Free Close to You by Kate Perry

on hosting.”
    “ Event?” His frown
deepened. “Which store is this?”
    “ Crumpet. It’s a teahouse
on the other side of the street.”
    “ I know of it.” He became
silent, as though he was thinking.
    “ I may be crazy but I have
the feeling she’s behind those bad Yelp reviews as well.” She
wrinkled her nose. “I’m sure I’m overreacting.”
    “ Maybe,” he said, looking
endearingly disturbed for her.
    “ It’s just that the owner
is impossible. She drives me crazy.”
    “ Tell me about it,” he
muttered.
    “ What?” she asked, not
understanding.
    “ Nothing.” He glanced at
her. “Tonight you won’t think about her, or your café. It’s just
you and me.”
    Under other circumstances, she would
have told him that was impossible. Grounds for Thought was her
baby, and her baby was in danger. But with him, for tonight, she
could let it go. Nodding, she relaxed against the plush
seat.
    He drove expertly through the city, up
Sacramento and to Fillmore. She watched the neighborhood grow
sketchy as they crossed the invisible boundary out of Pacific
Heights. Before she could ask where they were going, he pulled into
a parking space and got out of the car.
    She followed, looking around. “Are we
going to karaoke?”
    “ No.” He glanced over at
her before returning his eyes to the road. “Do you want
to?”
    “ I just thought that was
likely, given the neighborhood we’re in. It’s either that, or we’re
going to score drugs or have bubble tea.”
    He laughed and the sound made her
smile. “None of those things are in our plans for this
evening.”
    “ Maybe next time,” she said
as he parked. She slid out, wrapping herself with her shawl against
a cold San Francisco breeze.
    “ This way.” Taking her
hand, he led her across the street and into a dark doorway lit by
one red light. He opened the door for her to enter.
    She walked in, immediately welcomed by
warm, bluesy jazz and the chatter of people enjoying
themselves.
    Treat put his hand on the small of her
back and nodded to the end of the bar. “Let’s take those
seats.”
    As distracted as she was by the heat
of his palm, he could have suggested doing a jig on the bar and she
would have considered it.
    She perched on the stool, hanging her
coat on a hook under the bar top. The music was catchy, and her
foot tapped in time with it. “I didn’t know this place was
here.”
    “ It’s fairly
new.”
    “ Treat Byrnes.”
    A towering dark man in a three-piece
suit came up to them, a broad smile lighting his face. He clapped
Treat on the shoulder and then gave him a brief man hug. “It’s been
a long time. And who did you bring me, Treat?”
    Treat grinned as he took
her arm. “I didn’t bring you anyone, but let me introduce you to my date, Eve. Eve, this
rogue is Carlton. He owns Speakeasy.”
    Eve held her hand out. “I’ve never met
a rogue before.
    “ I’m glad I’m your first.”
Carlton lifted it to his lips and kissed his own knuckles. Then he
gave her what she imagined was his signature smile before clapping
Treat on the shoulder again. “The usual?”
    “ Of course.”
    Winking at her, the man went around
the bar and signaled the bartender. After a brief discussion, the
bartender nodded and Carlton gave Treat an “okay” sign.
    “ Do you have a usual
drink?” she asked as she settled on a barstool.
    “ I usually drink whiskey,
but here it’s whatever Carlton decides to serve me.”
    “ How do you know
him?”
    “ He was a friend of my
dad’s. He owned a club in Oakland back then, and my parents used to
go there for dates, right up to the day he died.” Treat’s smile
saddened. “My dad used to say my mom was a goddess, but never more
so than when she was dancing.”
    She put her hand on his. “I’m
sorry.”
    He shook his head. “My dad lived out
loud. He’d have been the first one to scold anyone who mourned him.
The real tragedy is my mother.”
    “ How so?”
    His expression clouded, walling up