It took me a second for her words to sink in. A light clicked in my head. It was the first time I’d ever said it to her. I meant it.
“I love you.”
“Do you mean that?”
I grinned. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
She kissed me, hard and long, sliding her hands through my hair. When she was done, she pulled away and studied my face for a long time. Then a grin spread across her face. “I love you, too.”
27
MADDY
After talking to Nico, it felt like I had a better handle on things. It wasn’t perfect, but I seemed to be holding it together better than I had.
I’d even come back to work. I was still a little snippy, but I was usually able to rein myself in before I blew up at someone. Although, Sebastian had been on the receiving end of one of my pissy episodes. I’d finally told him he needed to stay away from the bar due to the way Abi reacted when he was there.
“Maddy, come on. Seriously?” he’d whined.
“Yes. Don’t I look serious?” I asked while we sat in the living room.
“It was a one-time thing. I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I’ve known Abi for years. She’s my best friend. I’ve known you for a couple months. You’re great, but who do you think I’m going to side with here?”
My tone must have been getting angry because Nico had come around the corner and given me a raised eyebrow. “Are we good in here?”
Sebastian had turned to Nico to plead his case. “Nico, can you talk some sense into her?”
Nico puffed his cheeks. “Oh, see, now you’ve messed up, bro.”
Sebastian had turned back around and flinched at the look I gave him. I stepped forward and started poking him in the chest, asking questions. “What do you think Nico is going to do? Am I not the owner of the bar? Is it not my decision who does and does not get to be there?” My voice rose with every question. “Do you think Nico has any say inmybusiness? You’re the one who fucked one of my employees. You’re?—”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Sebastian had said, holding his hands up, warding me off. “Shit, all right. I get it. I’m sorry.”
I froze at the fear in his eyes. The man who was a solid six inches taller and seventy pounds heavier than me looked like he was terrified of me. It took a physical effort to calm my face, but I did my best. I crossed my arms and took a step back to give him some room.
“I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward,” Sebastian said.
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have blown up like that. Felipe can take me to work tonight. I already texted him,” I said, then took a deep breath to continue calming myself down.
It hadn’t gone perfect, but I was happy I had been able to tone down my tirade before it had gotten out of hand. Maybe things were getting better. Felipe arrived thirty minutes later to pick me up for work.
Nico pulled me aside before I left. “You’re sure you’ll be fine? Are you still working in the back or are you gonna be out on the floor?”
“I’ll be in the bar tonight. We have a couple people on vacation. I’ll be fine. It’s a Wednesday. It won’t be too busy.”
Nico didn’t look happy, but I could tell he was walking on eggshells to keep me from exploding. “Alright. I’ll be texting Felipe through the night to see how things are going. Fair warning, if I hear of something I don’t like, I’ll be there in a flash. Okay?”
“Yes, Dad,” I said, rolling my eyes at him.
“I’m serious.” I could see the emotion in his face and felt like shit for belittling his concern.
I put a hand to his cheek. “I know. I’m sorry. Yes, if you need to swoop in like a knight in shining armor, I’ll be excited to see you. Okay?”
He nodded and kissed me goodbye. Felipe and I rode in silence to the bar. He was a pretty quiet guy, and if I had to guess, he was a little worried about pissing me off. It was fine. I needed the quiet to get my head right. I desperately didn’t want to have an angry outburst that night. Especially not toward any of my staff.
Thankfully, the night went by pretty seamlessly. It wasn’t crazy busy, but there were enough people to keep any of us from getting bored.
