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Talking with Cassidy wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought it’d be. I didn’t like talking to her about my guys. Her tone had been somewhat condescending. She and I were living two very different realities. If I made any major mistakes, my future could be bleak. It did sound a little dramatic. Pessimistic, even. However, I couldn’t do just about anything and have the family support system and resources that she had. Plus, she kept on making comments that had insinuated that Chase and I had had sex, like she and Chase had. The thought made my skin crawl. I wasn’t going to disprove her assumptions so she could make comparisons between her and me. I was being silly because I wanted my hands on Chase. Not hers or anyone else’s. And I wanted his heart too.
“You’re not supposed to be behind the bar.”
“Sue me!” Brianna took off her apron, and handed it to Nico, and he placed it underneath the counter. “You act like I drink alcohol here.”
Nico focused on me. “I’d offer you a morir soñado, but then that would mean that Bri would stay here longer.”
“Now, don’t be a Debbie Downer cause you’re gonna be here Friday and Saturday. I’ve done many Fridays and Saturdays.”
“Easy for you to say. It’ll just be Henerito, two cooks, and I manning the place.”
“Everyone will be coming back from their vacations before you know it.” Her lips spread into a smile. “But I am still here. I’ll have a piña colada and a morir soñado for Beth.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Want anything else?”
“No thanks.”
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“A virgin piña colada,” Nico emphasized to her.
“I was making sure you remembered.”
“Yeah, okay.” When Nico handed us our drinks, he said, “Today’s weird with Pierce and Mr. Pruitt gone most of the day and then Chase not coming into work. Brody’s all on his own today.”
“Chase didn’t come in today?” I queried.
“No, he didn’t,” Brianna replied as she looked at her smart phone and scrolled down her screen, a look of worry furrowing her eyebrows.
Nico took her phone. “Damn, that sucks.”
“What sucks?” I asked.
“Chase is gonna have himself a drink tonight. Because his position is now open.”
“Since when?”
“Since this job was posted this morning,” Brianna answered, and I noticed the dejected set of her shoulders. “He liked it here…too much. Either he quit ’cause of an emergency or he was fired.”
A bout of silence stretched until Nico’s gaze settled on Brianna. “I know you have to keep information confidential, but you really didn’t know, huh?”
I shook my head.
“Let’s not be negative. He may have gotten another job. It happens.” Nico gave us a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and then walked away from us.
“Thinking about checking up on him?” Brianna asked.
“Yes and no.” I took in a deep breath. “I am not speaking to him right now.”
Anxiety flooded through me. Pierce hadn’t promised me that he wouldn’t talk to Chase about what I’d seen earlier today. I couldn’t convince him to do that, but I wanted him and Chase to be there for each other like they had been. It was tough on Pierce to be the second man of the house with Uncle Anton’s seemingly rigid standards for him and flexible standards for Cassidy. However, I knew that despite being wrong about Chase’s intentions with me that his friendship with Pierce meant a lot to him.
“I am not gonna ask why. Maybe you guys can talk again. I mean, you two looked really happy together the other day and no, I don’t just mean you guys were about to jump each other’s bones.”
I remembered how my body tingled from being with him that day all too well.
“Drink your morir soñado before we head out,” Brianna told me, her deep green eyes flitting over me. “Nico will think he didn’t make your drink right, and then we’ll be here till midnight.”
Glancing around the room, some patrons left. The bright lights dimmed. More people trickled in, ranging in age across a lifespan, and what they had in common was that they were not here for the family dinner.
***
