decided he was no match for the six-foot-three, broad-shouldered, good-looking guy, so he tossed a dollar on the table and quickly walked out the front door.
Nick eyed the dollar. “Big tipper,” he said with a smirk. “Why didn’t he believe I was real?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you later tonight.”
“Speaking of which, I may have to meet you at your place. I have a couple of things to get out of the way first, and those will probably take me until past closing.”
“Okay. I’ll see you whenever you get there.”
Nick scanned the bar and lowered his voice. “Where’s Angie?”
“Home, I think. I haven’t had a chance to call her yet.”
“Good. Sly told me what he told her, and you should know so you can play along.”
“Okay.”
“She and Claudia think Anthony gave her a couple of days off because she had been working so hard and deserved it.”
“I guess that will explain why she went to Star Island. Maybe she thinks it was a mini-vacation instead of a freak-out retreat.”
“Probably. If Anthony needs to reinforce anything later, let him know.”
“I will. I guess I’ll have to wing it in the meantime.”
Nick cupped her cheek. “That’s my girl.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before heading out the back.
***
Brandee dragged herself upstairs to her apartment that evening, totally exhausted. She suspected it was more emotional than physical. Talk about bizarre days.
When she opened her door, she was hit with the most amazing cinnamon aroma. Yippee! Angie’s been baking.
She entered the kitchen just as Angie pulled something out of the oven. It looked as good as it smelled.
“What did you make?”
“Bread pudding. Want a piece?”
“Thanks! I had a crazy day. I can use a bit of comfort food.” Brandee was grateful that Angie always cooked with lactose-free ingredients so she could share nummy things with her.
“That bad, huh? I’m glad I had the day off, but if you needed me you could have called.”
“Nah, the new part-time bartender was happy to have the hours. I was just a little overwhelmed mentally. Guess who showed up?”
Angie said, “Wait, don’t tell me. Brad Pitt, and you’re overwhelmed from crawling after him, starstruck, trying to lick his shoes.”
Brandee would have laughed, but it took too much energy. “No. Almost as unbelievable, though. Darryl.”
“Darryl? The guy who wasn’t into you enough to continue your relationship long distance?”
“That’s the one.”
Angie cursed. “Someone buzzed the intercom and asked for you. If I’d known it was him, I’d have said you moved to Hawaii. What did the douche bag want?”
“Me. He said it was all a big mistake and he wanted me to move to Switzerland with him.”
“Ha. I hope you sent him packing—literally.”
“Even better. Nick showed up.” Brandee touched her lips and smiled.
“And?”
“Darryl took one look at his replacement and ran.”
“Poor baby.” Angie chuckled. “I know I wasn’t always supportive of Nick, but I see how he treats you, and believe me, you upgraded quite a bit.”
“Thanks. I agree.”
“Did you ever find out why he quit the police force and became a PI?”
“Uh, yeah. It had something to do with his identical twin being accused of some high-profile art theft. Even though his brother was acquitted, there was still suspicion hanging over his head like a big black cloud.”
“Is that because of the twin thing? Did people see his brother’s picture in the paper and think it was him?”
“Yeah, partly, and because the thieves wore Boston Police uniforms to get past the security guards, some people still think he was involved somehow. By the way, he’s coming over sometime tonight. Don’t bring it up, okay? I don’t think he likes to talk about it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be cool. Speaking of cool…” She pointed to the bread pudding. “I’ll cut up this bad boy while it’s still warm. Would you like a scoop of lactose-free ice cream on it?”
“That’s really sweet of you. Thanks.”
Brandee was ravenous and the bread pudding was incredible, so she savored a piece. “Oh, Ange, that’s like the Fourth of July in my mouth!”
Angie chuckled. “Eat up. I made way more than we need.”
Half an hour later, Brandee was starting on another piece while waiting for Nick. When the door buzzed, her mouth was full, so she just pushed the button to let him in without using the intercom.
She waited for the knock on her door and opened it without looking through the peephole, confident that it was Nick. To her surprise, in walked Darryl.
“You didn’t ask who it was. How did you know