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Ashe assures me he knows it all and I shouldn’t worry before he heads back over to speak with his crew. I sigh and walk back over to the pile of contracts I need to finish signing today. With only two left to go, I should be done with plenty of time to hit the cemetery on the way home.
It’s been so surreal being able to bring my dream to life. I almost can’t believe this is real life sometimes. This place is mine, every inch of it will be my vision, and when it’s done, it’ll be a legacy of how far I’ve come from the sad, scared seventeen year old that Melinda took in and then started on this path.
Biting my lip, I watch as the construction crews move around the brewery, bringing my dream to life right before my eyes. Sure, right now it looks like a complete disaster, but I can also see where my office will be. I can see the long, solid red oak bar stretched out with the tables off to the right and the dance floor to the left. It’s coming to life and the goofy smile I’m trying to hide is breaking through at the notion.
“Lay!” Juliette shouts beside me, making me jump out of my skin. “Girl, you are out of it. Daydreaming again?”
“Me? I never daydream,” I tease, bumping my shoulder into hers with a smile.
“Maybe you never used to, but your head is always off in la la land lately,” Jules jokes, a mischievous grin on her face. “Those men of yours taking really good care of you?”
Jules wiggles her eyebrows suggestively while dramatically biting her lip. Laughing at her antics, I shake my head and finish off the last contract signature before turning back to her.
“Finally done with all the contracts,” I murmur with a tired smile. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I’m actually having my own bar and brewery made.”
“I can believe it! You’re one of the most inspirational people I know,” Jules says as she pulls me into her side with one arm. “There’s absolutely nothing you can’t do if you want it enough. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
“You’re only two years younger than me, Jules. You are grown up,” I tease back. Pulling out of the side hug, I gather all of my papers together and put them in their folders.
“I still have two years to hit your level of badass, so yeah, when I grow up.” Juliette stiffens suddenly beside me, her face dropping to the ground and her curly blonde hair falling to hide her face.
My body goes rigid, my eyes instantly searching for the source of her discomfort. Whenever one of my loved ones, friends, family, or lovers, is threatened, I instantly go into fight or flight mode with the switch stuck on fight.
“What’s going on?” I quietly ask her, careful to keep my face as neutral as possible in case someone is watching us.
“It’s nothing,” she responds just as quietly.
Well, that’s a lie,I think in my head with a snort. “You clamped up and went into hiding. It definitely doesn’t seem like it’s nothing. Is someone making you uncomfortable?”
Jules’ eyes shoot up to meet mine, shock and guilt all over her face. “Oh god, no. I’m so sorry. It’s nothing like that. I’m just being silly.” After a deep breath, she continues with a deep blush flushing her face. “It’s Ashe, actually. I’ve had a crush on him since we were kids, but he’s always been my older brother’s best friend so it’s not like anything could happen. I’m just being stupid. The schoolgirl crush hasn’t seemed to disappear yet.”
A smile pulls up the corners of my mouth, my eyes moving from Jules to Ashe and back again. Seeing my best friend all hung up over this man has me so excited on her behalf. After the shitshow that is her ex-boyfriend, she deserves to find love with someone kind and respectable like Ashe.
“Is that why you dropped in on me when I said I was here?” I bump her shoulder with my own, pulling an awkward laugh from her. “You wanted to come sneak a peek at my contractor? Get your rocks off staring at the big, buff working men?”
“Lay! Enough!” Jules admonishes me through giggles. “I came to see you, my best friend. No one else.”
“Uh huh,” I throw back at her while dramatically rolling my eyes. “I don’t believe it for a second. However, I’ll be a nice friend and let you live in your lies and daydreams.”
“How kind and benevolent of you,” Juliette groans and drops her head in her hands. There’s a small smile on her lips letting me know it’s all in jest. “If you really must know, Maddie is still in daycare for another hour so I thought killing time with my best friend before pick up would be a good idea.”
Throwing my hands in the air in a sign of surrender, I nod my head. “Okay, okay. You’re right, it was a good idea. I’ve missed you since you started the new job at the community center.”
“Is the world ending?” Adam asks from the other side of me, his voice making me jump at the suddenness of it. “Did Lay just admit that someone else is right?”
Looking back at him, I admire his strong, colourful heavily tattooed forearms and sharp chiseled jaw covered in dark stubble. His dark brown hair is neatly styled back, and he’s wearing slacks and rolled up sleeves on his button up, giving him a GQ bad boy vibe that has me drooling.
My sexual appetite for my men has grown tenfold since becoming pregnant. Thank god there’s three of them to keep up with me when I’m like this.
“Shut up. I admit when other people are right.” I stick my tongue out at him while still falling into his open arms to snuggle into his chest. The scent of his cologne washes over me at the contact, making me feel immediately calm and happy.
Adam raises one eyebrow, his hazel eyes sparkling with laughter. “You? Alayna Morgan? No. You never tell others they’re right.”
Jules laughs beside me, shaking her head at the banter. “Nah, it’s only you she doesn’t say that about.”
I point at Jules in acknowledgement, grinning evilly at her set up. Turning back to Adam, I kiss his cheek softly before patting it with my left hand. “Exactly! And that’s only because you’re never right. It’s not a fault with me, twatwaffle, it’s a fault with you.”
“Woooow,” Adam drags out, pulling back to put a hand over his heart. “You’re mean today, buttlicker. I like when you’re sassy, but this level of meanness might just be a step too far.”
