Love Her - Andrea Johnston Page 0,29

feel like shit tomorrow but at least they won’t puke on the way home.”

“Nothing is worse than needing a cab to pull over to toss your cookies.”

Cammie loads up her tray with the drinks as quickly as I make them. When she scurries away, I move down to the far end of the bar and greet a line of new customers. It’s like this the rest of the night and before I know it, I’m signaling last call and the lights brighten. Both bachelors along with their crews are long gone but the birthday girls are still here, crowns tossed aside, and makeup smeared; they look like they’ve had a good celebration.

Joey begins ushering everyone out the door, the party girls still laughing and dancing as they go. Like we do most nights that we close together, Joey cranks the music to modern country and starts moving the chairs to the top of the tables Cammie has started cleaning. With her hair now piled haphazardly on her head, she begins singing along with the music. We don’t fill the space with conversation, all of us talked out after a long night with customers.

While I clean behind the bar, my thoughts drift to the surprise encounter today. Any fool can look at Lis and see how beautiful she is but for me it’s more about the different versions of her that has my interest piqued. The flirty woman with painted red lips at Doris’s Tavern compared to the soft spoken receptionist are both sides of her I like. But, surprising me most was how I can’t stop thinking of the way she was with her daughter. The vulnerability she showed today when she talked of her.

Watching her amused and a little horrified at the bar scene to how touched she was at my appreciation of her daughter’s name made me want to spend more time with her. To understand why she was so affected by my words.

I’ve never dated a single mom. Hell, it isn’t even something I’ve considered. That’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of extra drama I’ve never thought was worth getting involved with. Watching them together didn’t have me looking for the nearest exit, but instead, I wanted to see how things played out. Watch them banter back and forth.

Is there a fourth side to her? Just the idea that there may be has me wondering what she’d say if I asked her out.

There’s only one way to find out.

Chapter 12

Felicity

Something as simple as dinner with a friend shouldn’t have me this nervous. Yet I sit here, holding the glass of sweet tea so tightly you’d think I was afraid for its well-being. Gigi shuffles around her kitchen, telling me about her recent baby shower and all the inner family drama it resulted in. I’ve always been jealous of siblings as an only child I felt like I missed out on a lifelong friend. After listening to her complain about her sisters, I’m having second thoughts.

“Then when Bri pulled out her gift from behind the couch I thought actual steam was billowing from Ellie’s ears. Sure it was a bigger box, but since I refused to accept a gift that wasn’t on my registry, I knew the cost was comparable to the gift Ellie had.”

“Sounds stressful.” Lifting the glass to my lips, I take a small sip.

“Oh, not at all,” she replies with a giggle as she sets a bowl in front of me. The aroma of garlic and basil has my mouth watering. “It’s par for the course with those two. I’m just glad they are the younger sisters. I can’t imagine what life would have been like with twins for older siblings. What about you? Any siblings?”

Covering my mouth with a napkin I shake my head. Good grief this is good. She already wowed me with a garden salad that I swear tasted better than anything I’ve had in a restaurant let alone at home. Swallowing, I take another sip from my glass before responding.

“Nope. I’m an only child. My parents tried to conceive for years but by the time I turned ten they gave up on the idea of more children. Sometimes I feel guilty about that. I wasn’t the easiest child. Let alone teenager.”

“Do not get me started. I was a horrible teenager. I’ll never forget the time I skipped school and my mom caught me with a pack of cigarettes in my purse while I was getting to second base with