Erin's point of view
A few days later, I got a phone call from Raul; I still hadn't seen him in person. Even Leah tells me he hasn't been around much just lately; I guess he must be busy with his work. My only consolation is that if he's not been home, then he hasn't seen Lucy either; yes, I know what I said. I shouldn't have these feelings for a married man, but still, I don't like the woman.
My heart skips a beat when I listen to his deep voice,
"Hey Erin, I'm sorry I haven't been around so much lately. I've just been a little preoccupied at work," he says,
"It's fine, Raul. I know that you have your own business to run; I don't expect you to be here at the Star Gazer all of the time."
He pauses for a second before he says, "How is the Star Gazer doing? I've spoken to Leah, and she tells me you've been very busy?"
I smile, "It's been crazy; all of the old customers seem to have drifted back, plus a few new ones. I've never been so busy; I've also had to hire a couple of new bar staff. Which has given me a chance to bring out a new drinks menu and promote the new drinks on the website."
"Wow, it sounds like you have been busy, Erin, but then again, you've worked so hard to get the place back on its feet; you deserve it."
I blush like a schoolgirl; thank God he can't see me right now.
"Thank you, Raul, for investing in the Star Gazer. Without your investment, none of this would have been possible."
He chuckles before he replies, "You're very welcome, sweetheart. I know a good opportunity when I see one."
My excitement deflates at those words; God, I'm so attracted to this man it's frightening. His words remind me why I shouldn't get so carried away with myself. All I've ever been to Raul is an investment. He's a married man, for God's sake, with an incredibly beautiful wife. The man wouldn't look twice at someone as plain as me.
He clears his throat, "I need to ask you a favour, Erin."
"Ask away," I say.
"I wanted to ask you if I could use your upstairs room for a business meeting with one of my clients."
"Of course you can, Raul", I reply,
He waits for a second before he carries on. "The thing is, I have to shoot over to the next town, so that I might be running a little late. Do you think you could keep him entertained until I arrive? I shouldn't be delayed too long."
"Yes, that's fine, Raul; I can keep him company until you arrive."
"Thank you, Erin, you're a star; I will see you soon, sweetheart."
An hour later, I'm sitting at one of the tables going over the new drink menu when Sarah, the new bartender, points a middle-aged man in my direction,
"You must be Erin," he says as he takes my hand in his,
"Hello, you must be here to meet Raul, he sends his apologies, as he's running slightly late. Would you like a drink?"
I ask, and he nods his head as he replies, "I would love a whisky."
I order his drink from Sarah before placing it down in front of him. He doesn't offer to pay as he looks me up and down.
"I thought Raul was lying when he told me how good the place was and how pretty the bar owner was; I got to admit, girl, you are gorgeous."
I look at him, shocked, not sure where he's going with this; his eyes rove over me before he whispers,
"The Boss said you would keep me entertained, Erin…. I was initially surprised by his Offer, but now that I've seen you, I wouldn't mind taking you up on that Offer."
I frown, "What do you mean?"
He places his hand on top of mine, making me cringe as he says, "Do you have rooms upstairs? How much do you charge?"
"Excuse me?" I quickly pull my hand away. He chuckles as he says,
"Oh, come on, don't be shy; the Boss said I could ask for whatever I wanted, and he would put it on the tab….and right now, I want you."
I Jump up, "What the Fuck” before grabbing his drink out of his hands as I yell,
"Get the fuck out of my bar; I am not on offer to anyone."
He chuckles again. "Oh, come on, pretty lady, I can make you scream my name."
"Get out!" I yell as I launch the contents of the glass into his face; his shock quickly turns to anger as he says,
"Wait till the boss man hears about this; I will get him to close the place down."
Sarah comes to join me, along with a couple of my regulars, as I yell at the arrogant bastard.
"Yeah, well, you can tell the boss man he's not welcome here either and that I am not for sale."
The man gets ushered through the door; my nails dig into my palms in anger. Who does Raul think he is? Does he really believe he can hire me out to his clients just because he invested in my bar?
I make my way to the ladies' toilets, trying to keep the tears at bay; Sarah follows me. She catches me washing my face inside as I try to rain my anger in. She whispers,
"Are you okay, Erin?"
"Not really, but I will be when I get my hands on my business partner and tell him where he can shove his investment," I reply, she pulls me into a hug as she whispers.
"Jesus, who does he think he is? "I wipe my tears away as I reply.
"I don't know; I thought he was a nice guy; it shows you how wrong you can be about some people."
