Page 39 of Square Deal

Steve had a soft spot for Kristin’s siblings, so he wouldn’t think twice to go hang out with them and give her a night off, just as long as someone promised to check in on Erica.

Of course we’d check in on Erica.

After she got a fucking nap.

“Hey, hot stuff.” Bridget grinned from behind the bar when I walked in. “You recoup from the wedding?”

I stretched my arms out and shook my ass. “I feel like a whole new woman.” It was common for me to stay in bed for a solid fourteen hours after working a big wedding, but the orgasms this time around were a nice touch.

“You look like it.” She laughed, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Sit a spell and tell me about it. You went MIA after you left the hospital.”

I shrugged and slid onto a barstool while she mixed my old fashioned. “Not much to tell. Went home, crashed, bubble bath, and a book. The works.”

“Good,” she said, sliding me the glass. “You deserve it after putting up with Luca’s asshat best man all day. You should’ve takenup Maddie’s offer to be a bridesmaid instead of being the wedding planner and working all night. Then you could’ve just ignored Isaac.”

I muttered something about Isaac under my breath and stabbed the orange slice with the skinny straw. “Nah. I would’ve been losing my shit all day if I had to stand there and look pretty instead of getting things done.The right way.”

Bridget laughed, tossing her loose blonde braid over her shoulder. “What are you gonna do when it’s your turn to walk down the aisle? Huh? You’re gonna have your earpiece on, barking orders from the altar?”

I downed my drink in one gulp. “I’ll bedazzle it to match my dress. What about you and Kyle?” I asked, avoiding the topic of me in a veil. “When are y’all gonna make it official?”

She took my glass and tossed it in the bus bin. “He’s not exactly my favorite person at the moment. It took everything in me not to strangle him after he went through my phone and got pissed when he saw a text from Chase. I slept in the spare bedroom last night.”

“Excuse me, hewhat?”

“Kyle said he thought it was his phone. Chase had just texted me some stupid meme or something, and Kyle lost his mind. He accused me of cheating on him and seeing Chase behind his back.”

“Hold on. Back the fuck up. He invaded your privacy and then accusedyouof cheating?”

“I usually delete Chase’s texts after they come through,” she said quietly. “It’s a touchy subject for us, and since Chase is never dating anyone, Kyle always thinks we’re sneaking around behind his back.”

I didn’t know Kyle Kingsley as well as Maddie, Steve, and Chase did. From what I’d heard about his temper, I didn’t like him.And that was just Bridget’s rose-colored version of the events.

“If you need somewhere to stay, my guest room is always free.Don’t worry about where you’ll stay if you decide to dump his sorry ass.”

Besides, it would keep me from letting Isaac back in my house ever again.

11

HANNAH JANE

“Let’s go, girls!” The four of us screamed at the top of our lungs as we swung around the dance floor to Shania Twain.

Bridget ran out from behind the bar when our song came on, joining Melissa, Kristin, and me in a little rowdy line dancing. As soon as the rest of the girls showed up, I switched to water so that I was good to drive Kristin home.

Chase arrived to keep an eye on us and take Mel home. We were a crazy bunch, but we were responsible … at least where drinking and driving were concerned.

Steve, Melissa, and Chase wouldn’t have it any other way. The things they saw as first responders haunted them, and they made damn sure the rest of us were never put in danger while we were having a good time.

“Kris!” Melissa squealed. “You and me! Let’s do shots!”

Those two ran off to the bar, and I wandered over to where Chase was nursing a glass of sweet tea and shooting pool. “I know you’re driving tonight, but you could at least pretend to have fun. You’re a real buzz kill, you know?”

He shook his head as he lined up his cue and popped the red striped ball, sending it careening into the corner pocket. “Don’t wanna cause any trouble.”

I looked over at the bar where Bridget was feeding shots to Mel and Kris. “It’s just us here tonight.” There were a few old-timers in the corner, but no one who would snitch to Kingsley. “You can talk to her.”

“You really wanna push this when I know your dirty little secret?” He chuckled.

---