“Shea bae.”
“Mm.”
“My Shea-rona.”
“What?” He finally looked at me.
“I really don’t think he wants to be here, hon.”
“Where else is he gonna go? Riley and I are staying with Monroe now, and I refuse to even consider Monroe. He’d scare the shit out of Beau. Can you just…” Shea’s shoulders slumped and he let his head fall to the back of the couch, closing his eyes. He sighed. “Please. Please just play nice. I’ll find him his own place when summer is over, but in the meantime, just…”He shook his head, rolling it against the plush cushion.
I stood up. “You know I would do anything for you. I don’t mind him being here, I was just saying. You want him to be comfortable, but he’s clearly not.”
“I don’t think he even knows how to be, honestly.” The weary resignation in his voice tugged at my shriveled empathy.
“Well, I promise to put clothes on and be as nice as I can. But I can’t promise he won’t be bothered anyway.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Thanks.”
The atmosphere in here was way too dour. “Come on. Let’s go get drunk and listen to some cover bands.”
“They’re so good!”Riley shouted over the loud music. His eyes were lit up as he watched the duo on stage sing “Whiskey Lullaby”—probably one of the most depressing songs ever—and he had a big smile on his face.
I loved him.
Riley was our resident himbo, had the personality of a golden retriever, and was just as consistently happy as one. Of course he would be grinning while listening to this song.
Shea nudged my arm, and when I looked at him, he slid his gaze down the bar with a little head nod. “That guy’s been eyeing you up all night.”
Oh, I was very aware, but I was playing disinterested at the moment. That always ramped up their interest, really made them sweat, made them want it more.
I’d been sneaking him annoyed little looks every now and then, like I found his attention irritating.
I didn’t. I definitely didn’t.
He was exactly the type of man I needed to help me forget that I’d come on way too strong to my best friend’s brother.
“I know,” I said to Shea. “I’ll get him when I’m ready.”
Shea just laughed and shook his head. He leaned over and said something to Monroe, who was glowering at the singers on stage.
Monroe was the yang to Riley’s yin, the grumpiest of grumps to ever grump, and I loved the prickly fucker. He was one of the most loyal, generous, hard-working people I’d ever met, and we ran this bar like nobody’s business. Customers loved ourdynamic, and I loved that Monroe took care of all the boring parts of running a bar. I got to be the face of the business and manage the front while he slummed it in the back office. Although that’s probably not how he would describe it. He loved being tucked away, controlling everything behind the scenes.
I watched the duo sing the final “la la las” of the song and sipped at my drink. When I felt a hand against my lower back, I smiled.
“I need to clear something up with you,” a deep voice said near my ear. I suppressed a shiver and turned just enough to let his lips brush against my cheek.
“And what would that be?”
The man from down the bar stepped closer, pressing his chest into my back. His hand dipped an inch lower. “I just gotta know if you taste as good as you look,” he murmured into my skin.
As far as pick-up lines went, it wasn’t the worst I’d ever heard, but I wasn’t interested in his conversational skills anyway.
I leaned back and tilted my head. “Maybe I’ll let you find out.”
He smiled, and it was adorably lopsided. “My place or yours?”
“Where are you staying?” No way in hell would I bring anyone home with Beau here now, and most of the people who came here during the summer were just vacationing, which was in my favor. I didn’t hook up with the same person twice, so having a constant influx of new men to satisfy my needs was a huge advantage of living in Blue Harbor.