Page 21 of Broken Rules
Savannah lifted her shoulders. “Why not?”
Esme reached across the bar and wrapped her arms around Savannah’s neck. “You’re brilliant. I’m doing it.”
Esme lifted her tray above her shoulder. “Bhutan, here I come.” She turned toward the dining room, but then stopped and glanced back. “Where the hell is Bhutan?”
Savannah laughed. “Near Tibet.”
“What’s near Tibet?” Brandi asked as she passed Esme.
“Long story,” Savannah said before she read the new ticket. “Another drink special—girl, you’re on fire tonight.”
Brandi smiled. “This should be a good night. All my tabs have been over a hundred dollars. Hey, speaking of good nights, I’ll close for you tonight.”
Savannah glanced sidelong at Brandi while she poured tequila into a chilled pint glass. “Don’t you have plans with Mr. Darcy?”
Brandi shook her head. “No, William has a paper due in the morning.”
Savannah grabbed the grapefruit juice from the fridge and filled the glass just under halfway. “Thanks,” she said as she put the cap back on the juice. “But Joe said he didn’t want anyone closing but me while he was away. Anyway, this is it. Joe’s back tomorrow and I have the day off.”
“Lucky you,” Brandi said dryly. “You only opened and closed ten days in a row. That man sucks. Right now, he’s probably rubbing elbows with some duke while we’re here keeping his business running. I hope his plane crashes.” Brandi’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t mean that. I don’t want everyone else to have to die, too.”
Savannah smiled. “How about, instead of a plane crash, the Earl of freaking Sandwich calls his sorry ass out for a duel and runs him through.”
Brandi smiled. “Yes! Or maybe a peasant uprising. Decapitation should take his ego down a few notches.”
Laughing, Savannah poured the mix into an oversized martini glass, then added a squirt of soda before setting it on the service counter.
“Thanks,” Brandi said as she garnished the glass with a slice of blood orange. “By the way, Savvy, you look really good. You’ve had this glow about you the past couple days. If I didn’t know better, I would say you had a new man in your life.”
“Yeah,” Savannah said weakly. “Like I’ve had time for men.”
“At least you’re staying out of trouble, especially after that last asshole you dated.”
Savannah hated lying to Brandi, but there was no way she could tell her about her thief-for-hire. “Yup, just doing my thing right now. Actually, I’ve sworn off men altogether, both naughty and nice.”
“Oh God,” Brandi grimaced.
“What,” Savannah said defensively. “It’s not forever.”
“No, it’s not that,” Brandi said quickly. Then her voice dropped. “Don’t look now, but Skeevy Stevie just walked in.”
“No,” Savannah groaned. She looked up at the clock. “Only ten minutes until last call, too.”
“You don’t have to be nice to him,” Brandi whispered before hurrying away with her drink.
“Trust me, nice isn’t even an option.”
She looked at the newcomer from the corner of her eyes. As always, his thick hair was parted on the side and slicked down. Dotting his jaw was the shadow of a beard. He sat hunched over, his curved shoulders clad in a nearly sheer yellow button-down shirt. She shuddered as she glimpsed the white tank top underneath. Pushing his thick, brown frames up the bridge of his nose, he considered the cocktail menu.
“Hey, Savvy,” he said, smiling at her when she approached.
She froze. Her eyes narrowed on him. “Only Brandi can call me that.”
“Fine,Savannah,” he said like a petulant child.
She tensed her shoulders against the overwhelming urge to call Wally from the kitchen and have him thrown out, but creepiness did not warrant expulsion. She decided she would have to talk to Joe about expanding their no-serve policy to include creepy men, but then she realized that would blacklist the voyeuristic owner of The Cove, himself. “Hey Brandi,” she called after her friend. “Hold up.”
Brandi hastened back to the service bar. “What’s up?”
