Page 100 of On the Rocks

“Have a good afternoon.”

“You too, Carlos.” I hung up the phone and stared at my mess on the counter. I wasn’t quite done with my video yet, but I put some of the excess ingredients away in the fridge and corralled dishes into the sink. I’d just started wiping up tomato juice when a knock sounded. I glanced around. Meh, it was presentable enough.

I answered the door, smiling at Maggie as she stood there in the hall holding a small wooden crate. “Heard you were giving Carlos a hard time.” I pulled the door wider, inviting her in.

Maggie stepped past me, looking around. “Yeah. Thought I was gonna have to wrestle him to get into the elevator. He got all blustery as soon as I said your name, like he was some papa bear guarding your door with a shotgun. What’s with the guy?”

“After recent events, he’s a little protective.”

Maggie made a face. “Yeah, I heard about everything from Tony. Guess I can’t fault the guy after all.”

“Not that it’s not great to see you, Maggie,” I said, closing the door. “But what are you doing here?”

“I’m here doing Tony a favor—on Aiden’s behalf,” she explained, putting the crate she held down on the counter. My heart was already racing, which immediately ticked me off. I hated that even the mention of him could still make my heart pound.

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh, Maggie. I don’t want anything from?—”

“Hang on,” she said, shaking her hands at me. “Just hear what I have to say before you go kicking me out or something equally as ridiculous.”

“Wait, did you say you’re doing this as a favor to Tony?” I asked. “Does this mean the two of you are back together then?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“When I last dropped into the bar to say hello, I heard you two were having some…problems.”

“We were nevernottogether,” Maggie muttered. “Also, Tony needs to learn to keep his big mouth shut about things.”

“Guess that’s something you two can work on as a couple.” I grinned at the look on her face. “If you’reofficiallytogether.”

Maggie actually blushed, which was both adorable and hilarious.

“Can I just say congrats? Because I think you and Tony are perfect together.”

Maggie crossed her arms, playing up the grumpy card. “Just open your dang crate already.”

I glanced at it, taking up room on the counter. “What’s in it?”

“How should I know?”

“You brought it all the way here without knowing what it is? I doubt that.” Not just because she was too nosy not to ask, but because I suspected this was a little more than a favor. I knew Maggie had always thought Aiden and I made a great pair.

She grumbled at me. “Of course I know what it is, but I’m not gonna tell you. That’ll ruin the surprise.”

“I’m not sure I want a surprise.” Especially one that came from Aiden.

“Just open it,” Maggie urged. “I don’t have all day. And I came all the way out here out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Okay,okay,” I said, before she could really start complaining. “Why’s it in a crate anyway?”

“That’s where you put fragile merchandise.”

“Right.” Was it my heart? It could sure use better packaging since it kept getting broken. I slipped a butter knife out of the drawer and used it to help pry the lid off the crate, finding a sleek bottle nestled on a bed of straw. It took me a second to realize it was a bottle of Elixir Free—but the branding had been completely changed. The logo no longer readElixir Free. Instead, it had been redesigned to readZelda.

My pulse skipped as I cradled the bottle, my thumb running over the fancy lettering of Aiden’s longtime nickname for me.

“He had a one-off bottle made?”

“One-off?” Maggie snorted. “Kid, this is a whole brand change. This is what theyallsay now.”

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