Page 145 of On The Rocks

Atlas took a big gulp of cider. “I saw that Bethany chick show up. Now, there’s a blast from the past. Is Toots good? No fallout?”

“She’s cool. I gave Beth the brush off, and Maeve saw everything. Luckily, I saved my own ass.” I gave him a pointed look. “She mentioned your Justin Bieber mix tape. You’re the biggest fucking suck-up I’ve ever known.”

“It’s not strictly a Biebs mix,” Atlas informed me. “He just features on a couple of tracks.”

“Jesus, brother,” Cash spat out. “Fuckin’ Bieber? What are you? Fifteen?”

“Biebs got some good tunes,” the SAA muttered defensively. “Anyway, you listen to Dolly Parton.”

“Dolly’s hot, and she’s got some pipes on her,” Cash retorted.

“He’s gotta point,” Bowie interrupted. “She is hot.”

“Hmmm.” Atlas rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “She’s gorgeous, and the bitch has got some meat on her bones. I may put her on my ‘shouldn’t but would’ list. Had to take Kyle Richards and her girlfriend off, so it freed up some spaces.” His eyebrow cocked. “That’s a shitshow I don’t need in my bed.”

Cash rolled his eyes. “You know you’ll never fuck one celebrity on your ‘shouldn’t but would’ list, right?”

“What you should’ve said, Cashy boy, is thatyou’llnever fuck anyone onyour‘shouldn’t but would’ list,” Atlas corrected. “If I met any of the bitches on mine, I’d give ‘em the old Atlas charm. Mark my words, they wouldn’t be able to help ‘emselves.”

“Jesus,” Bowie muttered.

I let out a laugh, glancing over at the table where Maeve sat with the other women. An idea flashed through my mind, and I turned back to the boys. “Can you cover for me for five minutes? If Maeve asks where I am, tell her I’m in the restroom or something. I got something I need to do.”

“Nothing nefarious, I hope,” Bowie commented.

I grinned. “While Maeve’s out of the apartment and preoccupied, I can sneak upstairs and leave her a little gift.”

“If you need to shit, just go in the men’s room,” Atlas suggested, his lips twitching.

The boys snickered.

“Jesus fuck. It’s like dealing with ten-year-olds,” I mumbled to myself.

Atlas’s laughter died down, and he rubbed his hands together. “Right then, boys. Operation ‘Woo Toots’ is about to commence. Let’s drag our women onto the dance floor and make sure they don’t notice Callum doing his sneaky beaky act.”

“I don’t dance,” Bowie protested.

Atlas shoved him from his stool, making him go flying. “You do now.”

Bowie straightened to his full height and threw Atlas a glower. “Asshole.”

Atlas got to his feet and folded his arms across his chest. “Yip!” He nudged the dude standing beside him, who was shooting the shit with his friends. “Yo!”

The guy did a double take at Atlas, and his eyes widened slightly. “Me?” he asked, pointing inward at his chest.

“Yeah,” Atlas confirmed. He gestured toward the stools. “You and your buds sit there until we get back. No piss breaks, no shit breaks, and no dancin’. If one’a them stools has been lost by one’a you when I get back, I won’t be fuckin’ happy. You feel me?”

The poor guy gulped through his confusion. “Umm. Yeah?”

Atlas gave me a nod. “Go do your thing. I’ll sort Toots out.”

Swerving behind the bar, I grabbed my keys and the small package I’d been keeping there and headed out the back. Bounding up the stairs, I unlocked the door to the apartment and slipped inside.

Maeve had left the lamp in the hallway turned on, so the place was already bathed in dim light. Quickly, I made my way into the bedroom, immediately heading toward the bed, where I placed the package gently on the nightstand, along with the note I’d already scribbled out a few days ago.

I’d been thinking about what I could do to show Maeve that I’d listened and understood who she was and what she loved. I wanted to show her how I got the side of her that not many others did and how much I loved it just because it was a part of her.

And I wanted to grovel a bit, too.

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