Page 79 of Absinthe Minded

“The girls don’t need to know what?” Chloe looked at her chocolate-covered brother and squealed.

“Maggie’s cake’s ruined. We’ll make a new one.” Zach motioned to the screaming baby. “Go give Ella her pacifier.

“Boys are weird.” Chloe shrugged and skipped around the piles of chocolate vomit toward the port-a-crib.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and went to the utility room to fill the mop bucket. I’d never have thought this would be my life, but I wouldn’t trade any of it.

Except I’d exchange the damned dog with a nanny.

26

Maggie

People packedevery inch of the bar, most of whom shouted their orders. By now, I could mix most drinks without engaging my brain, which was good because all I could think about were the files I’d hidden in my room, and court.

I doubted Gabe knew about Chantal’s connection to the Marchionni Corporation. If he had, he wouldn’t have started a relationship with her. Would he? I didn’t know the woman, but I feared Chantal would use Ella to extort money from him. I needed to ask the man some tough questions—if we could find five minutes alone together.

“Maggie, go on break.” Jessie called from the other end of the bar.

The crowd had thinned somewhat, but not enough for one person to handle orders. “You sure?”

“Go.” Two longnecks dangling from each hand, Jessie winked. “Before I change my mind.”

In the breakroom, I sank into one chair and propped my aching feet onto another. Opting for fashion over function turned out to be a bad idea. Likewise, tight T-shirt had increased my tips, but I’d had more male attention than I could handle.

I pulled my phone from my back pocket. No texts or missed calls.

It should have been a good thing. Gabe could take care of the kids without my help, but it bothered me. The first couple of months after my sister died had been horrible, and not just because of our grief. The kids had tested me at every turn. More days than not, I’d considered handing them over to Evelyn and running for the hills. The idea Gabe could waltz in and run things without a hiccup made me more than a little jealous.

Deep in the throes of an aching-feet-failure-as-a-mom pity-party, I didn’t hear anyone come in.

A male voice spoke behind me. “Maggie?”

I yelped and turned to find another of the Marchionni boys at the door.

Leo was as luscious as Gabe, though taller and thinner. He had the same green eyes as his brothers, but he wore his dark hair short, accentuating the sharp angles of his face.

“Hi, Leo.”

“Did Jessie call you in?” He looked somewhere between confused and amused.

“Yeah, but I’m on break.” I pulled my feet off the chair.

He took it as an invitation and sat. “Rumor has it you’re going to be my new sister-in-law.”

“So I hear.”

“Never thought I’d see the day.” He chuckled and ran his hand over the back of his neck—a habit he shared with his older brother.

“I hear tales of women from the surrounding parishes organizing to take me down.” I wrinkled my nose. “He was a bit of a ladies’ man.”

“Besides the debacle with Chantal, not really. After you, he put everything he had into this bar.”

“Oh…” The need to remove my foot from my mouth overtook me.

Leo seemed to sense my discomfort and flashed me the patented Marchionni grin. “It’s good to see him happy again. He’s like a changed man.”

“You see a difference in him?” I probably shouldn’t have asked, but they were close. If anyone could give me some insight into Gabe’s psyche, it was Leo.

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