Page 7 of The Hometown Dilemma
I almost sprayed my mouthful of vodka over the table. I never discussed my sex life with my sister. Ever. But I’d forgotten how open Cami was about that stuff. “Um, I think I’ll plead the fifth on that question.”
Brad came over with our nachos, two smaller plates, and another round of drinks.
“Oh, we didn’t order those,” I said. “Let me get some cash.” I started to reach for my purse, but he placed a hand on my arm.
“On the house, sweetheart. Cami’s a loyal customer, so it’s fair she has a freebie every once in a while.”
Cami smiled and sucked on her straw again. If there wasn’t anything going on between her and Brad, she was working on giving him a serious case of blue balls. “Thanks, Brad, appreciate it.”
He flashed her a wide grin, then turned to go back to the bar. I glanced over my shoulder at his retreating form, taking in his tight ass. Hmm, if I were to consider a fling then perhaps Brad wasn’t such a bad choice after all.
The sound of Cami snapping her fingers brought me back down to earth. “Jaime? Where did you go?”
“Sorry, got distracted.”
She giggled. “Ha, I know what you mean. He can be distracting.”
I made a face and reached for a nacho, scraping off the chili and scooping up the guac and sour cream instead. Popping it into my mouth, I remembered exactly how good the nachos at Dempsey’s were. They’d seen me through college deadlines and finals on more than one occasion.
“I’m not looking to date anyone right now,” I declared. “I plan to focus on my career. I want to apply toInterior Nirvana, get some clients of my own, expand my portfolio…”
“And that’s exactly the time that someone drops into your life: when you aren’t expecting them.” Cami stuck a nacho loaded with chili into her mouth.
How had my little sister become the wise one?
The front door opened, and Cami’s head swiveled to see who came in. Knowing she’d been expecting the college football team, I didn’t bother turning around.
“Shit,” she breathed. “Wade’s here.”
ChapterFour
Wade
Walking into the bar,the last people I had expected to see having dinner were Cami Harlow and her sister, Jaime. Even though officially it was my night off, I couldn’t resist the pull of coming to the bar to see how the evening was going. Austen tried to get me to go somewhere else, but I refused. The employee discount at Dempsey’s was too good to resist.
I went over to the bar, Austen close behind.
“Evening, Brad, how’s it been?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Pretty quiet. There are rumors the college football team is coming in later.” He glanced up at the clock. “But they’re not done with practice yet.”
“Great, can guarantee a round of smoothies then.” I shouldn’t knock them. At least they were coming to the bar. I gestured towards Cami with my chin. “How long’s she been here?”
“Long enough for a couple of cocktails and some nachos,” Brad replied. “And be totally immune to my flirting.” He let out a laugh.
“Good.” I smirked. I planned to go over and say hi later. We might have split up, but we were still friends.
“Wade, I’m glad you came in,” said Brad. “I need a couple of shifts off over the weekend. My mom’s moving and I promised I’d help.”
His timing couldn’t have been worse. I hadn’t been able to fill the post vacated by Eli and Brad despite all his flaws, which mainly consisted of his incessant flirting, was by far my best bartender. If he wasn’t able to work the busier Friday and Saturday shifts, then I’d have to get Dad to help out. And that wasn’t something I was prepared to do.
“That’s fine,” I said, despite myself. “Let me know what you need, and I’ll rearrange the roster.”
“Cheers, boss, appreciate it.” He popped the caps off two bottles of beer and handed them to me and Austen. “Here you go. You guys eating?”
“Yeah, couple of burgers with the works, please,” Austen ordered and slipped a fifty on the bar. “Keep the change.”
I swiveled around to face him. “You don’t have to do that.”
