The girl was waving her arms, acting like she was stranded on a deserted island and flagging down a rescue boat.

Sadie sighed and walked over to the table where six teenagers sat, each of them nursing glasses of iced tea. She pasted a smile on her face. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes," the one who'd been waving at her said while giving her the stink eye. No doubt she thought Sadie had been ignoring them, but what did they expect? They'd sat down over two hours ago and had waved her off each time she'd come to ask if they needed anything other than refills on their iced teas.

"Shoot," Sadie said, pulling out her order pad.

"Two sides of fries with ranch and extra ketchup," the shiny one said.

Sadie repeated her order and then looked at the brunette next to her. "And you?"

"Oh, nothing," she said brightly. "We're sharing the fries."

"Two orders of fries for all of you. That's it?"

"Oh, we need refills," the shiny girl said, adding a bite to her tone.

"Right. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Sadie heard snickering as she left the table and wondered how, at twenty-seven, she'd become so uncool with the teenage crowd. Clearly she was already over the hill.

After she refilled the girls' tea and brought them their fries, she was busy drawing beer from a tap when she heard, "Order up!"

King's order was sitting under the warming lights, and she quickly boxed it up, adding extra condiments. Then she put the entire thing in the warming oven and waited impatiently for King to come for his lunch.

What should she say? Should she start with an apology and then try to explain what happened that summer all those years ago? But how could she when she didn't quite understand it herself? She slumped against the bar, praying that once the shock had worn off that King wasn't so angry anymore. That he could let the past go so they could move forward with their collaboration.

The door swung open and in walked King McGrath, the dark-haired man with thick curls. The kind that made her want to run her fingers through his locks.

King's gaze instantly landed on hers. His expression was almost curious, but when he suddenly scowled, she knew he hadn't put anything behind them. Suddenly she was angry, too. Neither one of them were teenagers anymore. There was no reason to hold onto a grudge. Especially when she got butterflies just from looking at the handsome man. Sadie pressed a hand to her stomach and willed herself to settle. At this rate, she'd be yelling at him while aching for one of his kisses.

That would not do. That would not do at all.

"Oh. My. God. It's King McGrath!" the shiny girl cried as she clutched her hand to her chest.

All of her friends leaped out of their chairs and started to rush toward him, screaming his name.

King's eyes widened as a look of panic claimed his gorgeous features. He took a couple of steps back and nearly fell right over the hostess stand.

"It's kismet!" one of them cried as she tried to dodge one of the tables.

"Back off, Barbie!" the brunette ordered.

The five girls started to argue, each of them talking over each other.

King glanced at Sadie and the bag she was holding but then quickly shook his head and bolted for the door.

"Wait!" the shiny one cried as she scrambled to climb onto the table. "Don't you remember me?" She took a step toward the edge and continued. "We met last summer and—oof!"

The table collapsed, and the shiny girl flailed, putting her hands out in front of her to break her fall before landing with a thud on her right side.

Everyone was silent as the front door closed with a loud click.

"Penny?" the brunette asked quietly before running over to the girl who was clutching her arm and rocking back and forth.

"Oh, shit," Rhys said softly under his breath as he hurried out from behind the bar toward Penny and the brunette.

"What the hell happened?" Clay Garrison, the manager of the pub, asked.

Sadie jumped before she turned and found her boss standing right behind her. She hadn't even heard him come in from the back. "Those girls saw King McGrath and went all Beatlemania on him. When he bolted, that one climbed on the table. It collapsed, and then she fell. Hard."

"What does she think this is? A night club?" There was disgust in his tone as he grabbed his phone and made a call. "Drew?" he said almost immediately.

Sadie knew that had to be Drew Baker, the town's sheriff, who also happened to be Clay's brother-in-law.

"We need a transport to a healer. A customer got a little out of hand, and it looks like she hurt her arm pretty badly." Clay paused for a moment. "Yeah. Okay. See you in a few."

"You called the sheriff on her?" Sadie asked incredulously. "Hasn't she been punished enough?"

"I want it on the record that she was climbing on tables. That way if she or her parents decide to sue later, we have a record," Clay said calmly. Then he looked at the bag she was still holding. "What's that?"

"King's takeout order. He barely even made it in the door before the girls ran him off."

He nodded once and then walked over to Rhys. A few seconds later, Rhys was back, taking the food from her. "I'm going to run this over to King."

"I can do it," Sadie said quickly, reaching for the food again. That would be her perfect opportunity to apologize, and then hopefully tomorrow wouldn't be so awkward in the studio.

But Rhys shook his head as he took a few steps back. "Clay is going to need you to give your statement to Drew. I'll be right back."

Sadie watched him leave and then leaned both elbows on the bar and blew out a long, frustrated breath. Why was it so hard to get just one minute with King? Then she looked at the teenagers who were gathered around Penny and decided she had other things to worry about. Like cleaning up the broken ranch and ketchup bowls. Not to mention the splintered table.

It had already been a day, and it was barely lunch. She stared at the spot where she'd last seen King, and that flutter was back in her stomach from just thinking about him. She let out a groan. What was wrong with her? Straightening, she told herself to put the singer out of her mind as she went back to work.