He peers over my shoulder at the women, who, thanks to the mirror, I can see are now sitting at the bar, whispering and shooting not-so-subtle glances at us.
Like the idiot he is, he slicks a hand over his gelled hair. “Lucky for her I am very single.”
Lucky for me, he means. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have worked.
I twist and wave at Loren, and she returns the gesture. “I better go see what they want.”
August presses a hand against my chest. “You finish the inventory. I’ll help them out.”
Hook, line, and fucking sinker.
My cousin strolls down to where the girls wait, leaning an elbow on the bar between them. He makes them two gin and tonics, then instead of coming back to help me count shit, he stays right where I want him.
I must admit, this plan of Loren’s was ingenious.
As with all good pranks, I bide my time, taking care of the other customers and all the barback duties since it’s Tuesday and we don’t typically bring in extra help during the week. Loren whispers something to Meg and then brings her drink down to where I’m pretending not to watch Meg and August flirt. He looks like a giddy golden retriever, drooling and dancing around, waiting for someone to throw a ball.
Loren’s lips, a glossy shade of plum, leave a mark on the end of her paper straw. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I nod toward our project. “How are the newlyweds?”
“Planning the honeymoon already.”
Excellent. It should be only a matter of time before he makes his move.
Not even two minutes later, August brings Meg around the back of the bar to teach her how to pull a pint of Guiness. There are lots of casual touching and crude jokes about head that girls laugh at whether they think it’s funny or not.
“Man, you know him so well,” Loren murmurs under her breath, poking at an ice cube with her straw.
“Too well.” He really is like my brother. Any time he got annoyed with his crazy family, he’d hop the fence and come hang out with me. With six siblings, it happened a lot.
“Does it really work?”
“Almost every time.”
Her cheeks hollow out as she sips, and I hate myself for where my mind goes. Let’s just say it’s not very gentlemanly. “I mean, I guess I get it,” she says. “He’s hot enough.”
She did not just say that. “Gah.” I stuff my fingers into my ears to keep those words from sinking in. “Please tell me you did not just call August hot.”
Her lips tilt into a smirk behind her straw. “What? He is.”
“Then I guess we didn’t need Meg at all.”
All she does is smile, which is more infuriating than the fact that she’s attracted to August. “Yeah, why didn’t you ask me to do it?”
Because my cousin never would’ve taken the bait. He believes I have a thing for Loren and that makes her off limits.
I’m starting to worry that he may be right.
Thankfully, I’m saved from responding when August whispers something into Meg’s ear and the two of them slip away to the office.
So fucking predictable.
This is where the magic happens.
I drag out my phone, flick over to the camera, aim it toward the back, and wait.
An indignant yelp echoes down the hallway. Meg comes sprinting out, catching herself on the wall and doubling over with laughter. Damn, she’s fast in those heels.
