Page 66 of On The Rocks

“Dammit.” She grinned. “You are the actual worst. Get Dean to help you with the laundry.”

“Fine. I’m getting more details.” She pointed at the collar of my T-shirt. “Especially how you got that little bruise.”

I slapped the skin there. I definitely needed to wear jewelry tonight to hide that.

“Yeah. Is that beard burn or a hickey?”

“I’ll kill him,” I mumbled.

She snickered. “Wear it with pride.”

“I’m not some teenager.” Hell, I hadn’t let a man mark me even when Iwasa teenager. I’d been too worried about getting out of Arizona, not accidentally ending up with a baby like my mother.

“C’mon, Dean. Help me with all those muscles you like to show off.”

He jogged over. “Can do.”

Annette rolled her eyes, drained her cup, and set it on the bar. “I’m gonna get those details.”

I threw out her cup before I headed back to the office to eat in peace. I had to make an order for the bar now that I’d settled back into my normal routine. I’d gotten in a special order yesterday—which I hadn’t been here to doublecheck—so I needed to do that, as well.

My morning flew by as I did that then I organized the main bar to my liking. I practiced with Dean for our routine for the beginning of the night. He was becoming a good flair bartender. He just had to get over the showing off part.

Being cocky ended in making too many mistakes.

He needed to do it for himself instead of to look good first.

That was one thing that the male flair artists never seemed to get when I did my workshops. Cocky bastards would never be as good as those who practiced until there were damn bruises on your arms and shoulders.

Hell, I’d even ended up with a black eye when I was practicing some of my more intricate moves.

A glass bottle had no mercy.

By mid afternoon, we had the dining room ready for opening. The storm hovered over the orchard, to add to the fun—except not.

Once Kevon showed up, I went over the last routine that would include him, Dean, and myself for the end of the night.

My staff was all accounted for by the time we finished up practicing, which was a relief. People were still in the “excited to be back” mode.

Kira showed up an hour before we opened, looking harried and exhausted. The twins were definitely a lot of work, and they were in something calledsleep regression, which sounded absolutely heinous to me.

The entire staff had on our black and green shirts, and the dining room looked like something out of a Hallmark movie with a St. Paddy’s Day theme. It was too windy to open the big back windows, but people in this part of New York were a hardy bunch and plenty of people showed up right when we opened the doors.

Early into the night, Laverne and Fred Ronson stopped at the bar to say hello before mingling with staff and family. Helena and Bells took a seat at the bar before it got too crowded.

“Hey.” Bells flipped her hood back and shook out her deep red hair. “It’s brutal out there.”

“I was hoping the rain would pass us by.”

“Good luck there.” Helena fluffed her bangs. “Looks like the rain isn’t keeping people away so far, and dear God, is the kitchen doing real Irish food tonight?”

I wrinkled my nose. “All I can smell is the cabbage.”

Bells laughed. “Worth it for the rest. I convinced Kain to add a shepherd’s pie to the menu.” She rubbed her hands together. “Perfect for tonight.”

“You are a goddess,” I said, and started making a drink for her. “Loaded or unloaded?”

“Loaded for me.”

---