“I thought you were against Odette and me being together?”
“Nope. I never said that. I just said I think you’re an imbecile for hiding it from your sister. I still firmly believe that part.” He gives me a pointed look. “I actually happen to think you and Odette are a great fit.”
My brows shoot up. “Really?”
“Really. You complement one another nicely. She’s, you know, all bubbles and sunshine, and you’re ... well, you’re kind of a dick. It’s a good balance.”
“Careful, Ezra,” I say. “That was actually almost nice of you.”
“Yeah, well, shut the fuck up and get back to work.”
“You forget you’re not my boss?”
“No, but did you forget to lock the chicken coop?”
“Huh?”
He flicks his chin in the direction of the windows. “The coop. Did you close it?”
I look over my shoulder. “What the ... fucking shit. Son of a bitch. Where the hell did she come from?”
Tootsie struts through the property like the free-range chicken she wishes she were.
“No clue.” Ezra claps me on the back. “But you better get on that. I don’t want any bad reviews for Izzy’s wedding, especially not when we’re booking up so fast. Gotta make a good first impression.”
Ezra returns to the back office, likely to hide away and crunch more numbers on I don’t even know what at this point. That is his forte, not mine.
After dropping the rag off at the counter and letting the other bartender know I’m heading outside, I push through the back doors and catch up to Tootsie.
She looks up at me like she is unsurprised to see me.
I chase her back toward the coop, where the rest of the chickens are still tucked away safely, and thank goodness for that.
“How?! How could you possibly do this to me?Again?”
Cluck.
“No, I don’t want awhatever. I want to know. What’s your secret? How are you doing it? How the fuck are you escaping?”
Cluck.
I grab the wire on the coop, shaking it. “I secured this thing. I know I did. There is no damn way you’re getting out of here without a bit of help.”
Cluck cluck.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I swear, Tootsie. I am one more incident away from turning you into chicken nuggets.”
“What have I said about threatening the livestock?”
I turn to find a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Odette, but not even seeing her lifts my mood. Not when Tootsie keeps escaping, and not when I slept like complete shit last night.
I even went to bed early. I had my book and a cup of tea. I did the whole slow, steady breathing thing. But none of it helped. I lay awake until 2:00 a.m., tossing and turning until my alarm finally went off just before six.
I have a distinct feeling it has to do with the fact I was missing the woman standing before me.
We’ve spent practically every night together as of late, and going to bed with the sheets cold beside me has never felt right since. I couldn’t settle my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about what she might be doing, even though I knew she was hanging out with my sister. Something about a last sleepover before Izzy’s wedding. I have no idea. All I know is that I missed Odette, and now I’m cranky because I slept like crap, and my damn chicken is still escaping.
“What are you doing here?”
