“High bar,” I teased.
“I walked by Harrison’s Bar and Pub, a sports bar that’s been in the city for years now, and I really liked the vibe. I went inside, and standing behind the bar was one of the hottest guys I’d ever seen. His thick, curly hair was golden and slicked back and his face was cleanshaven. The look was incredibly hot, but he looks better with the beard.”
“He can never shave that off,” I said, thinking about the way it felt against my skin when he kissed me or sucked me off.
“Agreed.” Olivia laughed. “Even without the beard, when he smiled at me, I swear I melted at his feet. I remember thinking,Now that is a guy who’d I’d let harass me at work.”
I laughed heartily. “You so missed the point of your promise.”
“I’m kidding,” she said, finishing her wine. “Well, I’m not, I really did think that. But I wasn’t seriously willing to be harassed again. Anyway, I figured I should at least apply if I was going to have the opportunity to work with a guy that hot. So I sat down at the bar, ordered a glass of wine, and asked for an application.”
“And let me guess, he was equally captivated by you?” I asked.
“No, not at all.” She shook her head. “He’ll probably tell you now that he was, but I don’t see how he could have been because he was flustered as hell. He probably barely even looked at me. I watched him fumble around that bar trying to find stuff and take orders while barely getting them right and I remember thinking,This is a terrible idea.Ishould be teachinghimhow to bartend.”
“This is fascinating,” I said. “No wonder he didn’t give me the details.”
Liv looked amused as she continued between bites of her dinner. “Eventually, the manager, Jackson, came out to meet me because Jace had told him I was interested in applying. Jackson stood in front of me watching Jace run around the bar frantically for a few minutes beforeturning to me with an exasperated expression. He asked me if I’d ever worked in a restaurant before and I told him I had for the last five years. He asked if I had a criminal history, he needed to be aware of and I said, ‘Not one that I’m aware of.’ And then he shook his head at Jace and said, ‘Great, Jace, you’re fired. Get out of here. And you?’I told him my name was Olivia and he said,‘Right, Olivia, you’re hired. Your first shift ends in three hours.’ I scrambled off the barstool and followed him to the back room where he gave me a five-minute orientation and I finished out Jace’s shift.”
“You got Jace fired?” I asked, laughing hysterically as I picked up my water.
“Not really. The restaurant is owned by Sutton’s husband, Adrian. Jace used to live in the apartment above the bar and Jackson had three callouts that day. He’d just jumped in to help when he realized Jackson was in a bind. It was his one and only shift.”
“Of course he did,” I said, shaking my head affectionately. “Still, that’s amazing. Might be my new favorite story.”
“We ended up becoming friends pretty soon after that. I was always interested in him romantically, but I’m glad we have such a solid friendship. It makes it easier to trust what we’re all doing right now.”
I nodded in agreement as we finished our meals.
“Can I tell you something I haven’t told him yet?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “Though I hope it’s not a secret. I feel like that should be our first rule of this potential throuple. No secrets.”
I beamed at her and the notion that we were really exploring this. “I agree, no secrets. You’re free to tell Jace anything I say to you.”
“Same here. Go ahead,” she said.
“I was getting ready to open my firm in Phoenix when my dad called to tell me he was dying. End-stage liver disease—like I hadn’t seenthat one coming for years. I hung up the phone with him and wasn’t even remotely interested in making an effort to see him. But I did think about Boston, and about our night together, and I realized I regretted not seeing you again for years because I hadn’t wanted to live in the same city as my dad. With him dying, that suddenly seemed like such a stupid way to make life decisions. I changed everything at the last minute. I packed up my stuff and my business plan and I moved back here. I love Boston and I want to build my firm here.
“My memory of our night together has fueled a lot of decisions in my life, Olivia. Moving back here, the first time I downloaded an app to hook up with a guy, slowly starting to tell people in Phoenix that I was bi, and working less hard to hide my sobriety. All of that was because of you. I didn’t move back to Boston with some romantic dream of finding you again, but your memory has been a driving force in my life for a longtime, and I have never let go of the way you made me feel that night.”
“That means a lot, Kayden. I’ve fought for what I deserve because of our conversation that night too,” she said. “I know it’s cold outside, but can we go for a walk on the beach before we leave? Like we did last time?”
“I would love that.” I signaled to the waiter for our check.
A few minutes later, we were bundled up in our jackets, walking along the beach while we held hands and talked more about the last four years. Many of Olivia’s stories included Jace and Kaylee, and while I felt the occasional twinge of jealousy that he’d been here for those moments and I hadn’t, I also felt extremely joyful that he and Kaylee had developed such a strong bond and that Olivia had never been alone with the situation I’d unknowingly helped to create.
After we’d walked in the cool air for far too long and her fingers were frozen in mine, I steered us back to the parking lot. I stopped in front of the passenger side door and turned Olivia to face me with her back against the car. “This is the exact spot where we promised to remember each other over four years ago,” I said.
She tilted her head in disbelief and looked around the parking lot. “Give or take a few dozen feet?”
I laughed. “Just let me have this moment.”
“Right, of course. Continue,” she said with a smile. “It’s very sweet so far, by the way.”
“I wasn’t going to ask for your feedback in the middle of my romantic gesture.”
“Sure, but if you were wondering, now you know. Super cute. Go on,” she said, waving her hand.
