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Bartlett takes a step back to look at me. “Oh. You were gonna take over Pawsh Pets? Now that’s interesting. How’d Livvy feel about that?”
“Oh, she didn’t like it. Not at all.”
He looks around the room, energized at the possibility of drama.
I knew something was off about this guy.
“You know, Enzo, to get serious for a moment, you really shouldn’t have animals in EastSide. It’s a health code violation to have pets in a restaurant,” he scolds.
“Um, yeah. You’re right. But we thought one time would be okay, since it’s for a good cause.”
He raises his eyebrows at me, not about to let it go. “You need a variance. Or a conditional use permit.”
I look at him, trying to assess whether this is a suggestion or a threat.
I nod. “You’re right,” I concede to keep the peace.
“I’d hate to see you get cited by the health department, especially when your hold on the place is so tenuous.”
Um, what?
He waves at someone across the room, and after a shoulder cuff, wanders off.
I stand there with my mouth open.
18
ENZO
Two hours later,with all the guests gone, Livvy kicks her shoes off and plops her feet up on a chair in the dining room. The cleaning crew is buzzing around us, eager to get home, so we move to a far corner where we can all chat privately.
“Wow. That was a hit,” Livvy says. “Wine & Whiskers was a success. There’s no doubt we have the support of the community. Even Bartlett came. With thatwifeof his.” She fake-gags.
Definitely something there, between Livvy and the wife. I’ll dig into that later.
“I only got to say hi to him,” Owen says, setting a brown shopping bag in the middle of our table and plopping his ass down next to Livvy. Like, really close to Livvy.
He pulls out a Bud Lite and passes the first one to her.
She snorts. “Youdrink Bud Lite?” She drops her head back and laughs, and I know it’s cheesy as hell, but it sounds like music.
Dammit. I don’t want to like her. At least notthatway. We may have a very contentious time ahead of us where we all have to make difficult decisions. My loyalty, of course, is to EastSide. It’s possible things could get ugly.
But sitting here, trying not to stare at her bare legs propped up on a chair, giving me the slightest peek at her smooth thighs, has me thinking with my little head more than I should.
And Owen’s cockblocking me is not making me happy.
He clinks beer bottles with Livvy and the rest of us. “Yes, yes, I do drink Bud Lite, Livvy. I’m notthatfancy. Geez.”
She rolls her eyes. It’s funny, seeing her so relaxed and casual.
And I thought she couldn’t stand us guys. What changed? Or were we wrong all along?
“The party was a great success,” Owen says. “We had a good turnout and people were psyched to be here with their pets.”
I raise a finger. “Not everyone was thrilled with the pet theme, or with the attendance of our four-legged friends.”
All eyes turn my way.
