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"That's not the whole story,” he said. “I'm not some freeloader who’s taking advantage of his childhood friend's generosity."
"That's what it looks like."
Brian sat a cold glass of white down in front of me and another bottle of beer before Finn.
I slid a crisp twenty across the bar. "I want to pay for these, Brian."
He slid it back. "You've already paid."
My brows furrowed.
"By babysitting The Talent," he added, shooting Finn a smart look before walking away.
"Do you like that?" I asked. "When he calls you The Talent?"
Finn leaned towards me. "Don't tell him I said this, but it's literally my favorite thing."
I laughed.
He lifted his drink and chinked it against mine. "To my favorite mooch."
"That's not fair."
"Relax, Maeve. This is my bar."
I studied his expression, but I couldn’t determine if he was speaking metaphorically. "What do you mean it's your bar?"
"I mean I buy every drink in the place before it crosses this countertop."
"I'm confused. You own this place?"
"Not technically."
Fucking great. Just what I needed. Another guy who liked the sound of his voice more than he liked telling the truth.
"Technically, Brian owns it," he said. "But only because I agreed to give him an extra percent."
"Seriously?"
He narrowed his eyes at me. "What do you mean seriously? Are you asking if I made that up? Like I pay the rent here is my go-to pick-up line?"
"Is it?"
"You tell me," he said. "Do you like me better now that you know I own half a bar?"
Kind of?Not that there was anything wrong with him being a full-time musician, but my attraction to him was slightly more defensible if he didn’t live in his parents’ basement.
"Or did you like the idea that you were slumming it with a starving artist?"
"I never thought you were a starving artist."
"Oh good." He lifted his beer and took a swig. "That's the nicest thing you've said to me all night."
“Not true. And for the record, I do feel less guilty about my free drink, so thanks for telling me."
"You're welcome," he said. "Though I'd appreciate if you kept that between us. As far as the regulars here are concerned, I'm just The Talent."
"And you like it that way?"
