Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“Come back into the kitchen,” Perry told Rock. “I’ll show you the secret ingredient in the chili sauce.”
Rock and Perry disappeared back into the kitchen, and as Sam walk-danced his way back behind the bar after taking some drink orders at a booth, he glanced our way.
“They’re definitely not just going to be talking about food back there, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes they are,” Red said. “Because some people know how to keep it in their pants, even at work.”
Liam cocked his head, grinning at Red. “Well, there was that one time you and I had that moment in the store room—”
“And we do not talk about that,” Red said. “This is a place of business. A professional one.”
“Nobody’s judging you, sweetie,” Liam said. “I used to be a porn star, for God’s sake.”
“Love you, Liam.”
“I love you, too.”
Right then, Jack reached out to run his hand along my side, just for a moment, and it felt like my entire body chemistry changed. That was another thing that was so special about tonight. The amount of love present in this bar was like none other. For so long, I’d been blind to the little gestures that could mean so much. I had someone who wasn’t just attracted to me—he was devoted to me, in a way that I’d never quite had before.
My chest tightened with a little swirl of guilt. I’d been one foot out the door in all my relationships in the past, and I hadn’t even known it. There’d always been some door open in my mind, some possibility of leaving space so that I might find something better one day. I didn’t know it, but it had been deeply unfair to the women I’d been with, no matter how well I treated them.
That door wasn’t anywhere in my mind now. I didn’t need to leave my options open when the person who’d been my heart and soul for the last decade was right here with me.
As Red ventured back out toward the booths to replenish people’s empty glasses, Nathan let out a swoony sigh, turning to me. “I’m just going to pretend I’ll have love like that one day,” he said.
“Oh, please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You’re attractive as hell. You could have love like that any time you wanted it.”
“Nathan and I are married to our careers,” Shawn said, waving a hand through the air. “I’m in love with being a general contractor.”
“You sound like you’re in denial, I’ve got to say,” Nathan said, shooting a devilish grin at his brother.
“No way,” Shawn said, shaking his head before tossing back a gulp of his margarita. “I felt in love when I completed that last build on Lakeview Road. It keeps me going.”
“He’s totally in denial,” Nathan said as he turned to me, shaking his head. Shawn was laughing behind him.
A moment later, the whole tavern seemed to hold its breath, just for a moment, as the opening sounds of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” blared out from the jukebox. I turned toward the jukebox and saw Dad over there, bopping his head a little as he walked back over toward us.
“Somebody told me I should put this song on,” Dad said, his voice loud over the music. “I said sure, why the hell not? I always liked that tune.”
“There’s a reason someone told you to put this one on,” Jack said, nodding behind us toward the other side of the bar.
Over there, Sam had already peeled off his tank top, showing off his stupidly muscular gym-bunny body, and was starting to whip it around above his head. Red was taking off his usual cowboy hat and reaching for another one under the bar that had rhinestones covering the edge of the brim.
Red’s hips began to sway with the tune, and soon he was letting loose in a way I’d never seen before. In another moment Red hopped up on top of the bar in his boots, and Mom and Dad each let out a delighted chuckle and clapped. Immediately, multiple people began handing Red cash like he was a real dancer, and some people even came up to tuck dollar bills into his belt, pockets, or boots.
“This is fucking awesome,” I said to Jack, who was swaying along with the music, too.
“It’s the best Red’s Tavern tradition I know of,” he said, grabbing my hands and pulling me off my bar stool to stand up and dance.
“No way,” I said, my jaw dropping. “You’re inviting me to dance? Hell’s frozen over.”
“Or maybe I just want to have you close against me,” he purred, bringing my body up close to his as we danced right by the bar.
As we slowly spun around, I looked to see Mom encouraging Dad in the same way, the two of them starting to dance to the song as Red, Sam, Mitch, and even Perry all got into it behind the bar. We danced the whole song through, and by the end of it, almost everyone in the tavern was dancing along too, whether it was full-on cowboy style like Red, club style like Sam, or easy gentle swaying.