Page 155 of Not Another Yesterday
“I wouldneverjoke about something as serious as a bet,” Shane says, completely straight-faced, making me laugh again.
“It’s a twenty-dollar buy-in,” he says. “The winnings are split fifty-fifty. Half goes to you guys, half to the winner.”
“Well, that’s… interesting,” I say, still smiling. “So who all’s in on this?”
“Well, Tor and me, obviously,” Shane begins. “Stevie, Vada, Zack, Summer, and basically everyone at Murphy’s—except Cadance, because apparently her religious beliefs don’t allow gambling. Jack bet twice—boyandgirl. Smart-ass,” he says with a chuckle.
I shake my head, grinning. “Oh my god, Shay.”
He shrugs. “Are you sure you don’t want to find out and maybe just… tell me?”
Tori swats his shoulder. “Hey! If anyone gets to know, it’s me. I wastherewhen she found out she was pregnant.”
I laugh, watching them bicker fondly.
“Doesn’t look like either of us is getting lucky,” Shane says with a throaty chuckle.
“Nope,” I say, still smiling.
“I don’t think I could handle the suspense.” Tori starts wiping down the counter. “I’dhaveto know, just so I could prepare properly.”
“Why don’t you want to find out?” Shane asks, his tone sincere now.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just… don’t. I want to be surprised. Like everything with Ran is always a surprise,” I say with a laugh, and Shane chuckles too.
“Do you have a preference?” Tori asks.
“Ran said he doesn’t care either way,” Shane chimes in before I can answer. “He just wants you and the baby to be okay.”
That makes me smile. “No preference,” I say honestly. Then, after a pause, “But Idothink Ran would make a great girl-dad. Don’t you?”
Tori and Shane both nod without hesitation.
“How about names?” Tori asks. “Have you guys thought of anything?”
I shake my head. “We haven’t really talked about it, to be honest. I think we’re still just… processing everything.”
“Well, you know,” Shane says, deadpan, “Shaneis a great name for a boy.”
I laugh again. “Oh, for sure.”
“AndToriis a great name for a girl,” Tori says, grinning.
“Oh yeah,” I say, grinning back. “Definitely. Top of our list.”
Saturday,June 24th
Ronan
I didn’t get much sleep last night. Hardly any, to be honest.
Murphy’s wasfucking insane, and I’m not even exaggerating. We were slammed most of the day, but the evening? Total chaos. We had several birthday parties andtwoseparate bachelor parties—one of which turned into a full-on disaster. It took Jack, two of our waiters, and me to kick out five drunk assholes who decided a bar brawl was the perfect way to liven things up.
I didn’t get home until almost four in the morning. It took forever to clean up the mess, document the broken chairs and busted table, and make sure Tyler—one of the waiters who helped me throw those guys out—was okay. He got nailed in the head with a beer bottle and ended up needing stitches. One of the other guys drove him to the ER.
I called Shane around midnight to give him a heads-up. He’ll have the absolutejoyof dealing with the insurance today—both liability and workers’ comp. I hate when this shit happens on my shift. Shane and his dad trust me to handle things, and I always feel like I’ve let them down when people act like idiots and ruin the night for everyone.
It was an exhausting night after an already long day. But still, I couldn’t sleep.
