Page 15 of Stay Toxic

“Thanks for coming in and making me work on my day off,” she muttered.

I chuckled.

“Love you,” I teased.

“Love you, too,” she grumbled back.

If we date, there isn’t such a thing as a breakup. We’re too old for that. If your love runs out, we can use mine. I’ll hotspot you.

—Brecken’s secret thoughts

BRECKEN

Heart pounding, I watched the gorgeous man go and wondered what in the hell had just happened.

“He’s your brother?” I asked.

The owner sighed. “It depends. Did he make you mad?”

I snickered. “No.”

“Then yes, he’s my brother,” she grumbled. “He’s been telling me to get rid of that girl for years. But he seriously has no idea how hard it is to find good help. He has no problem with that, because the people that work with him want to impress him. These people”—she gestured toward the coffee shop behind her—“they’re here because they are just starting out at the job life. They have no experience yet, or if they do, they have no ambition in life. No one takes a job like this seriously.”

“I work with high schoolers,” I admitted. “But I can tell you that this new generation that’s coming through the high school right now, they’re a bit better than the previous years.”

“Oh, that’s a good sign.” She set my latte in front of me and said, “What kind of coffee for your brothers?”

“Four black coffees,” I said. “Large.”

“Done.” She smiled. “I’ll bring them over to you.”

I smiled and said, “How much?”

“On the house.” She shrugged. “We owe you one, Brecken.”

I wasn’t surprised the owner knew my name.

I came here almost every single day after work.

She’d been here the day that I’d had my world shattered with Rupert, too.

She’d seen the devastation and had consoled me with coffee and dairy-free cookies.

I’d liked her ever since.

“Thank you, Milena.” I smiled.

I headed back over to my brothers, who were dwarfing the small tables that filled the tiny café space of the coffee shop.

“Was it milk?” my oldest brother, Ryler, asked.

“She quit before she could tell me,” I admitted. “Or she was fired. I’m not really sure what happened there.”

“She was shit anyway,” Bronc admitted.

I sighed. “I know.”

“What’s on your agenda this week, Breck?” Holden asked. “Tibbs and I want to know if you want to go fishing with us.”

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