Page 39 of The Last Goodbye

I’d been an asshole, and she was right…she’d done nothing but help me.

“And!” She tossed her hands in the air now, her eyes wide and angry. “And—because I pushed so hard for this, I have to stay here for three freaking months to make sure your restaurant is renovated and completed on time. Away from the city, away from my home, my life—and you have the audacity to challenge my intentions? Maybe you should check yourself, Bass Bennett. Because you made a deal where you bought a building and you didn’t own the land beneath it. You could have walked away with nothing. Instead, you’re getting a brand-new restaurant with the same views but a bigger space, and it’s not costing you a damn penny. How about you stop questioning my motives and just say thank you.” She reached in her purse, pulled out some cash, and tossed it on the bar. “Better yet, start with an apology. Because you definitely owe me one.”

“I, er, I was…” I couldn’t find the words I was looking for when she stood in front of me, cheeks red, lips pursed.

“Yeah, you’ve got nothing to say. That’s what I thought. You’re so busy pointing the finger at me and making me out to be the bad guy that you can’t even fathom that I’m not the enemy and that I’m actually trying to help you.”

“Hey,” I said, reaching for her hand. “Take your money. I said I’d buy you a drink. And I’ll even buy the asshole a drink, because apparently, I’m an asshole, too.”

“I don’t need you to buy me a drink. An apology and a little human decency would have gone a long way.” She tugged her hand away and strode out of the container park.

“Damn. You really have a way with women, don’t you?” Brody snorted as he walked back over to me. “She’s right, you know.”

“Were you eavesdropping, dickhead?” I said to him just as Phoenix sat in the seat beside me that she’d just abandoned.

“Of course I was eavesdropping. I’m a bartender. It’s part of the job.” Brody reached for a beer and set it down in front of his brother, knowing exactly what he would order. We came here often enough.

“What did I miss?” Phoenix asked. He took a sip of his beer.

“Our hotheaded chef pissed off the woman who has actually made his life easier.” Brody shrugged.

“She got you a good deal on the new restaurant, right?” Phoenix asked. “I thought she gave you everything you wanted?”

“She did.” I tossed some cash on the bar. “I was just wrong about her motives.”

“He basically accused her of being a self-serving, pretentious prima donna,” Brody said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Not in so many words, but it’s what you insinuated. And it turns out she’s the opposite. She’s actually helping you and helping this town at the same time.”

“Whose fucking side are you on?” I pushed up from my seat and glared at him.

“The right side, brother. That’s the deal we made years ago.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll always have your back, but I’ll also be the first to tell you when you’re being an asshole.”

“I can vouch for that. He loves to tell me I’m an asshole.” Phoenix chuckled and then glanced at me. “Just apologize and move on.”

“Says the guy who never apologizes.” Brody shook his head with disbelief.

“Hey, just because I don’t do it often, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do it,” his brother said.

“I’m not in the mood for a therapy session. I’m out.”

This uncomfortable weight was weighing on me. It was unfamiliar—and I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

I wasn’t a man who was driven by guilt. I owned my shit. But this was different.

I felt like crap for what I’d said to her—and I didn’t like it.

I stood up, and I didn’t wait for a response, because I didn’t want to hear it.

I was more than aware that I owed her an apology.

But I highly doubted she’d want to hear it now.

ten

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