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We walk over to the bar, the four guys taking a stool, as I stand, and Jack pours us all a tasting tray of ciders. “Place looks amazing, Jack,” I say, sliding the trays down to the guys.
Jack grins at me. “Bet that was hard for you to say.”
“Fuck off,” I say, shaking my head with a smile.
Jack chuckles. “So, listen, we’re going to start introducing these tasting trays over at Somerville’s to try and get some feedback from people on what they think of the cider.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” I say, lifting the crisp apple cider for a taste. “Shit, that’s good.”
Jack’s grin widens. “I know,” he says, and I roll my eyes. “Anyway, in order to get people to give us feedback, we’re offering exclusive entry into a competition for them to attend the launch party of this place.”
I finish off the apple cider, nodding as I replace it on the tray and reach for the pear one. “Smart. It will encourage them to fill it in.”
“Exactly,” Jack says. “It was Penny’s idea.”
I let out a cough as my cider suddenly goes down the wrong way. “What?” I splutter.
Jack straightens, crossing his arms over his chest as he grins at me from behind the bar. “It was Penny’s idea. A pretty good one, huh?”
“Sure,” I say shrugging.
“You know—”
“Leave it, Jack,” I say, cutting him off as I hold up a hand. I turn to walk away, having no interest in engaging in any form of discussion about Penny, much less one with Jack. We might get along now and could even be considered friends, but I’m still not going there with him.
Just as I move to walk away though, Penny walks through the door with Lauren, the two of them laughing and chatting, Penny holding a camera in her hands.
“Speak of the devil,” Jack murmurs as he walks out from behind the bar and heads over to them. “Lulu!” he shouts, wrapping his arms around her as he bends her backward and kisses her dramatically.
Lauren laughs as she clings to Jack, pretending to push him away even though anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain cell can tell she loves it. She doesn’t even care about the nickname he gave her anymore or that others have started using it.
“Hey,” she says, her face flushed when he finally lets her come up for air. “We’re here for some pictures for the competition to use on social media and stuff.”
“Great,” Jack says, his arm around her shoulders as he leads Lauren and Penny toward the bar. “You can take some with these guys if you want?” He throws a hand in our general direction before he tugs Lauren out the back toward his office. I don’t even want to think about what they’re about to do in there.
I turn back to the new guys and notice all four of them are staring at Penny who’s busy putting her stuff down at the other end of the bar, oblivious to the way they are looking at her. I clear my throat, suddenly pissed off.
“Eyes here,” I growl, moving to stand between them and Penny.
One of them rolls his eyes as someone else groans and mutters. “Just looking, geez.”
“No looking, no talking, hands off,” I say, hands on my hips. “Penny is an employee here and off-limits, got it?”
“Seriously?” the one who rolled his eyes asks, incredulously.
“Yes, seriously,” I confirm. “There is no fraternizing with fellow employees. Either here or at Somerville’s.” This isn’t exactly true. I mean Jack and Lauren are obviously married and they work together, but these guys don’t need to know that. More than anything, I just need him to stay away from Penny.
He rolls his eyes again and I swear I want to smack the back of his head. But then he glances to my left, a huge smile on his face as he leans forward and says, “Hey, I’m Dylan,” holding out his hand toward Penny who has somehow materialized beside me.
“Hi,” she says, smiling. “Penny. Nice to meet you.”
Now I just want to punch this fucker and march him out the door, firing his ass before he so much as utters one more word to her. But I don’t, instead turning to Penny as I ask, “What are you doing here?”
Her smile disappears and I immediately feel like a total dick. “Taking some photos for the competition we’re running for the—”
“Yeah, Jack told me you came up with it,” I say, cutting her off.Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?“It’s…it’s a great idea.”
Penny blinks once, her eyes locked on mine as she opens her mouth to say something, before snapping it shut again.
