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“Aw, you can practice on me,” she suggested, and I smiled so big, I thought my face might split.
Ryan came to my side and tossed his arm around my shoulders. “She’s way too pretty for you, baby brother.”
I nodded in agreement as Jess’s cheeks turned pink. “I’m well aware.”
“I’m Ryan, sweetheart. Anytime you want to get rid of this guy and date someone more your caliber, you know where to find me.” He reached for her hand and placed a kiss on top of it, and I thought for a second about knocking the baseball hat right off his head.
“I might be younger, but I will fight you,” I said, staking my claim.
“And you’ll lose,” he teased. “What are you having?”
“I would like a No Bad Days, please,” she said with a soft giggle.
“Coming right up.” Ryan winked at her, and I growled under my breath.
I knew he was only flirting, turning on the charm even more to get a rise out of me and make Jess feel special, but I didn’t like it. Go flirt with the other thirty women in this damn bar, I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t.
We both watched as Ryan grabbed ingredients, measuring and pouring them into the chrome shaker. He put a lid on the canister and shook it with both hands, the muscles in his arms flexing as women at the bar swooned and took videos of him to post on social media sites. This kind of thing was gold, and I encouraged patrons to film us, talk us up, brag about the hot brothers at Sam’s bar. Word of mouth was the best thing for any business, and a bar was no exception.
“You were right,” Jess said to me, and I cocked an eyebrow at her.
“About?”
“He might be more charming than you are.”
I narrowed my eyes, fighting off the urge to shove my brother for no other reason than I was an immature, competitive jackass sometimes. This was definitely one of those times.
“Only because he’s had eight years longer than I have to practice. Just wait till you see me in eight years.”
I gave her my best smile as Ryan stood in front of Jess, pouring her drink through a small strainer before peeling back the rind of an orange and running it around the rim of the glass.
Frank sauntered over, his hand extended toward Jess. “Anyone going to introduce me to this pretty thing, or are you both going to be rude assholes all night?”
“This is my girlfriend, Jess. Jess, this is my brother Frank.”
Frank shot Ryan a look, and I knew it was due to my using the word girlfriend. I’d never called a girl that, let alone introduced one that way before.
“Nice to see you settle do
wn with someone so respectable, Nick. And nice to meet you, Jess.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she said, her smile as big as mine.
Mail Call
Jess
Nick had introduced me to his brothers as his girlfriend. I knew that’s what I was, but hearing it come out of his mouth when talking to his family made me feel even more special, if that was possible.
“All right, everyone. Last call!” Frank shouted from behind the bar as he rang the bell that hung from a rope, the tattoos on his right arm peeking out from underneath his gray shirt.
Ryan laughed and shouted, “You don’t have to go home!” Then he waved at the crowd and they yelled in response, “But you can’t stay here!”
Everyone in the bar cheered as I looked around, my eyes wide at the choreographed chaos that surrounded me.
“Here you go, sweetheart. I hope you like it.” Ryan smirked before placing the light yellow drink in front of me and hustling down toward the other end of the crowded bar.
Nick watched as I tilted the glass toward my lips, taking the tiniest of sips without even smelling it first. “Ooh.”
