Page 77 of Sugarlips
Tanja rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake. It’sNick.”
“What’s up?” Nick called to us, having heard his name.
I froze, feeling caught red-handed for talking about him. But Liam, ever casual, held up a hand in a quick wave. “I’ll take a pilsner,” he said, not quite warm and friendly, but also not overtly aggressive either. Once Nick seemed occupied once again, Liam leaned into me. “Is that a good idea? You two weren’t on great terms after that news broadcast.”
I waved Liam’s concern away. “Seriously, if it doesn’t bother me, it shouldn’t bother you. Besides, he apologized.”
“He did? When?”
“Today,” I answered, sipping the apology wine.
“Withwine,” Tanja clarified, wiggling her brows. “Any guy that plows me with wine is okay in my book.”
I giggled at that, but instead of correcting her mistake, I said, “Any guy whoplowsyou at all, am I right?”
She lifted her glass. “Here, here!”
“That’s exciting for you… a new client. Just be careful,” Liam said.
I pinched his chin, dipping my finger into his chin dimple. “I will, grandpa.” I wasn’t worried. I could handle Nick.
He scowled at me over-dramatically, his forehead wrinkling like a cartoon of an old man, and he gave me his best shaky, old man voice. “Now listen here, little lady…” He slapped his hand on the bar top, and clutched between his fingers, was an envelope.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Oh, this?” He dropped the old man act and waved the opened letter in front of my face. “Just a little invitation to anexclusiveNew Hampshire Entrepreneur networking event.”
His eyes went wider than his grin.
“What?” I reached for the letter, tearing it from his grasp and skimming over it. “This could be huge for Beefcakes! Congratulations!”
But as my eyes read over the words… it wasn’t for Beefcakes.
“It’s for us,” Liam said. “For The Dump Truck.And…”
“… for Sugarlips PR & Marketing.” I was rendered speechless. “Tanja, didn’t you go to this last year when you were working with that talent agency?”
She glanced over at the letterhead, uninterested. “Oh yeah. They had shit champagne for such a fancy affair.”
“The fact that we’rebothinvited is huge.” I paused, turning the letter over as though the answers to my questions might be written on the back side. “How did they even know about Sugarlips PR & Marketing? I’m not exactly a household name yet.”
“Word has probably gotten around at how successfully Beefcakes has been doing since we signed with you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Word got around.” I threw air quotes around the sentence. “As in, you’ve been telling people?”
“Not just me. Neil, Finn, my mom. They’re all so impressed with how you’ve helped us branch out. And let’s not forget the most influential and most proud people in this town… your parents and sister.”
Was it cheesy that I wanted to keep the letter and frame it? Itwas. So cheesy. Even still, I smoothed the wrinkles with my palm before folding it and tucking it into my clutch.
Tanja gave another heavy sigh and put her hand up for Nick. “If you guys are going to talk business, I’m getting the check.”
Nick nodded as he came over with Liam’s beer. “One check or two?”
“Two—” I said, just as Tanja answered with, “One.”
My stomach tightened. Did she seriously expect me to pay for this round? It was one thing when I had the money, living with Dan. But this was different. I pressed my lips into a line. “Oh, do you just want to split it fifty-fifty?” I asked as calmly as I could.
She glanced quickly at Liam. “And pay for half of Liam’s beer? No thanks.”
