Page 83 of Loving You

I gulped. “You went to Walker’s?”

Maybe if I just kept him talking long enough, someone would have to pee and this would end swiftly—and without bloodshed.

“Yep. And you know what I saw?” he seethed, not even giving me time to answer before he went on. “I saw a run-down, cheap-ass, dive bar. And they don’t even have good customer service because they only let me have two of their shitty drinks before deciding I deserved to be eighty-sixed. Fucking idiots. But it was fine, I still had a full flask on me. You really wanna live your life with the guy who ownsthatwhen you could be with me?”

“Didn’t you tell me you lost your job?” I asked without thinking, annoyed beyond all measure that on top of everything else, he’d dare to compare himself to Eric in any way that would suggest he came out on top.

Besides, Walker’s was the opposite of all of those things, and damn right, they’d kicked his ass out. Eric and Sammy trained their employees way too well for them to overserve.

And apparently, I felt passionate enough to defend both my man and his bar that I’d lost my ability to watch my damn mouth.

Wrong move.

Too many years away from this guy meant I’d forgotten how to handle this angry version of him. I’d done fine earlier because it’d been a slower vibe, giving me more time to think about what I wanted to say. It’d been almost like a chess game, whereas this…

This wasn’t a game.

And right now, my pulse thrummed in my ears, I was freaking the fuck out, and I’d been snippy before I could think better of it.

Cliff let go of my wrist long enough to backhand me, anddamn, I tasted blood on my bottom lip when I ran my tongue over it.

There went that fleeting hope about no bloodshed.

“Come with me,” Cliff spat, keeping his hold on one wrist as he wrapped his other arm around my shoulders until his hand covered my mouth. Then, he tugged me toward the stairs. “And if you even think about screaming, I promise you, this night will get a whole lot worse.”

26

ERIC

Mom beamed at Jackson as he and Lea twirled past us. She’d demanded I dance with her so she could enjoy them at closer range instead of standing on the outskirts since other dancers kept getting in her view. She waggled her fingers at someone, and I assumed it was Lea or Jackson again, but as we rotated a few degrees, I saw it was April’s mom.

“You two really made amends. I’m proud of you.”

She patted my back where one of her hands rested. “Thank you. I’m proud of us, too. And even though I didn’t realize it’d been weighing on me so heavily, I feel incredibly relieved.”

My small smile said enough for me, and she grinned back before speaking again. “You know, I’m proud of you, too.”

I glanced to our left at the building across a stretch of grass, far enough away that it didn’t ruin the lovely ambiance but close enough to be a neighbor.Walker’s.

Sometimes I had to shake myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming when I reflected on how far we’d come. Will was our award-winning head chef, and Sammy was doing a damn good job managing the front of house. Jake had taken us to the next level by being such a devoted brewmaster and getting us into bottling, and all of us, collectively, were an incredible team.

“I am too,” I said. “Walker’s has come a long way, and having all of us except Bren working there means a lot.”

“No, honey, I’m not talking about the work you’ve done with Walker’s, though don’t think that’s not impressive. I’m very proud of you all on that front.”

My brows raised. “Okay,” I said, not sure what she meant, if not the family business.

She got a look I’d seen a hundred times over the years—endeared and full of affection. “I mean April.”

I straightened, and purely on instinct, I glanced around to find the woman. She must’ve still been in the bathroom.Damn,whatever she had on under that dress would need to be burned if it took this long for her to wrangle, but we’d deal with that later.

“You’d been closed off for so long. So focused on Walker’s, which I’m grateful for in many ways. But I think I need to say something to you I’m not sure I’ve ever made clear enough.”

My focus shifted back to her completely, her eyes shining with unshed tears when I met her gaze.

“Eric, thank you for holding everything together. You were the backbone of the family—you still are—but I know that came at a price. I never meant for you take on so much. I didn’t…” She sniffed, working to compose herself.

“I don’t regret any of it, Mom. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t focused on taking care of the family. It gave me purpose at a time when I wasn’t sure life had a lot of meaning, but by doing the practical things to keep it all going, Ifoundpurpose. Or made it.”

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