Chaser (Dive Bar #3)(42)
I gave myself a little shake. “Hmm? For what?”
“For being you.”
“Oh. You’re welcome.”
Maybe I wouldn’t kill Andre. At least, not just yet.
CHAPTER TEN
Lydia and Alex had teamed up to do the Dive Bar’s Christmas decorations, spray-painting small tree branches silver and suspending them from the ceiling. Matching paper stars and twinkling lights dangled down among them. We’d gotten a lot of great feedback from customers. It was pretty seasonal-forest spectacular.
“Another jug of the pomegranate martini and two more brandy alexanders,” ordered Rosie in her jaunty flashing Santa hat.
“Sure you don’t want me to take over?” asked Joe, leaning against the bar.
“No.” I shook my head, making my dumbass antlers shake. “Go relax.”
Better to stay busy. It kept my mind off how cozy Andre and Jean were looking, chatting over at the long table running down the middle of the room. Generally, Andre was a couple of dates, then move on kind of guy. A few months at most, maybe. Jean deserved … no, she needed more than to be some momentary distraction. Also, the woman looked damn good. She’d put her long dark hair up in a bun and wore a red sweater dress. Seasonal yet sexy. No matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes on the job, my gaze kept wandering back to her.
I rubbed at my chest with the heel of my palm. “We got any history of heart problems in the family?”
“Don’t think so,” said Joe.
Weird. I should probably ask Mom.
Meanwhile, Nell was entertaining Ada. We’d pulled a high chair up to one of the tables in the main dining room, and Ada was soaking in the atmosphere, looking wide-eyed at the ceiling decorations. Boyd stayed in the kitchen, keeping the food coming. Socializing wasn’t really Boyd’s thing and I could relate. Behind my bar, things just felt safer. I knew where I fit in the whole scheme of things, throwing around bottles and shit, keeping my hands busy filling orders. And it wasn’t like Jean or Ada needed me. They were both perfectly fine and having a great old time.
I should be happy for them both. Hell, I should be delighted.
“Got it pretty bad for her, huh?” Joe looked over his shoulder, checking out Jean.
“What?” I sputtered, spilling cream on the counter. A quick wipe and all better. “The fuck you talking about?”
“You realize Andre would back off if you just told him you were serious about her.” My brother scratched at his beard. “If you are serious about her. Are you?”
I coughed out a harsh laugh. “When the hell have I ever been serious about anyone?”
“Good point,” said Joe, leaning in. “So why are you looking so damn miserable?”
“Well, apparently my little brother’s turned into the neighborhood gossip or something. It’s got me down.”
“Fuck off. I’m being serious.”
“Me too.”
He scowled. “You’re a moody little bitch when you’re not getting any. You know that?”
“Don’t you talk about her that way,” I said, getting angry.
His face cracked open on a smile. “Christ, I wasn’t even talking about Jean. I meant you in general, knucklehead.”
I ignored the idiot and kept on working. Cream, cognac, crème de cacao, and a sprinkle of nutmeg on top. All good. Oh shit, Rosie had said two. I grabbed down for another martini glass.
“Putting your dick on ice doesn’t seem to agree with you,” he unfortunately continued. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you leave here with a woman. You spend all your downtime with Jean and the baby these days.”
“I like spending my time with them,” I said. “Why don’t you worry about your own life?”
“But you’ve been acting weird for a while, now that I come to think about it.” The nosy bastard picked up a toothpick and stuck it between his teeth. “At first, I figured Nell was just driving you nuts. Now … something’s seriously off and I think I know what it is.”
“Ooh, please tell me. I can’t wait to hear your wisdom, gossip girl.”
He grinned. “You’re in love.”
Jaw hanging open, I could only stare.
“It’s written all over your face,” he said. “Every time you look at her I’m surprised you don’t start drooling like the baby.”
“What’s happening over here?” Alex asked, as she leaned against Joe’s back, slipping her arms around his waist and squeezing. “Boys, why the frowns? Show me some Christmas spirit!”
“Ho ho ho,” said Joe, copping a feel of her ass.
“That’s better.” His slightly inebriated girlfriend grinned. Next came the tongues and mouths and … oh god, I didn’t need to see this. Plus, it was unprofessional.
But that was love, them being all stupid and gooey about each other. Jean and I weren’t like that at all. Speaking of which, I accidentally glanced her way again, catching her eye. A quick friendly smile and back to work I went. Yeah, everyone could just mind their own business about us. Nothing to see here.
“You’re full of shit,” I said to my brother. “This conversation’s done, Joe.”
He licked his lips, holding back the chuckles. Asshole. “Yeah, okay.”