Moonlight House (Book 2, Lonstino & Greenwood Series)

Chapter 1 - The Club

ADAM

Saturdays are my favorite day of the week at Moonlight House. Our club is packed, which means we'll make good profit today, and I heard from Noah that we have a long line of people outside waiting to enter. It still blows my mind that in two years we have become a popular hot spot in Greenwood.

It fills me with so much satisfaction to see our patrons dancing to the music pumping through the speakers, chatting and chilling with a drink on the lounge couches. From eleven in the morning until nine in the evening, we operate as a restaurant and I love walking around the galleries upstairs where people have quiet conversations over the excellent meals that Sam makes. In about an hour, our live house band will perform and that's when the real party starts. My sister Erin is the lead singer and really knows how to pump up the crowd.

Singing is something she always loved and I have asked her why she didn't continue on that path. She simply replies that she loves entertaining and caring for our patrons, which isn't a surprise since it's the way our parents raised us. My sister certainly raises the bar when it comes to showing how much she cares about our visitor's experience. Her vision on how this place should look was always clear and that's why a giant milky white glass orb hangs from the midnight blue ceiling and illuminates the room at night. The stage, bar, tables and chairs are white while the floor's black tile contains tiny pieces of mirror that reflect the light coming from the ceiling orb, the smaller ones placed on tables and the ones scattered around the walls. When we leased this place, we struggled to find the right name for the club, until the night we finished installing the lights on the wall. Moonlight House, our new home that looked as a starry night with a full moon.

My activities are not limited to managing the club finances and coordinating all matters related to the staff. I also love to help around and tonight I'm having fun tapping beer. Today, one of our bartenders called in sick and I'm substituting her. Saturdays are our busiest day and even though my brother Rory is the fastest bartender I've ever seen, he can't cope with the work of two people.

"How are you feeling?" Rory asks as he scoops ice. "Is your cold over?"

"As over as it can be. When did Erin say she'll come back?" I ask while I read one of the bar tickets that just came in.

"Said she would be here on time for the show. You know those beauty appointments she makes take forever. Did you eat already? I haven't seen you take a break since I took mine. Or are you doing one of those odd diets again?"

"Not on a diet. I've been busy making calls. I'm worried about the beer supplier who's been late twice. Then we got that toilet pipe that sprung suddenly. Noah and I have been tackling that and checking that the rest won't try doing the same. Then I got the call from Imogen that she couldn't come for the club shift, and I've been working on payroll until I came here to help."

"Did she say what's wrong with her?" He asks genuinely worried. "I didn't dare to call her in case she's sleeping or something."

"She said she had a stomach bug."

"Okay, I'll give her a call tomorrow morning to check on her. She's not being herself lately. Take a break and have something to eat. Remember what happened last week," he smirks.

My cheeks flare at Rory's comment. I've been battling a cold for a few days and my appetite was non-existent. On a night, I was talking with this beautiful girl when suddenly she started to look blurry and everything around me went black. I woke up a few minutes later in the kitchen with Sam giving me a disapproving look for not eating properly. I felt so embarrassed to find out I had fainted in front of the girl. Getting a woman's attention isn't something that happens often to me and I blew it.