I dry my eyes before pulling my big girl pants up; I need to talk to Raul and give him a piece of my mind.
Grabbing my phone, I leave several messages before giving up; he's not going to reply today. Maybe he had no intention of meeting this guy here; perhaps he just wanted to see how far I would go for his investment.
Sarah catches me a little later taking a couple of painkillers; she gives me a sympathetic look as she says,
"Why don't you head home, Erin? It's not too crazy out there tonight. I can lock up."
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yes, it's no problem, and Jared will be picking me up later, so I won't be on my own."
I smile, feeling much better knowing that her boyfriend will be with her.
"I guess one night isn't going to hurt. I'm shattered, and my bloody head is killing me."
Sarah smiles. "You work too hard, Erin. Go home and put your feet up."
So that's what I do, but as I pull into my driveway, I run into Lucy heading out of hers.
She smiles and waves at me; okay, maybe I read her all wrong, and I wave back with a tired smile.
"You're home early tonight," she says.
"Yes, rough night", I reply.
"Anything you want to talk about?"
I nod, "Actually, yes, can you tell your husband that investing in the Star Gazer does not mean investing in me, and I am not and never will be part of some deal to keep his business associates happy?"
She frowns, "what do you mean?"
"I am not up for prostitution, and your husband is not my pimp."
She laughs in my face as she spits out, "That's all you are worthy of. What happened, Erin? Did the client turn you down?"
I try to remain calm as I say.
"I know you're Raul's wife, and I forgive you this time only because Raul helped me to get the bar up and running again. Please tell your husband that I will never trust him again and that I will never be for sale."
Lucy laughs as I carry on talking.
"Please tell him to contact me when he is free to discuss the termination of his investment in the Star Gazer."
"Okay, I will gladly tell him if it means you keep your hands off my husband."
She replies. A car door slams behind us, and I hear that deep voice say,
"Your husband?"
Lucy looks mortified when she sees Raul striding up the driveway, and I walk away from the pair of them before slamming my front door behind me.
I've had enough drama for one night, and I need to calm down before speaking to that asshole. Who the hell does that man think he is thinking he can whore me out to his business associates. I'm no fucking prostitute. No matter how desperate I am to save my bar, I will not be offering my services to anyone.
Raul's point of view Checking my watch, I know I'm not going to make it back to the Star Gazer in time for my business meeting with one of my subordinates, Mr Harris, and I can't get hold of either Erin or Mr Harris to let them know that I will be further delayed and there's no way I can get out of this transnational meeting, I've tried to send a quick text off to her and Mr Harris, but frustratingly I can get any signal is this building, Which means I also didn't receive one of her many missed calls, "Shit," I mutter under my breath as I check my phone; the notifications have been non-stop since I stepped out of the meeting and outside the building. Thirteen missed calls and four messages. I frown as I read the messages, "What the hell, Raul! I thought you understood the kind of business partner you were in the Stargazer?" "Seriously, you're really not going to answer my calls?" "Who the hell do you think you are?" "I AM NOT FOR SALE." The last one makes me worried; why on
Erin's point of view. It's been over an hour since Raul moved from the door; although he never knocked after I closed it, I was surprised by how long he waited. There's a timid knock on the door, and I sigh as I get up, ready to take a peep through the peephole; I know I need to talk to Raul as we will have to deal with his investment of the Star Gazer at some point, but I'm too mad to deal with him right now, I let out a sigh of relief when I see that's its Leah standing in my doorway and not her brother. I slip the bolt across before opening the door; she gives me a half smile as I ask, "What are you doing here, Leah? It's getting late, and you have school tomorrow." "Please, can I stay here tonight? I had an argument with Raul, and I don't want to go home." "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you have school, and I can't let you stay here without speaking to your brother first. And to be honest with you, Leah, I do not want to speak to him right now; your brother is not the person I t
Raul's point of view Holy shit, my head hurts, when I finally pry my eyes open, I find myself lying on the floor in the living room, "Oh, he is back in the land of the living", My wolf Dolph mutters angrily. Shit, just how much did I have to drink? "I thought I would be fine with just a couple of glasses," I say to Dolph; he laughs as he replies, "You are such an idiot, Raul. What on earth were you thinking? You know you can't tolerate alcohol the same way others can!" I sigh loudly as I reply, "She seemed so happy when we finally sorted everything out; I didn't like to say no to her." "But you know how it affects us; you're lucky we didn't expose our wolf to her, sneaking home like some thief and without Leah, what must Erin think of us? You find plenty of excuses for refusing to drink with your business partners. Why couldn't you find one for her? "Dolph says "She is our mate, Dolph, one that I cannot say no to." Dolph remains silent; he knows how hard it is to refus
