Page 12 of Where We Stay

When I reach the bar, Georgie is waiting with a smirk.

“Meet the crew, then?” she asks.

“They seem nice.” I reach beneath the bar for two bottles of beer. “Are they friends of yours?”

I keep my attention on the drinks, despite the fact I’m really wondering what Dean’s deal is.

Not that I would ever make a move.

I came here to start my life over, and part of that means learning how to be comfortable alone. Getting my head together. Healing from all the shit I’ve spent years pretending didn’t affect me.

A pair of broad shoulders and a nice voice don’t exactly fit into that plan.

“Oh yeah. We’ve all known each other for years,” Georgie explains as she starts making Mallory’s vodka soda. “Dean mostly keeps to himself, though. If he isn’t at the garage, he’s usually with his daughter.”

“He has a daughter?” I ask, glancing toward the booth before I can stop myself.

“Yep.”

Dean is listening to something Logan is saying, but there’s a softness in his expression that wasn’t there when he looked at me.

“I didn’t get dad vibes from him,” I admit.

Georgie slides Mallory’s drink toward me. “What do dad vibes look like?”

“I don’t know. Cargo shorts? Emergency snacks? A phone filled with blurry photos?”

She laughs. “Okay, his phone is definitely filled with blurry photos.”

I place the drinks onto my tray, annoyed by how much I like knowing that.

When I return to the booth, Knox and Logan are arguing about whether a hot dog counts as a sandwich.

“It’s meat between bread,” Knox insists.

“It’s a hot dog,” Logan argues. “It has its own category.”

“You’re both deeply embarrassing,” Mallory tells them, shaking her head.