AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s not safe out there,” he countered, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I happen to know you haven’t eaten anything for dinner. We can stop at Rudy’s for sandwiches. In fact, I insist.”
“Oh!” Rocco sounded off with a surprised grunt, looking at me with renewed interest. “She is your woman! Why didn’t you tell me?” His accent was thick, but there was no mistaking his words.
I glared at Leo before turning my fiery gaze to Rocco. “I’m not his woman.”
“Well—” Leo began to say.
“I am not your woman.”
We stared at each other for a long moment before he finally broke. “Yes, she’s right. She’s not . . . erm . . . we’re not?—”
“We’re not together,” I finished for him, eyes still glued to Rocco.
Rocco grinned, amusement written all over his face. “If you say so.”
“Oh, I say so,” I assured, eyes snapping back to Leo. “I appreciate your offer, but I don’t need a ride.” I could tell he wanted to interject again, but I turned my back to him and walked away—something I seemed to be good at lately.
Behind the bar, Nora had already served the group a round of drinks—everyone had a bottle of beer in front of them except Amelia, who sipped from a glass of red wine. Nora was out on the floor greeting a couple who’d just arrived at a table, so I took a moment to scan everyone else at the bar to make sure they were okay. Once I was sure everyone was topped up, I leaned against the bar’s surface to talk with the gang.
Logan turned from his conversation with Andre and a smile lifted from his mouth. “There you are.”
“Yeah, sorry. Duty called—you know how it goes,” I laughed. “How are you guys?”
Logan shrugged. “Shop’s been busy. We’ve all been busy, actually—I think this is the first time we’ve gotten together in over a month.”
Adam groaned. “Finally! I swear, dude, between the shop and planning your wedding, you guys are always busy.”
Logan blinked at his best friend. “You’re a neurosurgeon, Adam. You literally have saving lives on your to-do list . . . I seriously don’t understand how you always have so much wind in your sails.”
Amelia snorted out a laugh.
Andre politely chimed in while Adam shrugged with a smug look on his face. “Mara.” I turned to find his gray eyes sparking beneath the bar lights. “I’m not sure if you’ve met my sister yet—this is Marisela.” He wrapped his arm around his sister, who smiled at me.
I held my hand out. “Hey Marisela, I’m Mara. It’s nice to meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you too—I’ve heard a lot about you from Nora.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you too. You and Nora are opening up a sandwich shop together—she’s been keeping me updated on the process.”
“Yes!” She nodded enthusiastically, and I could feel her joy radiating from her smile. “I’m so excited, we actually just found a location.”
“What!” I smacked my hands together. “Where?”
“Right down the street from the auto shop, actually,” she answered, beaming.
Andre tugged her closer. “We’ll be able to keep an eye on them. And I’m sure our guys will love grabbing lunch there.” He looked down at her, eyes flaring with pride, and it made my chest ache.
I knew how excited Nora was these last couple of months as she and Marisela worked through the details of their new venture. They’d been meeting regularly in the mornings to develop the menu, source all the food, and to build the brand with the help of Amelia’s marketing magic. Knowing they’d found a space to lease would bring it all that much closer to fruition. “I can’t wait until you guys open,” I said. “I’ll come in and post about it on my social media channels.”
Marisela’s eyes lit up. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “Of course!”
Nora came bounding back behind the bar, an obvious confidence in her step as she looked toward her man. “What did I miss?”
Andre grinned. “Just talking about how excited we all are for the new restaurant.”
Nora smiled from ear to ear, eyes zipping to me. “Oh, yeah—I have a lot to catch you up on.”