Erin’s point of view I wake up early with a smile on my face. I’m glad I’ve managed to sort things over with Raul. I smile as I head for the shower, my mind wandering to the handsome man who lives next door; oh, did I say, handsome single man that lives next door? I’m certainly not sad about him not being with Lucy. That’s for sure, yeah, he is fine as fuck, and yes, he may not be interested in me, but at least he’s not with her, I just don’t like the woman, and I don’t trust her one little bit. It’s painfully apparent that she is infatuated with him, although I don’t think Raul realises it. After jumping in the shower, I add a bit of natural makeup today before styling my hair in beach waves, leaving it loose down my back. Checking the mirror, I smile back at my reflection, “Looking good, Erin,” I whisper to myself, After grabbing a quick breakfast, I head for the front door, deciding to walk today; it’s the beginning of autumn, my favourite time of the year. I love how the colo
Raul’s point of viewJesus, I wanted to kiss her so much; I’m so scared I’m going to frighten her away; what if she cannot stand the thought of me being a wolf… what if she does not want to be my Luna?She is my mate, and I already adore her, but there is so much that needs to be explained to her first,I’m trying so hard to control myself around her. The attraction I feel for her and the pull she has on me is intensifying by the second. All I want to do is love her, hold her, cherish her, and claim her, but I have to be fair to her. She is human, and as a human, I know it’s going to be a lot for her to take on, and that’s a choice she will have to make when the time is right.I eventually fall into a restless sleep, a restless sleep with dreams of my beautiful mate.……The following morning, after making myself and Leah breakfast, I laugh as I ask her what she wants to eat,“Everything…I’m starving,” she repliesThis means the full works as usual: sausage, bacon, eggs. Beans the wo
Erin’s point of viewI sigh; why is my life so complicated just lately? What with all the drama over that Snake Warren and his cheating ass fucking around with the Mafia and now a wolf? For god’s sake, what the fuck is wrong with the people in this town as if werewolves are actually real….Tonight, though my customers are convinced that they are real and that one has been seen by my back door, I laugh at old Ron as I say,“Come on, Ron, do you mean a wolf or a werewolf? We all know werewolves are not real. I think you’ve had one too many beers, buddy,” I say with a giggle,“I know what I saw yesterday. It’s a wolf-like creature and seems not from our world,” he says as I shake my head. “Can you describe that creature for me?”“I didn’t dare to look at it clearly. A wolf or a werewolf is none of my business. I just want to live safely!” he snaps.I don't know if it's true or not, but it’s too late to stop the rumours. And once again, I watch as people begin to leave my bar, too afrai
Erin's point of view I meet up with Sarah later that night in the little cafe on the corner of the high street; I know by her face it won't be good news. I buy us both a coffee before taking a seat in the corner, and she gives me a sheepish grin as she says. "I'm so sorry, Erin, but my boyfriend doesn't want me to work at the Star Gazer anymore." Honestly, I guessed it when she called me. I sigh. "It's okay, Sarah, there's no need to apologise. It isn't your fault. I understand everyone is on edge right now, what with all of these crazy rumours going around town." "I'm sorry, Erin. I love working at the Stargazer, and I enjoy working with you. I really hope it doesn't spoil our friendship." She replies with a tear in her eyes. Placing my hand on top of hers, I smile as I whisper, "Of course it won't, Sarah. I will always be your friend, and I will always be here for you." "Thank you, Erin, you are a very special lady…One of a kind. Once these silly rumours die down, I'm sure the
Erin's point of viewLater that night, I fall into bed, wondering if I will ever understand Raul. He's so hot and cold; one minute, it seems as though he is really into me, and the next, he is ignoring me. I know he feels the attraction between us, but I'm sure if he was interested in taking things any further, then he would have made a move before now. Sarah must be imagining things. Raul isn't interested in me…I eventually fall asleep. I don't think I will ever know what goes on in Raul's mind.I wake up at the crack of dawn. It's usual for me; I enjoy the early morning and love to watch the sunrise. I grab myself a coffee before taking a seat on the deck outside. There is something about the early hours that is so calming, and I sit back and relax with my coffee as the sun rises. I love this house and the open ground around it; I feel so lucky to have found it.Once the sun has risen, I head back inside. It's almost 8 a.m. now, and I'm sure Anna will be awake, especially as she fel