“Hey, if I didn’t do it monthly, you wouldn’t be able to find anything back there.”
She’s not wrong. It saves me hours of work every month, and for that, I’m thankful. People put things everywhere and ignore the labels that Lulu so carefully placed on every shelf.
“You’re right,” I tell her, giving her a small smile because the last thing I want is for her to leave. “I’m sorry.”
She instantly perks up, giving me a bigger smile back. “I know you love me.”
“More than Tate,” I tell her, earning myself a pointy elbow right under my ribs.
“Jerk,” Tate says.
Lulu hops down from her stool and grabs her purse off the bar. “I’m going to get started. I’ll be listening to an audiobook, so if you need me, I won’t hear you if you call.”
“Got it,” I tell her as she waves at Tate and me.
“See you in a bit,” Tate tells her before she slurps her coffee again.
“You need to find her a man or a different hobby,” I tell my sister when Lulu disappears in the back.
“That’s no lie. She needs a man yesterday.”
“Is she seeing anyone?”
“She’s on hiatus.”
“She’s on hiatus?” I ask, because I’m confused, but that’s my normal state around the two of them.
“She said she was taking a break from men this year. I’m hoping January is her month to shine.”
“That worked out well for you when you did the same thing,” I remind her.
“Hey, Brax. Can I get a refill?” Marvin, one of our regulars, asks.
“Yeah, bud,” I tell him, moving to his empty pint glass.
“When the time is right, she’ll find the one. You and I are proof of that,” she tells me.
I glare at her as I refill Marvin’s beer. “Again, I’m proof of nothing.”
Tate grins as she finally puts her coffee cup in the sink under the bar. “Uh-huh.”
“Whatever,” I mumble as I set the beer down in front of Marvin.
“You getting married?” Marvin asks.
“No,” I say at the same time Tate says, “Eventually.”
“No, Marvin. I’m not getting married anytime soon. I went on a date last night.”
“Good for you, kid,” Marvin says as he lifts his beer glass up to his lips.
“What happened?” Clyde, Marvin’s brother and our newest regular, asks as he slides onto the stool next to him.
“Nothing,” I tell Clyde.
“The kid went and got himself a girlfriend,” Marvin explains.
“Nice,” Clyde says, lifting the beer to me that I just set in front of him. “I hope you have better luck with women than I do.”
