Hot In Here (Ashton Heights Fire # 3) by Sami Lee Page B

money,
huh?”
    “ You have no idea.” She
had to move out of her parents’ house ASAP. At first, she’d loved
having her mother fuss over her, but two weeks back in the country
and she was ready to regain her independence. “I’m saving for
bond.”
    “ We’re fully staffed
tonight.” Michelle gave one guy change and took the next customer’s
order at the same time, then started pouring the beers he’d asked
for while never losing the thread of conversation with Ally. “But
I’ll mention it to Barry. You might get a few more hours behind the
bar another night.”
    “ Brilliant, ta. I’d better
get back out and clear a few tables.”
    There were only a few
people still eating in her section, and nobody else ordering at
almost nine o’clock at night. The kitchen officially closed at
nine-thirty though, so Ally kept her eye out for new diners while
clearing the plates of those that had finished. She didn’t exactly
love waitressing, but there were worse jobs in the world. This was
good for some quick cash until she figured out what she really
wanted to do.
    It was too bad the job was
at the Sovereign of all places. She’d kept a surreptitious eye on
the front doors all night, half-expecting Blair and Leo to come
striding through them at some point. This was the regular watering
hole for the firefighters of Ashton Heights, so she knew she was
probably going to see them again if she continued working here. But
that was also the reason she’d been able to so easily get the job.
Corey’s boyfriend, Griff, knew the owner well and had put in a good
word for her. She’d been hired on the spot, whereas the other
places she’d applied had wanted her to do psychometric testing or
work for free for the first week.
    So there she was clearing
tables and praying she could get through one more night without
seeing the two guys she most wanted to avoid when the two guys she
most wanted to avoid waltzed in.
    Oh shit.
    Ally stumbled on her feet,
sending cutlery flying off the plate she was carrying. The
stainless steel clanged loudly as it collided with the hardwood
flooring. Several people turned her way, and she hastily ducked
down, ostensibly to retrieve the knife and fork. The act had the
dual purpose of keeping her out of sight.
    What if they’d seen
her? Oh shit, shit, shit. She’d told herself she could handle seeing the
stars of her hottest sexual memory again, but as it turned out she
wasn’t holding herself together well. Her heart was hammering and
her fingers shook so much she dropped the cutlery all over
again.
    “ You all right,
love?”
    The man at the table she was hiding behind
peered over the top of it at her. Ally flashed him a smile. “Oh,
sure. Just making sure I got everything.”
    “ Need some
help?”
    “ No.” Not unless you have a cloak of
invisibility on you. “I’m fine,
thanks.”
    Ally slowly got to her feet, keeping her
back to the doors just in case. She braved a glance up and saw that
Blair had made his way to the bar and Leo was headed to the back of
the pub where the pool tables were.
    Looked like they weren’t
going to order any food at least. Ally let out a sigh of relief and
headed back to the kitchen with her head tilted away from the bar
so Blair wouldn’t see her face. She called herself a pathetic idiot
as she set the plates on the counter for the dishwasher. Why was
she having so much trouble with this? It wasn’t like she’d never
run into a one-night stand again after the deed was done. She
should simply walk right up to the guys and give them the
I-vaguely-remember-you-did-we-do-it-once? look.
    The thing was, she doubted
she could pull that off with them. No way was she going to manage
an air of vague recollection about what she’d done. She’d barely
stopped thinking about it since. Whenever she closed her eyes, she
could feel Leo’s hands on her again, feel Blair’s hot breath on the
back of her neck. She remembered vividly the sensation of having
two mouths