Page 23 of Resisting my Roommate

“No problem.” I cross my arms in front of my chest, and I notice her eyes briefly drift to my biceps. “Were you able to work everything out?”

“More or less.”

It doesn’t escape my notice that she answers somewhat evasively. I’m about to press for more information, but before I can, Lindsey calls out to me.

“Jude. Break time’s over. We’re swamped here.”

“Right. Sorry. Coming.”

“I’ll let you get back to work,” Abbey offers.

“It’s usually not this bad, but I gave my sister the day off and another server called out sick, so I’m shorthanded here. You’ll be okay?”

She grits a smile. “I always am. Thanks again.”

I give a subtle nod of my head and watch as she makes her way through the taproom and toward the door. A pang squeezes my chest at the idea that I’ll never see her again. A strange thought, since she was a stranger mere days ago.

“Jude! Beer!” Lindsey shouts, and I quickly snap my gaze away, rushing back behind the bar.

“Thanks for your patience,” I offer the waiting customer. “What would you like?”

He orders a round of IPAs, and I move toward the taps. But when I pull the handle, only sputters of foam come out.

“Shit. I’ve got to replace the keg.”

“Just great,” Lindsey replies sarcastically.

“I’ll be right back.”

Thankfully, I’ve been doing this long enough that I can change a keg in my sleep.

I weave through the bustling crowd in the taproom, coming to an abrupt stop when I nearly run into someone. I inhale a sharp breath, my eyes flinging wide as I peer down at Abbey.

“What are you doing here? I thought you left?”

“I did, but…”

“Yes?”

“You helped me. The least I can do is help you.”

I furrow my brow. “What are you talking about?”

“I bartended all throughout college, so put me to work. You’re obviously short staffed. Let me help.”

I blink repeatedly. This is the last thing I expected. Mere seconds ago, I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, let alone have her offer to help.

“Jude!” Lindsey yells again, becoming increasingly impatient and frustrated. “I need that tap changed, like, yesterday.”

Blowing out a breath, I face Abbey. “Come with me.”

She follows me into the back room, practically having to run to keep up.

“You can leave your stuff in my office.” I gesture toward the closed door across from us. “And you’ll need to put this on.” Grabbing a t-shirt from one of the shelves, I toss it at her.

She scrambles to catch it while still clutching that damn wedding dress.

“Give me a sec to switch out this keg, then I’ll give you a quick rundown.”

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