Chaser (Dive Bar #3)(43)

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Guess we’ll see.”

“Excuse me, babe.” He gave his girlfriend’s arm a pat then rose from his seat and came around behind the bar to take over. “Go talk to her, dude.”

“Her being Jean?” Alex asked, taking a sip of Joe’s beer. So great that she could join in the conversation.

“We were just discussing the big issues,” said Joe. “Life, love, shit like that. You know.…”

“Shit like that? You’re an absolute charmer, babe.” Her nose delicately wrinkled. “Very well, continue on.”

“Let’s not,” I said.

Bad enough my brother felt the need to get all up in my business and start discussing feelings. If Alex started in on the topic, we might be here all night doing quizzes in women’s magazines and talking over sad moments from our childhood.

She made a humming noise and turned, looking over to where Jean and Andre were happily chatting again. With half a glass of red wine in her hand, Jean looked happy, relaxed. Which was great. It wouldn’t hurt Andre to sit back a little and give her some breathing room, though. Jesus. Talk about being in her space.

“They make an interesting couple,” said Alex.

“I don’t know,” said Joe, making up a jug of pomegranate martini. “Andre’s probably just being a good neighbor.”

“You don’t think he’s serious?” I crossed my arms. “Why, because she’s got a baby?”

Joe nodded.

“Not so sure about that,” said Alex. “I think Eric might have some competition.”

“They’re just friends. My big brother’s reformed,” stated Joe. “In case you haven’t noticed.”

Jesus. Pretty sure a lobotomy would hurt less than listening to this. “I’m taking a break.”

I slid behind my brother and got out of there pronto. Fresh air was required, no matter how freezing. Chatter and music filled the room, everyone busy having a good time. No one would miss me. From the rack by the door, I grabbed my coat and slipped outside into the butt-chapping winter wonderland. Times like this, I missed smoking. A good excuse for just stopping and getting my thoughts in order. Not that dying from messed-up lungs would ever be something I was in any way interested in, but you get what I mean.

Nothing much moved on the dark empty street. The sounds from inside were muted, the candles on the tables glowing. Too much was going on inside for me to think straight.

Neither me, nor Nell, nor Lydia, had raised the subject of the offer to sell again. Not really. We’d been tiptoeing around it, pretending it wasn’t in the back of all our heads, taking up space. Everyone had been so busy with the Christmas bookings it’d been easy to avoid the subject. Next came New Year’s Eve and that always drew a big crowd. Things usually quieted down during January so I guess we’d talk it out then. Maybe. The thought of scattering our patched-together family set my chest to hurting again.

The door opened and Jean stepped out, pulling on her coat. “Hey there.”

“Hi. What are you doing out here?”

“Actually, I came out here to ask you that question.” Her breath frosted the air, cheeks pink from the heat inside and maybe the glass of wine. “Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

“You weren’t about to make a phone call or something, were you?” she asked with a faint smile. “Am I cramping your style?”

A sudden urge flared in my mind to lie about some booty call with some hot girl. Better that than for Jean to think I was just standing out here all alone for no reason, like some loser. But I pushed the urge aside. “Cramping my style?” I echoed. “You’re the one out on the hot date.”

Her puffy turquoise jacket covered her from neck to knee, but she still had to be cold. “Why don’t you head back inside? It’s freezing out here.”

“Soon,” she said.

“Ada’s dealing with all the noise well.”

“I think she’s loving the attention.” Jean looked through the window, watching Nell hold the baby while Pat had an apparently very serious conversation with the small child. “I worried you were going to give me crap about her reindeer suit.”

“Nuh, reindeers have antlers. They can be fierce.” I tilted the soft foam antlers on my head in her direction. Kind of underlining my point.

“Ah.” She laughed, then sighed. “Are you thinking about the offer for the bar?”

“I was, actually.”

“Come to any decisions yet?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t.”

“Sure you’re not tempted to sell and buy a bike, hit the road?”

“I’d freeze my ass off doing it this time of year.”

Jean looked to heaven. “How about a car then? A very fancy, fast, and cool car?”

“I don’t know.” I ummed and ahhed for a minute. “Not a bad idea. But I don’t think so. Funny, I always dreamed about getting out of town, heading for the West Coast and living in a big city. Do big things.”

“And now?”

“Now, not so much,” I said. “The three weeks I spent in L.A., they honestly weren’t as great as I’d hoped they’d be. Maybe I’ve grown out of the bright lights and getting lost in the crowd thing, you know?”