Page 80 of Hound Dog
“Are you kidding? I booked three new clients in the last two visits to your bar!”
“Really?” Enzo asked.
“Yeah. A girl who’s going to be auditioning for colleges soon. Some guy who plays the guitar and is in a band. And another girl who’s home on break from college. I’ll actually have a few people for in-person lessons this summer thanks to you, Addy. TheleastI could do is offer you a lesson or two on the house for telling everyone about my business.”
Addy paused to smile and say thank you as the server delivered her bloody mary and refilled my coffee. “Well,someonehad to plug your business.Youweren’t doing it.”
“Yeah, how weird would that be,” I said. “Hey all, aren’t I awesome? Come take lessons.” I snorted and shook my head. “I’d sound like an asshole.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Enzo said. “It’s not egotistical to talk about your business.”
“Says the girl who doesn’t talk at all about hers!” I blurted out, then immediately regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth.
Enzo’s face dropped, going white as a sheet.
“What business?” Addy asked. “I thought you were just freelancing?”
I winced and mouthedsorryto Enzo.
“It’s nothing,” Enzo said quickly. “I’m just building an app. It’s experimental.”
Addy raised her eyebrows in doubt. “And Haylee knew about it before me?” She looked between us curiously, pausing in my direction. “No offense.”
Enzo stuttered a few syllables before I jumped in. “I found out accidentally. Enzo was at Beefcakes while I was there, and she thought I was just a tourist. She asked to borrow my phone to test the app. That’s how I found out about it.”
Addy seemed to relax with that. And it wasn’t even a lie. “Oh,” she said. “Okay… you’ll tell me about it sometime, right?”
My chest ached. She seemed genuinely hurt that Enzo hadn’t told her.
Enzo gave a small smile, barely able to look Addy in the eyes. “When it’s a sure thing, I’ll tell you.”
The server came and took our orders, and a collective sigh of relief echoed between us all. Just as I took a sip of coffee and began to daydream about my eggs Benedict, Addy leaned forward, cradling her chin in her hands, and blurted out, “So. What’s going on with you and my brother?”
This time, coffee did come spurting out of my nose.Hotcoffee.
“What?” I screeched. “Nothing.”
And now it was my turn to feel left out as Addy and Enzo shared a look. “What?” I pressed. “What is it? Did Finn make up some stupid lie that we’re sleeping together?”
Enzo snorted and nibbled the end of her straw. “Nope. Besides, Finn doesn’t have to make up stories about sleeping with women. He has enough of them throwing themselves at him.”
Yeah. As if I didn’t know that. I knew it all too well.
I’dbeenone of those stupid girls back in the day. But at least I found a little solace in the fact that he wasn’t going around telling stories about us.
“I have a boyfriend,” I stated and held up my hand, pointing to the ring on my finger.
Addy shrugged. “A boyfriend isn’t a husband.”
I grew quiet, lowering my hands. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I’m not a cheater,” I said. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Addy’s face softened, and she draped her hand over mine, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It just seems like you and Finn have chemistry.”
“And,” Enzo added, her expression unreadable, “I don't hear you talk about Ben a whole lot.”
“I’m sorry, does a girl have to talk about her boyfriend constantly as some sort of validation that she’s happy and in love?”
Addy stirred her bloody mary. “No, but—”
