"I did not receive my money’s worth for what I paid you," Carter said with a wink.
"Yes, you did," she replied. "Your family hates me… and you now, too, I might add."
He waved her away. "They already did that. I expected you to be more… I don’t know, trashy."
"Too bad," she said. "No take backsies on the money. Honestly, I had hoped to never see a Holbrook again. Maybe you can try going to a different bar."
Carter smiled at her and shook his head. "We still have shared custody of that dog. Also," he said, throwing his credit card on the bar top, "I want an apricot sour."
"We don’t have the ingredients to make that here," she said. "You can come to Tom Toms Oyster Bar tomorrow, and I’ll make you one."
He scowled.
"Beer? Shots?" she offered.
"Both."
He took the round to his friends, and she watched them all play a round of pool and darts. Allie could tell none of them were really into it, however.
There was a lull in the traffic, and Allie busied herself with cleaning and tidying up her work area.
As she cleaned, she watched as Stacy went to go talk to the marines, a tray of shots on her hand.
"Hey, boys. How about a drink on me?" her roommate asked, sidling up to Carter.
The men eagerly took the shots.
"You doing anything tonight, Carter?" she heard Stacy ask.
"Just playing pool," Carter replied.
"If you want to," Stacy said, twirling a lock of hair on her finger, "we can go to the back and I’ll make this your best Christmas ever."
Carter looked as if she had offered to serve him centipedes. Allie stifled a snicker as he said, "No, thanks."
Allie saw Stacy’s face grow dark.
One of Carter’s friends said, "I'll take you up on that offer."
"Well, how about that," Stacy said and led him to the back.
Carter walked over to Allie. "Is she supposed to be sleeping with the customers?"
"It’s not a bar rule. It’s just my personal rule," Allie replied. "If I were you, I would stay clear of Stacy. She’s had several STDs that I know of."
Carter shuddered. "I feel like she’s after me."
Allie poured him another beer. "She’s harmless, just caught up in the allure of the Holbrook family saga and all that."
"And you aren’t?"
"I'm a simple creature," she told Carter. "I eat, I sleep—sometimes—and I work."
"No time for fun, huh," Carter said.
"Nope." She met his gaze.
He looked her up and down slowly as he licked his lips. "We had fun didn’t we?"
