Page 38 of April

“Hold on,” Linden said instead of a response, letting go of Jill and making her way over to the table. “Rory, hey.”

“Linden, hi,” Rory said with a smile.

“Just out for a drink?”

“I’m here with a friend. She owns a bar. Well, she just bought it, technically, so she’s scoping out the competition.”

“You have a friend who bought a bar inthiscity?”

“Yeah. Crazy, huh? She won the lottery, actually. Not enough to retire on, but enough to buy a bar, which she has wanted to do since she finished bartending school. Is this your girlfriend?”

“Huh?” Linden turned to see Jill standing next to her.

“Oh, no. This is my friend, Jill. We were just dancing.”

“Hi,” Jill said.

“Nice to meet you,” Rory replied. “What do you think of this place? My friend is walking around now, but any ideas on what she should keep for her place or not do at all?”

“The dance floor is nice,” Jill replied. “But more tables and places to sit. New Orleans’ bars always have a shortage of places to sit.”

Rory chuckled and said, “I’ll let her know.”

Linden looked over at Asher and Sophie, who were still at the table. Asher was looking at her inquisitively. She might need to ask her what those stares meant because Asher had been giving her more of them lately.

“We’ve got a table over there, with some friends waiting, so I’ll let you get back to your scoping, but it’s nice to see you.”

“You too,” Rory said.

As they walked off toward their table, Jill noted, “She’s younger thanme, Linden.”

“What? I didn’t sleep with her. I met her through work. A friend of hers got married, and I planned the wedding. We’ve hung out a few times, but it’s not like that. I don’t even know if she’s into women.”

“You didn’t ask?”

“No. I don’t want to sleep with every woman on the planet, Jill.”

“She’s cute.”

“Youwant her number?” Linden asked.

“Is she still in college?”

“No,” Linden said while laughing. “But she hasn’t been out of it all that long, either.”

“Who was that?” Asher asked.

“Rory. She’s here with a friend, scoping out the place.”

“Oh. Why?”

“I’ll tell you later. Want to grab another drink with me?”

Asher nodded.

“Hey, you still owe me a dance. We didn’t even finish our first one,” Jill said, pointing at her.

“I’ll be right back,” Linden replied.

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