Her Best Men

“I like a hard-working woman,” Adam said.

“You’re shit at flirting, Adam,” Nick said. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

“Oh, and you think you can do better?” I asked.

“I can. And you want to know why?” Nick asked.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because even if I couldn’t, you’d be worth the effort.”

“That was pretty good, I’ll give it to you,” I said with a wink.

“Nice ass,” Jacob said as he came out with more glasses.

“That all you got?” I asked.

“Nice tits, too,” Jacob said, grinning.

“Ass and tits. That’s all men ever want,” I said, sighing.

“Not all men,” Nick said.

His words halted me in my tracks as my eyes panned over to him.

“Oh, really? And what is it you want?” I asked.

I could feel their eyes on me as Nick drew in a breath. But before he could answer me, my boss, Booker, came strolling through the front door and ruined my fucking moment.

“The crowd’s about to settle in, Emma. You ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, boss. I’m good,” I said.

“You’ll be the only bartender until midnight, so try to keep up your energy. You eat yet?”

“Nope. You rolled me off the cot, remember?” I asked.

“Doesn’t sound very nice,” Nick said, mumbling.

“Here. Eat a protein bar.” My boss tossed me a piece of chalk, and I laughed. It was a literal piece of chalk. Booker was an asshole, but he was an entertaining asshole.

“What? Don’t like the protein bars I leave you on your desk?” I asked.

“No, now stop doing it. I like my chicken wings.”

“But your heart doesn’t,” I said.

“And she gives a shit. That’s nice,” Jacob said.

I looked at the three peculiar brothers and shook my head. What were they buttering me up for?

“I can hear the hordes of regulars about to descend. You three want anything? Because if you do, get your order in now,” I said.

“How much does a shot of you cost?” Jacob said.

“Okay, okay. You’ve proved your point. You can stop flirting,” I said. “It’s painful.”

“What if we don’t want to?” I stared into Adam’s ocean blue eyes and found nothing but sincerity in them. His voice was harsh, but his words were softening quickly. People started shoving through the front doors, sitting in chairs and calling out their orders. I slid out from behind the bar and ran around to them, writing shit down on my arm before I got to work.