Over Again (Baker Boy Sequel) Book 3

Chapter 3

Maedbh’s POV

Harry showed up at work every day. It made me feel on edge. What was his goal? What was he trying to do? As far as I was aware, he hadn’t seen any of his old friends since being home. He’d only seen me. The fans had taken notice of this as well. Whenever I was at the cash register, I was peppered with questions about how I knew Harry, what he was doing here, if he would come out and take pictures. I tried to be patience, but I could only handle so much. That was generally when Uncle Simon would send me into the back room and then I’d be stuck working with Harry there the rest of the time.  Harry kept trying to engage me in conversation while I worked, and as the days passed, I found myself actually responding. Then of course, he’d ruin it at the end of each day asking if I wanted to hang out. I didn’t want to hang out with this Harry. The player who’d been linked with 10 girls in the past month. I missed the old Harry, whose idea for a date had been to put on disguises so we wouldn’t be seen skipping class. Not the Harry who was seen by everyone everywhere by doing something as simple as driving down the street. Yet, at the same time, a part of my mind was linking his coming into the store every day with his making those videos for me.

“No Harry yet?” Mary asks, a trace of confusion in her voice as she glances into the back room. I shake my head, glancing at the clock. It was almost 4 already and he hadn’t appeared. A shot of disappointment rushes through me again. I’d glanced at the clock probably 20 times in the last hour, wondering if he would show up. Maybe he’d finally given up, figuring I wasn’t going to be another girl he could add to his list of conquests.

“Is Harry here?” a girl asks hopefully as she approaches the counter.

“No” I snap, releasing some of my own disappointment onto her.

“Hey be nice to our customers” Harry says appearing from the back room. My eyes widen in shock and I can’t help the pleased smile that appears on my face. “Sorry I’m late. I know you missed me” he jokes with a wink. I roll my eyes, trying to stifle the smile.

“Whatever you say Styles” I respond, ducking my head slightly and stepping away from him as I see cameras begin to flash. “Why don’t you make yourself useful. You still know how to run the register right?” I ask teasingly, grabbing an extra apron from the closet and tossing it at him. He laughs but nods his head and ties the strings behind his back. I quickly stifle the look of shock. I hadn’t actually expected him to do it. I could tell the fans were going to love it though. And it would probably cause things to sell out quickly meaning I’d be able to leave early. Just as I predicted, the fans were scrambling towards the register as if they were trapped on a desert island and Harry was the last glass of water. Harry’s eyes widen at the crowd of people but he jumps into action, bagging the food and ringing up the prices.

“What no tip?” he jokes, jiggling the small tip jar besides the register. It’s quickly stuffed with cash and I can’t help but be amazed at how quickly they threw their money at him. Like it wasn’t enough they bought tickets, clothing, and other merchandise. They were just going to give him straight cash also. In less than 10 minutes, all the food is gone and the tip jar is overflowing. Harry slips out from behind the counter to take pictures with fans while I clean up. Another twenty minutes and Harry has to step into the back so we can convince the fans to leave.

“Clear” I call, pulling down the blinds after the last customer leaves. Harry emerges from the back, untying his apron.

“So what have you been doing all day?” I ask curiously. Harry raises an eyebrow, giving me an amused smile.

“Went and saw the boys from White Eskimo. Why? Miss me?” he asks with a smile.

“No” I retort, trying to untie my apron, but somehow knotting it. “Shit.”

“Here, let me” he says, coming up behind me. I feel his fingers brush the small of my back as he works the knot and I can’t stop the heat rising to my cheeks. “There” he says after a moment, the apron coming loose.

“Thanks” I mutter, pulling it off and stowing it in the closet. When I turn around again, I see Harry picking up the tip jar, looking inside.

“Wow” he says, “They put their number on the money” he adds with a grin, pulling out some money with someone’s phone number on it. I chuckle, plucking the jar out of his hand and emptying the money into mine.

“Too bad it’s going in my pocket” I joke, slipping the money into my pants pocket.

“Hey, they were tipping me” he teases reaching for my pocket. I slap his hand away with a laugh.

“Like you’d even notice a couple pounds missing with all your millions” I joke.

“So you got plans tonight?” he asks, sliding his hands into his pockets and rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Yep” I lie.

“You lying?” he asks.

“Yep” I say with a grin. He just laughs, shaking his head. “I’m not working tomorrow by the way,” I tell him on the off chance he cared.

“I know,” he says with a wink, surprising me.

“What?”

“Your uncle gave me your schedule,” he tells me with a cheeky grin.

“Why?”

“Because I asked” I roll my eyes, my mouth twitching up in a smile. “So what’s your plans for tomorrow?” he asks.

“I was thinking about taking Caellum to the zoo” I tell him. His eyes brighten when I mention Caellum’s name.

“That sounds like a lot of fun. I miss that kid”

“He misses you too,” I say with a nod. “He kept asking if you were going to come visit.” Harry nods his head, shifting uncomfortably, not sure what to say. I hesitate a moment, watching him.

“Would you want to come?” I ask after a moment. He looks up at me, shock reflected in his eyes.

“Really?” he asks and I nod my head. Calleum missed him. A wide smile stretches across his face and he nods his head. “Yea, that sounds great”

“Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow Harry.”

“See you tomorrow Maedbh” he says as I slip out the back door.

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Kinda short but that's ok, the next chapter should be longer.