He chuckled. “I tried. She was in love with that garden party, though.”
“Oh, this wasthatbridezilla,” Maverick said, obviously recalling the text Silas had sent about her a while back.
“Yep,” I said. “I wanted to strangle the woman, and I didn’t even have to talk to her. Poor Marissa.”
Maverick pulled open the heavy wooden door, and we traipsed into the pub, pausing a moment to let our eyes adjust to the dim lighting.
A couple of older guys sat at the bar. I recognized Garrett Rafferty, a long-haul trucker in town, and Tucker Ellis, who workedfor the city.
A gaggle of old ladies giggled over their drinks at a table in the center of the room. The pub’s owner, Maude Pike, had joined them, which meant they were probably getting drunk on herGranny Tea,which sounded innocent but was alcoholic enough to knock out a bear.
Silas led the way to the newer, padded booth seating built along the far wall.
We took our seats and perused the menus. A server stopped by to take our drink orders and vanished again like smoke.
“So, how bad was the bridezilla?” Silas asked.
“Bad enough I was late to pick up the dogs from day care earlier this week,” I said. “I had to work late yesterday too because she decided to book us for the rehearsal dinner instead of going to the Dinner Bell as planned. I guess we’re too good at our jobs. She wants to expand the menu.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you.”
“Tell me about it! I had to bribe Hank with leftovers to make up for being late on Tuesday, and then I couldn’t meet him for drinks last night.”
“Whoa, hold up,” Silas said. “Since when are you two meeting up for drinks?”
“It’s not like that,” I said. “He wants to be friends.”
Silas wrinkled his nose. “Did you tell him you already have friends?”
Maverick cackled. “That’s harsh, man. You know sweet Jamie would never say that.”
I sighed. “Silas is right, though. I don’t want Hank to be my friend.”
Maverick shot me a surprised look, but the server returned with our drinks. I’d opted for a Coke today. I’d had more than enough beer last night.
We took the opportunity to place our orders: cheesesteakand fries for me, a bacon cheeseburger and rings for Maverick, and a Caesar salad for Silas.
We gave Silas a look as the server walked away.
“What?” he said. “I don’t keep this trim figure by eating fried shit.”
Maverick shook his head. “You live a half life, my friend. No love. No good food. It’s sad. Truly.”
Silas laughed. “Fuck off.”
“I’m serious,” Maverick said. “You deny yourself too much.”
“I deny myself nothing. I have more fun than both of you. Speaking of, let’s get back to Jamie’s crush on Hank.”
“It’s not funny,” I said. “He’s so sweet.”
“And gorgeous,” Silas put in.
“So gorgeous,” I said with a sigh. “Both outside and inside.”
Maverick raised an eyebrow.
I cleared my throat. “But I digress. The point is, he really wants to be friends, and he seems a little lonely as the new guy in town.”
