Page 88 of Square Deal

She grinned and rewarded me with another margarita. “Anyone I know?”

I sipped my margarita.

Bridget had a wild look in her eye. “So, itissomeone I know. Who?”

I chugged my margarita.

Chase sauntered over and dropped down onto the barstool beside me. “Slow down there, HJ.”

He would either be my saving grace from this conversation, or Bridget’s partner in crime.

“You keep going, and your Christmas decorations are gonna be lopsided,” he warned.

I tipped my head to the side. “Huh?”Oh boy. Hello, tequila, my old friend.

“Okay,” Chase said, handing my glass back to Bridget with the happy juice still in it. “I’m cutting you off.”

“You,” I said, stabbing him in the chest with my finger. “Can’t do that.”

Bridget smirked. “Maybe not. But I can.”

I whipped around, looking for Layla. “Where’s Linda?”

“Layla,” he corrected.

“Mhmm. Where’s Lindsay?” I giggled and hiccuped.

Bridget turned to the liquor shelf and laughed under her breath.

Chase cut his eyes to Bridget’s back and scowled. “Laylahad to go to work.”

“Don’t be like that,” I chided. “I’ll keep you company, Chasey.”

“Hannah here was just telling us about her new boyfriend. Weren’t you, Han?” She said it so innocently. I knew that sound. Bridget had liquored me up and was preparing to wring me dry for information.

I stuffed my phone into my handbag and hopped down from the stool. “I think it’s time for me to gracefully bow out,” I said, giving the two of them a low curtsy as I teetered on my stilettos.

Chase chuckled and handed Bridget his debit card. “I’ll cover Tipsy McGee’s drinks too.”

“Awww!” I swooned. “Chasey! You don’t have to do that.”Have the walls in here always been that lopsided?

Bridget gave him his card back with orders to stuff me in his car and drive me straight home.

“You don’t remember texting me, do you?” he asked as he guided his truck down our street.

“What text?” I sighed. The buzz was wearing off.

Dammit—I missed girls’ night while I was in New York with Isaac, and now I really needed to blow off some steam.

“The text that said you wanted to put up your Christmas decorations tonight like we always do?”

Ah, fuck.

I remembered making a voice memo on my phone, asking Chase to help me put up decorations, and then accidentally texting it to him.

Of course, I had to deal with the florist from hell before I could follow up with Chase.

That damn florist was going on my vendor shit-list for sure. That was if Maddie didn’t kill him for fucking up the cake flowers first.

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