“No, I guess not,” I say, taking the flight from him and passing it over the bar. Nik wanders round back, opening the till to put some more cash inside. “This is insane, dude!” I yell to him, my smile as proud as I feel. “You guys are killing it!”
“We’re nearly out of the IPA,” Aleks says over his shoulder, sliding a debit machine across to a customer who is giving him the eye. He’s none the wiser. “Is Nadia here yet?” he asks Nik and me.
“Yeah, she’s here somewhere,” I answer.
“There!” Nik shouts, pointing. “With Sef and Prue!”
Holy shit.I look across the crowd to find my three favorite women huddled together around a high-top table. Not only is Prue making my sister laugh at something she just said, which is a feat in and of itself, but she’s also dressed to the fucking nines.
She’s got leather boots that rise up past her knees and dark tights underneath a short brown skirt. She’s wearing a cream-colored low-cut sweater and a black leather jacket, and her hair is pulled into a loose bun resting on the top of her head.
Prue raises a hand toward me in greeting and then winks. I move to clutch my chest and hold my heart out toward her before winking back at her. She giggles, then turns her focus toward my sisters once more. “Gentlemen, hear me rightfuckingnow…I’m going to marry that woman,” I say.
Aleks drops two glasses on the floor, smashing them, and the crowd momentarily turns our way before I offer them all a thumbs-up and a weak smile. “All good!” I laugh at his expense, reaching under the bar for the dustpan.
“Jesus, Mi, can you please not startle Aleks?” Nik asks, chuckling.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Aleks says, soundingjustlikehis grandma Bertha, god rest her soul. “Milo Kablukov is talking about marriage.”
“Have you told her how you feel yet?” Nik asks, taking the dustpan from me and bending down on one knee to sweep up the glass.
“Tomorrow,” I say, smiling at Prue as she goes back into conversation with Nads and Sef.
“What are you waiting for?” Aleks asks me.
I stare back at him blankly as Nik takes the broken glass to the back room. “Really? You of all people are going to ask that?” I look between him and my little sister, my eyebrows reaching close to my hairline. “Seriously?”
Aleks mumbles something under his breath before returning to the bar and helping the next person in line.
A few minutes later, a cute curly-haired brunette is waltzing up to my side of the bar with three empty beer mugs in hand. “Hello, gorgeous,” I greet her. “What can I get for you?”
Prue smiles sweetly, placing the glasses down in front of me. “What does the bartender recommend?” she asks, batting her eyelashes at me.
“Well, that’d have to be the only beer on tap we haven’t run out of yet.”
She breathes out a laugh through her nose. “Sounds perfect.”
“Having fun?” I ask, taking a glass and placing it under the beer tap to pour. Pulling the lever toward me, I watch as golden liquid begins filling the first glass.
“I am, yeah. Dad’s having the time of his life. And”—she leans in close to whisper—“Nadia seems to have warmed up to me a little.” She smiles proudly. “I think she might even like me.”
“Impossible not to,” I say, switching out the full glass under the tap for an empty one. “I love what you’re wearing tonight.”
“Yeah, I thought you might.” She bites down on her bottomlip, eyeing me in a way that makes me lose focus. The second glass begins to overflow, soaking my hand.
“Shit,” I say, laughing. Prue reaches across the bar for a rag and passes it to me.
“This is really doing something for me, I gotta say.” She gestures to me standing behind the bar with a flat palm.
“Oh, is it now?” I say, nodding with a suggestive smile as I finish filling up her third glass, watching it with a keen eye. “Well, in an outfit like that you can certainly—” I’m interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.
“Hold that thought,” Prue says, taking her phone out of her pocket and bringing it to her ear.
“Hi, Tracy, is everything okay?” My ears perk up, turning to try and gauge Prue’s facial expressions. Tracy, the bakery owner and the guitar player’s wife, is taking care of Mrs. Welch tonight. “Did you check the kitchen, the cabinet above the sink?” Prue offers me a soft smile, which sets me at ease. “Okay, yeah, no worries, I’ll be right over.” She looks at me, rolls her eyes, but gives me a thumbs-up. “No, it’s no problem at all…. Yeah…. See you in a minute.”
“Everything all right?” I ask.
“Yeah, Tracy can’t find Mom’s medication. I swear I saw it laid out before I left but, yeah, I better go look.”
