I sprayed the table with a little more force than necessary, scrubbing the wood surface as if I could clear away all my problems along with the bar grime. “I just didn’t sleep very well last night.” That was true, but it was more that my emotional unburdening with Kenna and Caelyn had stayed with me. And not just in the redness of my eyes. It had taken root deep in my chest as if I’d lost something profound. But that something had never been mine to begin with.

“This have anything to do with a certain boss of ours?” Darlene arched an eyebrow.

I bristled at the word boss. Ford hadn’t pulled rank on me or any of the other staff, and I didn’t think of him that way. But it still frustrated me that he had the trump card in his back pocket if he ever wanted to use it. “No.” Lies, lies, lies.

Darlene chuckled. “Sure, Bell.”

“Do you want bathroom duty today?”

Darlene held up her hands in defeat. “I’m just saying, you could do worse. And the way he was eyeing you last night… Girl, sign me up for that any night of the week.”

I scrubbed an invisible spot on the table. “He’s all yours.”

“No, honey. He’s all yours.”

But Ford wasn’t mine. All of these people were mistaking his overprotective big-brother routine for jealousy or interest. It only hurt more to know how wrong they were.

Boots sounded on the cement of the back hallway, and Darlene waggled her brows at me. I glared at her and then went back to cleaning the spots on the table only I could see. “I brought coffee and baked goods.”

Just the low timbre of Ford’s voice had those danged butterflies taking flight in my belly. It was as if the vibrations from his words crossed the room and skittered over my skin in a physical caress. Freaking great. I needed to get a grip.

“You know the way to my heart.” Darlene abandoned me and went straight for the treats and the hot guy. Traitor.

“What about you, Trouble? Got room for a snickerdoodle muffin in your life?”

The man played dirty. His sexy morning voice and my nickname? Lethal. I cleared my throat. “I’ll be over in a minute. I just want to finish this.”

A few seconds later, I felt heat at my back. Too close. “I’m pretty sure that table was clean twenty passes ago.”

“Can’t be too careful about germs.” My voice cracked halfway through, and I grimaced.

Ford plucked the spray bottle and rag from my hand, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. “Go get your breakfast. Can’t have you fainting on me now.” He straightened, and with a wink, strode off in the direction of the closet where we housed the cleaning supplies.