Page 27 of Three Little Words

Chapter Nine

Benny

Bryn drove us back across the river to Malone. She parked her car in the lot of a tiny building that didn’t even look open.

“Where are we?”

“It’s called Galvin’s. It’s quiet. The chance of anybody we know showing up is real low.”

“Okay.”

That didn’t sound so bad.

I held the door for her as we went in, and she rolled her eyes. “I can open a door, Benny.”

“It’s called being polite. Learn how to do it sometime.”

It was too easy to fall back into old habits—teasing and playing, picking on each other to draw out smiles.

This was a bad idea, but it was too late to bail now.

We sat down at a table in the corner, away from the few other patrons in the bar. I expected Bryn to sit across from me.

Instead, she sat beside me, only the corner of the table between us.

An older man came to take our orders. Bryn got a margarita; I asked for a beer.

When he left, she looked up at me and smiled.

“So. Business is good, then? I mean, it’s gotta be if you’re expanding.”

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s real good. Better than I ever would have expected.”

“Good.” She nodded. “And you’re not seeing anybody.”

I blinked. “You sound pretty confident about that.”

“Well, you texted Bradley instead of a girlfriend.”

That was true.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Single. I’m focusing on work.”

Bryn laughed.

“What?” I said.

She shook her head. “I can’t imagine you taking time off from women to focus on your job. That’s wild.”

“Why is it so hard to believe?”

She opened her mouth, then scoffed, shaking her head. “Guys just don’t do that.”

“Well, I did it.”

“I guess so.”

The bartender brought us our drinks. I took a sip of my beer; Bryn licked a little salt off the rim of her glass before taking her own sip.

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