Beautiful Disaster

Part Twelve

"Hey, Izzy."

Izzy looked up as soon as she finished tying her apron behind her waist. She was standing in front of Night Light's bar and adjusting her uniform before she delivered another round of sodas to the students sitting near the stage. She had a smile on her face despite the events of the previous day.

She didn't want to think or speak about her gunman again, determined to keep all that had happened a secret from the rest of Towdee. In truth, she'd almost forgotten about the whole incident. That was until she saw the expression on Mikey's face.

Her boss had a towel over his shoulder and the most unforgiving look she'd ever seen in a long time.

A chill ran down her spine as she thought that something must have happened outside. Had Hugh found someone or something that would become a threat to her? Had he alerted Mikey to that threat so that he could warn her?

"What is it, boss?" she asked nervously.

Mikey looked towards the entrance of the pub and eyed something over there with malice. "Don't look now, but some vermin just walked through the door."

Izzy turned her head—and almost erupted with outrage when she saw who Mikey was talking about. "I can't believe it! What's he doing here?"

"Beats me."

"I've got to go before he sees me."

But before Izzy could go anywhere, Peter Lewis lifted his eyes, spotted her, and called her name. "Izzy?"

"Darn..." Izzy could only turn around again and smile politely, even if she really wanted pound him into the tile floor until only his head stuck out. The man had some nerve going into the establishment, even though he must have guessed that she still worked there. "Hello, Peter."

"Wow! I can't believe it's you. Look at your hair! It looks so much better!" he exclaimed as he made his way towards her.

Izzy looked him over and realized that he had changed too. He looked more formal for once; he'd changed his tee and jeans for a dress shirt and khakis. Even the loafers on his feet looked as expensive as a tiny car.

Izzy self-consciously patted the curling ends of her hair and stood up straighter. It was totally the wrong point in time to see her ex again. She was wearing her waitressing uniform and not much makeup.

She also smelled like beer and fries, but she knew that she had to make do. She needed to show Peter that she was having a grand time without him. "My friends say that the style suits me better."

"So you're still hanging around with the same group. I thought you'd ditched them a long time ago. Like you did with me." His eyes roamed over her, and Izzy had this sudden urge to cover herself from his gaze. No way did he still have the privilege of touching her, let alone lay eyes on her.

Before she could warn him to keep away, he grinned and pulled her close for a hug. "Just kidding!"

"What are you doing here, Peter?" She struggled to get out of his grasp and was soon successfully free of it. Peter wasn't as strong as Hugh, so she had no trouble getting out of his net.

"Me and Debbie are planning to get hitched, so we're traveling the country to find the perfect venue for our wedding."

Something cold and icy pricked at Izzy's heart. She was sure it wasn't regret. She had no regrets where Peter Lewis was concerned.

Jealousy maybe? Perhaps. Or maybe, she was just pissed off that Peter was acting like their broken relationship wasn't his fault. "You're engaged?"

"Yep. Have been for a year. Debbie's Pa is cool with everything. He even helped me build up my business. Now I've got a small-scale retail shop running and a growing bank account. What about you? Still hiding behind that uniform of yours?"

"I've always told you that I love my job." Izzy frowned at Peter and turned away. She continued prepping the silver tray and the sodas she'd almost forgotten.

The insecurities that she had long buried began to rear their ugly heads. So what if she liked living a low profile in Towdee? It was better than having to deal with pricks like him in Ambervale City.

Peter grasped her upper arm. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't be so touchy."

"I'm not touchy. Just a tad pissed off."

"You can't possibly still be hung up on me."

"Hung up? On you?" Izzy snorted. If there was one thing she'd hated about Peter from the very start, it was his ego.

He'd been very charming and convincing to everyone she knew. She'd even brought him along to a Christmas gathering once to show him off. However, he also loved boasting about himself or anything he could compare himself to.

His ego had been as high up as the Himalayas, and it looks like it hadn't gone down. Maybe it was time to give him a dose of his own medicine, even if said medicine wasn't real. "For your information, I'm engaged too."

The expression on Peter's face almost made Izzy howl in laughter. His mouth gaped slightly in shock, and the eyes behind his glasses rounded out. He must have thought she'd been well and truly miserable without him.

"Well... um, congratulations, I guess. Who's the lucky guy?"

Uh oh, not good. "The guy?" Izzy gulped, knowing that she needed to spin an entire web of lies if she didn't want to be caught just yet.

"Yeah. The one you're engaged to. Who is it?"

Before she could think up a name to give him, a rich voice called out from behind her. "Here's that drink you wanted, sweetheart!"

♥

Continued

Please stay tuned for more parts. And please tell a friend if you think they might enjoy this type of story. Thank you for reading!

Thank you so much, Alexis0342, for adding this story to your reading lists! I hope you have fun binge-reading in your free time.