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“I won’t compete with you for a woman.”
Rafe grinned slightly. “Why not? You might win. Some women like the so-quiet-they-might-be-dead type.”
Max rolled his eyes. “I’m serious. You’re a friend. I don’t do that shit.”
Rafe’s lighthearted expression faded. “You’re implying I do, though? I’d fight a friend for a chick?”
Max sighed. “No, that isn’t what I’m saying. Stop assuming things, ‘cause you know what it does.”
“Makes an ass of you and me.” Rafe laughed a bit. “I’m not interested in fighting you for a gal. I’m just thinking, maybe there’s a way to make it work.” Whether deliberately or without thought, his gaze drifted to the doorway through which Tessa and the men had disappeared.
Max stared that way for a moment too, as though it might spontaneously offer an answer. After a second, he looked back at Rafe. “Works for some.”
“I admit, I’ve never considered it before. I can’t say it’s impossible, though.”
Max nodded. “Yep.”
“Such eloquence,” teased Rafe.
“Yep.”
“So, I guess I’m asking if you want to see if Simone likes us both?”
He hesitated before shrugging. “I suppose we could see. I’m still not sure it could work for us, but I don’t want to risk our friendship.”
“Me neither, man. There’s something special about her… Of course, we’ll totally respect it if she isn’t into either of us.”
“Or just one.” Max grimaced at the thought. He couldn’t really imagine she’d be open to the idea of dating both of them, and if not, she’d surely prefer Rafe to him. It would hurt, but he supposed it would be worse to never try. Or some shit like that.
“Yeah.” Rafe was quiet, as though contemplating the reality. He lifted his hand to slap Max on the back. “No matter what, I don’t want it to come between us.”
“Me neither. We’re brothers.” It was more than the MC linking them. They were polar opposites in many ways but somehow fit together into a cohesive unit. He wondered if Simone would see them like that, as the two parts of a crazy puzzle that made sense when put together. He clung to the hope because though he wanted to be optimistic about the future, he was more pragmatic. If she chose Rafe over him, he wouldn’t want it to hurt their friendship, but the heart was unpredictable. He couldn’t be completely certain it wouldn’t go badly, and he’d feel resentful despite his best efforts not to.
The shiftsat Sam’s changed during the week so that neither Simone nor Trudy had to be the one to close up the bar every night. Simone didn’t mind the extra work involved in closing, but getting off at two and then cleaning up and locking the place meant she didn’t get home until three, at the earliest. Then she needed to get up at six to see Gemma in the morning. She never got enough rest even if she went back to bed after Gemma left for school.
Tonight, she had the early shift.
It was a slow night that dragged on, so she did extra cleaning to pass the time and restocked all the shelves. Sam liked it when she did those things without asking, as most of the help would just sit around and talk to customers or each other unless he told them to do something. But Simone was bored, and she didn’t like letting the place get filthy. Now that smoking was banned in bars, they stayed a lot cleaner, but spilled drinks still made a sticky mess, and wiping the tables clean between customers made Sam’s a nicer place to be. Even if no one else cared, she did.
Around ten, Brad came in. He gave her a soft look and embarrassed smile that surprised her. It wasn’t a side of him she’d seen, and it seemed odd. “About the other night…”
“Forget it, Brad.” She realized he wasn’t good at apologizing. Maybe that was all it was.
“Those biker jerks made me lose it, Simone, and I’m really sorry. I just don’t like bikers, and I thought they were hitting on you.”
“And how would that be any business of yours, Brad?”
“They can get aggressive, pushy.”
“I can take care of myself.”
The idea seemed to startle him. “Yeah. Well, like I said, I’m sorry. I was in a bad place in my head, dealing with some online stuff, and I guess I brought it into the bar with me. I want to make it up to you.”
“Forget it.”
“Please. Let me buy you a drink when you get off.”
“I don’t think dating customers…”
