Page 2 of After the Vows

He snarls at me. “You’re deranged.”

I bow. “Thank you very much.”

He backs away. “This place is crazy.”

“Don’t forget your beer!” I holler after him.

He rushes out of the door. I shake my head. “Will men never learn?”

“Learn what?” the bartender, Theo, asks as he joins me behind the bar.

I untie the apron from around my waist. “I guess it’s time for me to get back to doing next week’s schedule.”

He moans. “You’re not answering my question, which means you scared another customer away.”

“When I arrived,” Addy says, “she had him in a chokehold.”

“Exaggerate much? I bent his finger back a tiny bit. No snapping involved.”

She sighs. “You’re a menace.”

I grin. “Thank you.”

I check that no one on the restaurant floor needs me before making my way to my office. I’d rather work behind the bar, but I really do need to get next week’s schedule finished and the inventory ordered. Being the bar and restaurant manager ofFive Fathomsis not as much fun as I expected.

I barely have a chance to switch on my computer before my door flies open and Nova, Maya, and Paisley rush inside.

“Addy’s a tattletale.”

“It’s not tattling when she’s not revealing secrets,” Paisley says.

I salute her. “Thank you, nerd girl, for correcting me.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic but I don’t care if you call me a nerd girl.”

Of course, she doesn’t. Paisley is proud of being a nerd. I give her a hard time about it but if I were as smart as she is, I’d be proud of myself, too. There’s a reason she’s the one in charge of developing new beers forFive Fathomsand I’m the one working in the restaurant.

Nova sighs. “Can we stick to the matter at hand? You can’t be getting into fights with the customers.”

Uh oh. Miss Optimistic is frowning. She must be really annoyed. Miss Sunshine hardly ever frowns. It’s why she’s the sales manager forFive Fathoms.When someone tells her no, she keeps smiling and pushing until she makes the sale. She can sell fish to a mermaid.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I didn’t hurt the customer.”

“But he’s claiming he’s going to sue,” Maya says.

“He’s not going to sue. His claim is fictional. Something you should understand.”

Maya is the definition of a bookworm. If it weren’t for us, she’d probably hide away in her home with her books all the time.

Even with us around, she tries to get out of leaving her house. She claims she can do her work as the financial manager forFive Fathomsat her dining room table. She’s crazy if she thinks we’ll allow her to become a hermit.

“Whether he sues or not, is irrelevant. You can’t go around hurting customers,” Paisley declares.

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t want to get arrested,” Nova says.

“Again,” Maya mutters.

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