“You gonna be okay?” he asks gently.
“No… yes… I don’t know,” I mumble into the desk.
A soft chuckle escapes him as he stands, closing the laptop and casually grabbing my muffin and coffee. I sit up slowly, brow raised as I watch him stroll toward the door with my goods in hand.
“Come on.” Connor grins, stepping out into the hall. “Our girl doesn’t hide. She doesn’t shrink for anyone. Get your cute booty up off that chair and follow me.”
I bite back a smile and stand. He’s right, I don’t shrink. Not anymore. And I sure as hell don’t wait around hoping for someone to love me. I’m not going to let Hunter and whoever he was with ruin my day. Not my morning. Not my favorite muffin or my damn coffee. Grabbing my phone, Itap out a quick text to Tessa before she freaks out and blows up our chat.
Me: Yupp, he’s back. Awkward doesn’t even cut it.
Tessa: Here if you need. Girls’ night ASAP!
Me: Please.
I follow Connor out to the bar, my sandals sticking slightly to the old wooden floor with each step. The sound echoes in the space. Chairs are stacked on tables, the neon bar sign above the booths lined along the wall is dark, and the jukebox in the corner is silent, making the place seem less vibrant than when we’re open. Mondays are the only days we close during the week. Our reset button. It’s the chance we get to breathe, to unwind after the steady hum of our regulars and the wild weekend crowds letting loose. It used to be Asher’s thing, coming in on Mondays to restock and deep clean. But ever since Hunter left, it’s been the three of us. We’ve built our own little routine. Connor and Asher restock, clearing out the fridges, checking the storeroom stock, while I hole up in the office, handling all the admin work Hunter used to do. Surprisingly, I’ve come to like it. The numbers, the order, the control. There’s a quiet satisfaction in keeping things running behind the scenes. In making something feel stable, even when everything else doesn’t.
“Everything’s going to change again,” I mutter, tossing my phone onto the bar with a thud. “Just when I started feeling normal. When I felt like missing him wasn’t consuming every part of me, and I could finally let go.” I glance up and catch Asher spinning his lip ring, his thick,dark curls a mess from running his hands through them too many times.
Without a word, he wraps an arm around my shoulders, tucking me into a tight side hug. His support wraps around me, and I relax into it.
“I’m sorry,” I start, but Connor cuts me off before the guilt can fully land.
“Nope.” He points at me. “We’re not doing that, Missy. We know everything that’s about to dance through that little head of yours.”
Asher laughs beside me, giving me one last squeeze before letting me go and heading over to the pile of empty boxes, tearing them down with ease.
“What Connor is trying to say is that we’re not choosing sides. Hunter is family, our best friend, but so are you. He hurt you. Hell, he hurt all of us in some way by disappearing like that. But we’re going to be here for both of you. That doesn’t change,” Asher says.
“Yeah,” Connor adds, leaning on the bar with a grin. “What he said. Except today’s the exception. Today, we’re team Madi, because the asshole should have told one of us he was coming back.” He peeks into my crumpled muffin bag.
“Plus, my girl’s gonna kick her brother’s ass for hurting her best friend,” Asher says, winking at me.
I let out a laugh, small but real. For the first time since walking out of Sunlit Espresso and seeing Hunter, it doesn’t feel like the weight of it all is crushing me completely. These boys—they’ve been here for me from the moment he didn’t come back with Asher. I’ll never be able to thank them enough. For what they’ve done for me and my girls, for this place. Whiskey Cove might have started as Hunter’s, but it’s just as much ours now. The blood, sweat, and tears we’ve allput into this place over the years, every late night that ended in laughter and shots. We became a family here, and when Hunter didn’t come back, I was terrified of losing it all. Without him, the whole family would crumble into pieces around me. Just like my real family did. Leaving only Mom and me standing.
Snatching my muffin back from Connor, I pull it out of the bag and take a bite, moaning at the buttery, crumbly texture and the sweet tang of blueberry.
“Remember that time the power went out?” Asher says with a grin as he stacks the last of the boxes.
Connor bursts out laughing. “You mean the night you and Hunter decided to ditch the bar and run around with your phone flashlights under your chins pretending to be ghosts?”
I nearly choke on my coffee, laughing. “You guys scared the hell out of that poor old couple in the booth.”
“In our defense, they thought it was hilarious,” Asher says with a smug grin.
“They left without tipping,” I shoot back, pointing at him with my half-eaten muffin.
“Yeah, but it was worth it. That was a fun night,” Connor says, leaning over and snatching my muffin right out of my hand.
“Hey!” I yell. “That’s mine.”
“But sharing is caring,” he sing-songs as he steps back, eating the last of it.
“Oh, dude, you better run.” Asher whistles.
But I’m already moving, sprinting around the bar.
“Connor!” I screech as he darts behind one of the pool tables, laughing like a maniac while I chase after him.
