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I waved the concern off. “I wouldn’t have messed with that anyway. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be close to family.” I nudged his shoulder playfully at that.
He relaxed, half heartedly ruffling my hair. “I suppose you’re not that bad.”
I elbowed him in the side. “How rude, and here I was thinking of making your favorite dinner tonight.”
He grinned, “Chicken and rice?”
Turning partially away from him, I huffed. “Yes, but now I’m not sure if I should.” I even stuck my nose into the air to complete the picture. He laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulder.
“Alright, I’m sorry. You’re a great, though occasionally irritating little sister. Is that better?”
I nodded, “Yes, and now if you’ll excuse me, I have dinner to make.”
Pulling him into a one-armed hug, I stopped to pet Fig–who was still going to town on the squeaky toy–and made for the kitchen. Things at work had been hectic lately, but with any luck, it would even out soon.
Chapter 7
“I don’t know about this,” I said, yet again standing in a dress in front of a mirror, only this time it was Alice’s idea, not mine.
The dress wasn’t the black one I’d worn before. This one was a nice blue that went well with my blond hair. Cotton material made it look more casual with its long floor-length skirt, but the spaghetti strap and a split up the side made it cute enough for a ‘going out’ outfit. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind wearing it if it weren’t for where she was trying to get me to go. It was pretty comfortable.
Alice stood in a mini red dress that only went down to her mid thigh, a wide smile on her face as she shook her head. “It’s just the bar, and it’s not like you’ll be alone. You have me and a few of our other friends will be coming too. No one will bother us when we’re all together.”
I wasn’t worried about a creep bugging us, but that was another reason not to go.
Running a hand down the front of my dress, I bit my lip and sighed. “That’s nice, but you know I don’t really like alcohol. Or being around drunks.”
She tipped her head in agreement, though continued to argue. “Yeah, but the owner has a strict policy about no harassment, and he’s really careful about cutting people off before they get too hammered. You might have fun.”
Staring at her hopeful expression, I considered it.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to hang out with her, but something in my gut said things weren’t going to go smoothly. I rarely went to bars thanks to the risk that came with it, but maybe things would be okay…
After a long minute, I finally nodded. “Okay, but I reserve the right to leave early if things get weird or if someone gets creepy.”
She cheered, spinning on the spot to grab both our purses. “Great, let’s go then!”
I let her drag me out to the car, the ride to the bar seeming to pass in a blink until we pulled into the parking lot. The building was well-kept and all but shaking from the loud music blaring inside. The bouncer at the front took one look at us before waving us in, something I definitely wasn’t used to, but Alice shot him a wide smile as if she were.
The sound when we walked completely inside hit me like a brick and I grimaced, already not liking the ache building between my eyes.
You just got here, give it time.
I put on a smile as Alice dragged me to the nearest booth, where she dumped her purse. “The others should be here soon. Do you want anything?” She gestured to the bar and I shrugged.
“Water and some snacks sound nice. I’m dubbing myself the designated driver so everyone makes it home okay.”
She didn’t argue with that, more than happy to bounce her way to the bar. Once she was gone, I swept a glance around since I hadn’t been here before. The interior décor wasn’t bad, the booth seats a nice deep red in contrast to the otherwise dark wood of the floor.
Everything was in decent condition if nothing else. The bartender occasionally looked around, his eyes sharp and on alert. Apparently Alice wasn’t kidding about the owner taking his policies seriously. The guy looked ready to personally put an end to any nonsense that started.
That helped drag some of the unease out of me, and I relaxed against the seat.
Only for it to come rushing back when I caught a very familiar pair of eyes from across the bar.
William’s gaze locked with mine, widening in shock as we both stared at one another. He wasn’t here with Alice, that much was obvious, and given that there was only one bar in town I suppose it wasn’t too big of a coincidence that we wound up here at the same time.
Shaking that to the side, I waved.
